More Than Words: Investigating the Challenges in Interpreting Figurative Expressions Across Languages

Figurative expressions such as proverbs play a crucial role in conveying cultural values, shared wisdom, and metaphorical meaning across languages. However, interpreting these expressions across linguistically and culturally distinct systems presents significant challenges for language learners. This study investigates the difficulties faced by Malaysian undergraduate students when comparing English and Malay proverbs through a contrastive analysis task. Using reflective writing as the primary data source, the study explores the cognitive, linguistic, and cultural barriers students encountered in understanding and translating figurative meaning. Thematic analysis revealed key challenges related to cultural embeddedness, non-equivalence, grammatical differences, and figurative ambiguity. Despite these difficulties, students demonstrated increased intercultural awareness and metalinguistic insight, highlighting the pedagogical value of contrastive tasks in language education. The findings support the integration of culturally responsive teaching strategies that emphasize metaphorical competence and cross-cultural understanding. This study contributes to the growing body of research on figurative language learning in multilingual contexts and offers practical recommendations for enhancing figurative language instruction in Malaysian classrooms.