Proverbs: The Extended Conceptual Base and Great Chain Metaphor Theories

In this article, we compare two theories of proverb comprehension, the Great Chain Metaphor Theory (GCMT) and the Extended Conceptual Base Theory (ECBT). We first describe operation of the theories in two paradigmatic situations, an irrelevant-context situation in which a proverb is uttered without any supporting context, and a relevant-context situation in which such context is present. We then compare the theories with respect to five issues--perspective, creativity, automatic versus controlled processing, pragmatics, and empirical adequacy. We conclude that proverb comprehension is better explained by the process and problem-solving orientation of the ECBT than by the structuralist and special mechanisms orientation of the GCMT.