Bilingualism and metaphor comprehension

A better understanding of the general processes involved in bilingual children's metaphorical reasoning was determined by conducting comparative research with children from bilingual and unilingual backgrounds. Two tests of metaphor as well as the Ravens Coloured Progressive Matrices Test (RCPMT) were administered to 30 bilingual Canadian-Greek children and to 30 unilingual Canadian children aged 8 and 11 years. The Proverbs Test (a verbal metaphorical test) and the Metaphoric Triads Task (MTT — a nonverbal pictorial test) were administered to both linguistic groups. There were no significant differences between the two linguistic groups on the RCPMT and the MTT. The only significant difference between the Canadian-Greek and the Canadian children was that the former correctly preferred the moral of the proverbs in the Proverbs Test to a greater extent than did the Canadian children. The results are discussed with respect to bilingualism and cross-cultural comparisons of cognitive constructs. The implications of the study for bilingual education are also discussed.