The Interpretation of Proverbs and Their Relation to Thinking Skills: An Analysis Based on Relavance Theory

(Penginterpretasian Peribahasa dan Hubungannya dengan Kemahiran Berfikir: Analisis Berdasarkan Teori Relevans)

Abstract

A study involving a group of teacher trainees was carried out to determine the trainees' ability to comprehend the meaning of selected proverbs. This study shows that, significantly, many trainees are unable to comprehend the implicit meaning of these proverbs. The inability of these trainees can be attributed to a number of factors, such as not understanding the meanings of lexical items and the extended meanings lexical items, and not having the background knowledge (encyclopedic entry) of an item or a situation involving the proverbs. The trainees were unable to relate the background knowledge with the contexts that formed the input for the process of interpreting the proverbs. The absence of background knowledge also hindered the trainees' ability to think critically and to make inferences in the process of interpreting the meaning of the proverbs. The ability of the teacher trainees to comprehend the meaning of the proverbs is critical because, as future teachers, they will have to teach this element in the Malay language subject, especially as the transformation of education in 21st century education stresses higher-order thinking skills (HOTS).

Keywords: proverbs, interpretation, implicit, inferences, encyclopedic entry, transformation of education