Metaphors

[Mieke VAN HERREWEGHE]

Hi,

A student of mine is going to write her B.A.dissertation
on the comprehension of metaphors in Dutch by d/Deaf students. The
hypothesis is that metaphors which have a (near-)equivalent in
Flemish Belgian Sign Language (for instance spatial metaphors:
postive feelings have an upward movement, negative feelings a
downward movement and this is comparable to Dutch) will be easier
for deaf students to understand than metaphors which don't.
However, so far she has not been able to find a lot of literature on
these topics. She found some books and articles about metaphors in
child language acquisition, but hardly anything pertaining to d/Deaf
people.
Could any of you help her out by giving her references dealing with
metaphors in (a) sign language(s) and the comprehension of metaphors
in (a) spoken language(s) by d/Deaf children or adults? Does anybody
have any experience testing metaphors in the spoken and/or sign
language of d/Deaf people?

Thank you very much!!

Mieke Van Herreweghe
Gent University
Belgium