The paper titled "A Proposed Collocational Marker for the Computational Identification of Metaphor: The Case of Metaphor in the Ever-Glorious Qur’ān" focuses on developing a criterion for computationally identifying metaphors within the Qur'anic text. The study addresses the challenges of metaphor identification, particularly in religious texts like the Qur'an, and aims to enhance the accuracy of metaphor detection using computational methods.
The purpose of the study is to create a collocational marker that can be used in computational linguistics to identify metaphors in the Qur'an, specifically within two chapters: Sūrat Yūsuf and Sūrat Ar-Rā’d. This research seeks to bridge the gap between traditional linguistic studies of metaphor and modern computational approaches by developing a systematic criterion that can be applied to the analysis of metaphors in religious texts.
The methodology used in the study is both quantitative and qualitative, involving a detailed analysis of collocations—how words frequently occur together in the Qur'an. The researchers manually identified metaphors in the chosen chapters by referencing classical exegeses and linguistic interpretations. They then applied the proposed collocational criterion to assess the metaphoricity of these word combinations, scoring them based on their degree of metaphoricity.
The key findings of the research indicate that certain collocational patterns are more likely to be metaphorical, particularly those that show a "semantic inappropriateness" or a "mismatch" between the literal and metaphorical meanings of words. The study concludes that by identifying these patterns, it is possible to computationally detect metaphors with greater precision in the Qur'an. This approach not only contributes to the field of computational linguistics but also provides a tool for more nuanced understanding and analysis of metaphor in religious texts.
In conclusion, the study highlights the significance of incorporating collocational analysis into computational tools for metaphor identification, particularly in contexts where metaphor plays a crucial role in conveying deeper meanings, as seen in the Qur'an. The proposed marker could be extended to other corpora, offering broader applications in computational linguistics and religious studies.