Processing Unfamiliar Metaphors in a Self-Paced Reading Task

Abstract

In 2 self-paced reading experiments, we investigate the processing characteristics of unfamiliar metaphorical subject-predicate structures. The literal first hypothesis predicts that processing metaphorical expressions of the type an x is a y will proceed more slowly than in the case of literal statements of the same type. This prediction is confirmed: At the position of the metaphorical term, reaction times were indeed higher for the metaphorical conditions than for the literal ones. This result was obtained both without (Experiment 1) and with a supportive context sentence (Experiment 2). In Experiment 2, a distinction also emerges between apt and nonapt instances, such that reaction times for apt metaphors are no longer significantly higher toward the end of the clause containing them. This suggests that, when embedded in a rich context, the interpretation of unfamiliar apt metaphors can be completed by the end of a fragment that can serve as a clause.