Personification in advanced EFL learners' dissertations from a cognitive linguistic stance

Abstract EN

The present paper offers a report of a research into some advanced EFL learners' use of personification in their dissertations in a higher education context; namely, Mouloud Mammeri University.

Its main objective is to shed light on the extent of occurrence of this phenomenon in their writings.

It also tries to elucidate the frequency of use of metaphoric verbs and suggest explanations for the observable fact.

Therefore, the question raised is whether the examination of some dissertations would reveal an extensive use of personification.

Relying on the Metaphor Identification Procedure (MIP) (Pragglejaz Group 2007), three master's dissertations are examined and a quantitative analysis of the metaphoric verbs featuring students' writings is conducted.

The results of the study indicate that personification is highly used.

Various reasons can explain this fact, such as, the desire to reduce subjectivity and attaining objectivity, among others.

These findings can make a humble contribution to the field of education, as it might offer useful data to educational practitioners and researchers.