Cross-cultural communication and metaphorical competence

This article examines the aspects of similarity and diversity between different cultures through the cognitive theory of metaphor. The aim is to show that both aspects need to be intertwined for the development of intercultural communication and for solving problems of understanding that can arise in cross-cultural communication. The author used the cognitive theory of metaphor developed by Lakoff and Johnson and applied it to a cross-cultural analysis of a randomly selected set of metaphors in Persian and English. The results of the study revealed that there is a certain degree of similarity between the two languages, but several aspects of such metaphors are culture-specific. This underlines the importance of intercultural studies for foreign language teachers.