Metaphor Processing Research Articles

When is literal meaning inhibited? Evidence from nonsense in the metaphor-induced lexical forgetting paradigm.

A common feature of metaphoric language processing is a conflict between literal and figurative aspects of meaning. A consequence of this is the need to select the most appropriate meaning among competing associates when we encounter such phrases. The goal of the present experiments was to adapt the "impossible" retrieval approach of previous retrieval-induced and problem-solving-induced forgetting (RIF; PSIF) studies to test for the use of inhibitory mechanisms during metaphor comprehension. To achieve this goal, a series of 3 studies assessed forgetting following the processing of nonsense metaphors that were unlikely to lead to viable interpretations within a short period of time (Jealousy is a barn). In the first 2 experiments, processing nonsense metaphors led to reduced recall for previously studied literal associates. In a 3rd study, processing nonsense metaphors led to longer recognition latencies for literal associates on a cue-independent task. In contrast, no evidence of forgetting was seen because of the processing of familiar metaphors in any study. Because participants are unlikely to reach a viable interpretation of these nonsense metaphors, and because results were similar using recall and cue-independent recognition measures, these results provide novel support for an inhibitory account for this forgetting effect over a blocking or cue-based interference account. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Anniversary article: Then and now: 25 years of progress in natural language engineering

AbstractThe paper reviews the state of the art of natural language engineering (NLE) around 1995, when this journal first appeared, and makes a critical comparison with the current state of the art in 2018, as we prepare the 25th Volume. Specifically the then state of the art in parsing, information extraction, chatbots, and dialogue systems, speech processing and machine translation are briefly reviewed. The emergence in the 1980s and 1990s of machine learning (ML) and statistical methods (SM) is noted. Important trends and areas of progress in the subsequent years are identified. In particular, the move to the use of n-grams or skip grams and/or chunking with part of speech tagging and away from whole sentence parsing is noted, as is the increasing dominance of SM and ML. Some outstanding issues which merit further research are briefly pointed out, including metaphor processing and the ethical implications of NLE.

Dos relatos reflexivos do Estágio Supervisionado em Língua Portuguesa: a questão do regime enunciativo

À luz das teorizações de Benveniste sobre enunciação escrita, problematizamos e analisamos o modo como uma acadêmica do Curso de Letras: Língua Portuguesa e suas literaturas de uma instituição federal produz seus “relatos reflexivos” do Estágio Supervisionado em Língua Portuguesa. Estamos considerando que, no tempo da escrita, a acadêmica, já na condição de locutora, precisa lidar com as coerções implícitas e explícitas do gênero “relato reflexivo”, que integra o gênero “relatório final”, e com as coerções da “situação de discurso”, tendo por base a contingência da sala de aula. Dessa maneira, por meio da escrita, a acadêmica (re)elabora a sua experiência no Estágio Supervisionado, dado o processo de metaforização, que se constitui a partir de três tempos que constituem a narratividade da experiência: o tempo do fato vivido, o tempo da escrita e o tempo da leitura. As análises, pautadas em recortes discursivos, mostram os pontos de dispersão da escrita da acadêmica, já que, ao relatar a experiência supostamente exitosa no Estágio Supervisionado, pontos de contradição marcam o regime enunciativo das enunciações escritas da acadêmica, deixando flagrar seu processo de identificação com certos espaços de interpretação que o regime enunciativo implica.

Andando de zoca en colodra: las unidades fraseológicas con verbos de movimiento en la obra de Cervante

The aim of this paper is the analysis of the locutions used by Cervantes, which include verbs of movement such as andar, caer, ir, venir or volver (volver las riendas, caer de su burra, andar de zoca en colodra, venir a las manos…). The reason for choosing these verbs is that, very frequently, they may give rise to metaphorical and metonymic processes. After defining the concept of locution and setting the corpus of locutions, we undertake their formal analysis (related to structure, level of fixation, potential variation, formal evolution…), their semantic study (meaning, semantic changes, metaphorical and metonymic processes) and we also analyze their contexts of occurrence and the registers in which they are used.

Metaphor and social construction

In this article I propose the metaphorization process as one of the linguistic mechanisms through which reality is constructed in the daily interactions and communicative actions. I expose an historical development of metaphor's theorization which becomes a socially-situated pragmatic perspective. Finally, I suggest further investigations in order to deepen our knowledge of the rhetoric of everyday life and become aware of the horizontal processes involved in the construction of human experience.

Visuo-Kinetic Signs Are Inherently Metonymic: How Embodied Metonymy Motivates Forms, Functions, and Schematic Patterns in Gesture.

This paper aims to evidence the inherently metonymic nature of co-speech gestures. Arguing that motivation in gesture involves iconicity (similarity), indexicality (contiguity), and habit (conventionality) to varying degrees, it demonstrates how a set of metonymic principles may lend a certain systematicity to experientially grounded processes of gestural abstraction and enaction. Introducing visuo-kinetic signs as an umbrella term for co-speech gestures and signed languages, the paper shows how a frame-based approach to gesture may integrate different cognitive/functional linguistic and semiotic accounts of metonymy (e.g., experiential domains, frame metonymy, contiguity, and pragmatic inferencing). The guiding assumption is that gestures metonymically profile deeply embodied, routinized aspects of familiar scenes, that is, the motivating context of frames. The discussion shows how gestures may evoke frame structures exhibiting varying degrees of groundedness, complexity, and schematicity: basic physical action and object frames; more complex frames; and highly abstract, complex frame structures. It thereby provides gestural evidence for the idea that metonymy is more basic and more directly experientially grounded than metaphor and thus often feeds into correlated metaphoric processes. Furthermore, the paper offers some initial insights into how metonymy also seems to induce the emergence of schematic patterns in gesture which may result from action-based and discourse-driven processes of habituation and conventionalization. It exemplifies how these forces may engender grammaticalization of a basic physical action into a gestural marker that shows strong metonymic form reduction, decreased transitivity, and interacting pragmatic functions. Finally, addressing basic metonymic operations in signed lexemes elucidates certain similarities regarding sign constitution in gesture and sign. English and German multimodal discourse data as well as German Sign Language (DGS) are drawn upon to illustrate the theoretical points of the paper. Overall, this paper presents a unified account of metonymy’s role in underpinning forms, functions, and patterns in visuo-kinetic signs.

Time-Course of Motor Involvement in Literal and Metaphoric Action Sentence Processing: A TMS Study.

There is evidence that the motor cortex is involved in reading sentences containing an action verb (“The spike was hammered into the ground”) as well as metaphoric sentences (“The army was hammered in the battle”). Verbs such as ‘hammered’ may be homonyms, with separate meanings belonging to the literal action and metaphoric action, or they may be polysemous, with the metaphoric sense grounded in the literal sense. We investigated the time course of the effects of single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation to primary motor cortex on literal and metaphoric sentence comprehension. Stimulation 300 ms post-verb presentation impaired comprehension of both literal and metaphoric sentences, supporting a causal role of sensory-motor areas in comprehension. Results suggest that the literal meaning of an action verb remains activated during metaphor comprehension, even after the temporal window of homonym disambiguation. This suggests that such verbs are polysemous, and both senses are related and grounded in motor cortex.

Hippocampus and amygdala: An insight-related network involved in metaphorical solution to mental distress problem.

This study was designed to determine whether metaphorical solutions to mental distress problems result in an insightful mental experience and activate the hippocampus and amygdala: areas associated with insight. We recruited 22 healthy university students. Trials presented 75 micro-counseling scenarios while event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was applied to detect neural responses. Each scenario included a mental distress problem and one of the following solution types: metaphorical, literal, or problem-restatement. The results revealed that, compared with literal solutions or problem-restatement solutions, metaphorical solutions activated two neural networks: one associated with basic metaphorical language processing (i.e., the left inferior frontal gyrus and middle and superior temporal gyri), and a specific network associated with insightful problem solving (i.e., the bilateral hippocampus, amygdala, and fusiform gyrus). Our findings indicate that the use of metaphorical solutions to mental distress problems reliably produces salient neural activities for insight.

A MAP for effective advertising: the metaphoric advertising processing model

Metaphors can trigger attention and surprise, elicit positive feelings when the non-obvious metaphoric meaning is deciphered, and accelerate the understanding of complex or abstract information due to figurative metaphoric associations. Hence, metaphors can satisfy important requirements of marketing communications. Accordingly, in recent decades, an increasing amount of marketing research has examined this concept. The present article provides an overview of this research on metaphors in the advertising literature, outlines the importance of metaphoric advertising for achieving key marketing aims, and identifies crucial research gaps in the current literature. Based on this overview, we integrate theoretical ideas and empirical findings from marketing and (consumer) psychology to develop the Metaphoric Advertising Processing Model (MAP), which offers new insights into the definition, processing, comprehension, and outcomes of metaphoric advertising. We conclude with concrete suggestions and recommendations for future research and describe the practical implications of the model.

STUDI PENCIPTAAN SENI KINETIK “RAMPOGAN”

The study of the creation of kinetic artwork with the title “Rampogan” focuses on the study of the creation of installation works that can move (kinetic). The purpose of this experiment-based art creation is to explore the possibilities of novelty on three aspects, namely: (1) visual rampogan aspects of the wayang kulit purwa as a representation of ideas, (2) aspects of the medium / material used and (3) mechanics aspects that can move the aesthetic elements of the work.The theme of the work in this creation study originated in Javanese cultural art, namely “Rampogan” (the puppet child who describes the dynamics of warriors leaving for war). This represents the idea of creating works about social phenomena that occur in Indonesia now, where the common life of the nation and state has been torn apart by a group of people who force the will of their groups by going down the streets.The method of creating this work uses a method of “artistic creation” which consists of three stages of creation, namely: (1) the experimental stages related to the exploration of materials, tools and techniques. (2) the contemplation stage relating to the exploration process of several alternative metaphors that will be used in the work, and (3) the formation stage which is the process of materializing the work by considering the principle of composition and structure.The output of this creation study is the creation of a kinetic work with the title “Rampogan”, scientific articles in national journals and intellectual property rights.Keywords: kinetic art, rampogan, Javanese culture

Metaphor and concept as forms of transition from preconceptual thinking

Metaphor acts as preconceptual knowledge to form a preconceptual form of thinking – a concept. Thus, one can construct such a link in the process of concept formation: metaphor – concept – notion. Fundamental discovery of j. Lakoff and m. Johnson was in the fact that they recognized the fundamental metaphoricity of human thinking, that is, metaphor can be called one of key mechanisms for formation of conceptual forms of thinking, and the world is the product of metaphorization. But in this case, metaphor in thinking and metaphor in language are different metaphors. Because of the fact that linguistic metaphor is easier to detect in “language material”, it is more often called just metaphor, but metaphor in thinking is a process we propose to call metaphoron, that is, the process of metaphorization, along with such means of cognition as comparison, analysis, and imagination (rational and irrational). Metaphoron as thinking mechanism allows to structurize abstract categories through images of objects which are sensually recognizable. With metaphor, one object is projected through the other. Concept is an individual reflection of meanings, values, impressions, so emotions in the concept are also present. We can assume that concept is a "prototype" of notion, that is, concept was formed from many elements, among which most appropriate through logical rational operations (comparison, analysis) and irrational (e.g., imagination, intuition) were selected over time. Also, in this process, important role is played by the metaphorization process, which cannot be fully attributed either to logical operations, or to irrational ones, that is, metaphorization is on the border of rational and irrational, including elements of both operations. Concept is undoubtedly broader than notion and includes, in addition to abstract features, associative and emotional as well as sensory aspects. But it is pertinent to mention that, for example, emotional aspects make it difficult and unproductive to reach understanding with another person, so rational operations are appropriate for communication and language formation. However, emotions also require expression and can be expressed not the way animals do – via shouting or physical force, but through creativity - in songs, paintings, dances. With these types of self-expression, understanding also arises on sensual level, for example, if the song has major tone, everyone realizes that it is fun and vice versa with minor tone. When people begin to describe music in terms of concepts, abstract concepts are best suited, that is, in this case, metaphor (metaphorization process) does not perform function of categorization, that is, as a result, no new words are created, but a "repository" of feelings, a "preserved" feeling that is almost invariable passes on to the next generation. Thus, it can be concluded that, if language is used to convey experience in the form of information, then it is a metaphor to convey experience in the form of feelings. It should be noted that in the process of cognition errors, illusions are possible, since the process of cognition is subjective, and metaphor as process and result testifies to it, that metaphorical creative language can convey any peculiarities of personal experience. The comparative and figurative conception can be criticized, because in the process of metaphorization not only comparison, but also analysis, selection of the main and secondary issues, intuition are involved. It is important to recognize that language changes over time, meanings of the words change, but to put it more precisely, the meaning changes partially. Thus, we can conclude that metaphor is not just a decoration of language, but a tool for formation and changing of language.

A Model of Phraseosemantic Field of Temporality in Russian Phraseology

The article deals with the expressions of time (the sample includes about 500 phraseological units with the temporal meaning) in the Russian worldview on the material of Russian phraseology. Phraseological units are analyzed alongside with the construction of a semantic field: such approach allows distinguishing the peculiarities of understanding of time by a concrete ethnos and helps to reveal the cultural-historical stereotypes based on the national mentality and religious ideas. A group of phraseological units with the common semantic component “time” is treated in the paper as a phraseosemantic field. The notion of time may be the basic one in the semantic structure of a phraseological unit; temporality may be also expressed in the form of a characteristic of a phenomenon, process or quality. In accordance with various degree of semantic proximity of phraseological units, the phraseosemantic field is subdivided into segments, and they, in their turn, are broken into microsegments (for example, the segment - units with the meaning of a stretch of time, microsegments - the initial phase of an action, the phase of the maximum manifestation of the properties, the final phase of an action). The article singles out 13 segments of the phraseosemantic field under study and defines its structure (the core phraseological units reflect the temporal notions from a distance, as a manifestation of changeability; around the core of the field there are groups of phraseological units the meanings of which, alongside the temporal seme, incorporate other ones, characterizing a concrete situation or object). It is noted that the differences between the units of the same segment may be either denotative or expressive-stylistical (some of them are typical of the literary style, while others have the features of the low colloquial nature). The author considers the mechanisms of transfer of meaning and idiomatization which result in the emergence of phraseological units and the process of metaphorization. Special attention is paid to nationally-specific units, and specifically to those associated with historical realia. It is convenient to represent the structure of the phraseosemantic field in the form of radar chart (in which the core area is surrounded by a number of sectors).

Corpo infectado/corpus infectado: aids, narrativa e metáforas oportunistas

Resumo: A constante presença do corpo nas narrativas de aids (e a consequente problematização do seu status ontológico) é apenas uma recorrência temática, ou estaria ligada a processos metafóricos e alegóricos que apontam para uma discussão para além da corporeidade humana? Mais do que isso, constantes em todas as narrativas de aids são a urdidura que confronta, simultaneamente, uma micropolítica do desejo, relacionada ao exercício ascético com a construção do si mesmo através da dicção literária (não raro extrapolando os limites entre ficção e biografia), e uma preocupação com os compromissos do discurso literário com a vida política e social de seus respectivos países de origem.

Approximation and metaphor in Italian nominative strategy

This article analyses nominative strategies in the Italian language and deals with miscellaneous cases which cannot be described in terms of direct nomination. In particular, I consider approximation and metaphor as two complementary means used by the speaker to characterize the concept. Approximation and metaphor are semantic categories with a specific system of rules. According to their specific semantic properties, approximatives “stretch” the semantic field of a concept so that it can be applied to different situations, leading to a fuzzy description of the situation; metaphors, on the contrary, clearly identify some aspects of a fuzzy situation so that it can become more comprehensible for the listener. Both approximative and metaphorical operators are used for redefining a concept and for changing its range of applicability. In this article is given a definition of approximatives and metaphors and then a description of their semantic properties, including the pragmatic information they convey. I also give an original classification of approximatives, dividing them in two different groups – graduating and boundary approximatives. Both approximative and metaphorical operators allow speakers to convey their subjective relationship to the described situation: this article analyses the different kind of the speaker’s assessment on the base of the selected operator, approximative rather than metaphor. Approximative and metaphorical cases differ very much depending on the linguistic local culture: in Ukraine, English, Russian and Italian we have different systems of approximatives or metaphors and they convey different meanings. The article also provides a detailed illustration of the assessment process of metaphors related to food in Italian linguistic culture.

Phraseological Unit <i>Judgment Day</i> (rus. <i>Sudnyy den’</i>): Its History and Semantic Shifts in the Modern Political Discourse

The modern political discourse has actualized the word combination “sudnyy den’” (judgment day) known to many languages and cultures practicing monotheistic Abrahamic religions. The article analyzes the meanings of the phraseological unit in different discourses and its functions. It has been found that the unit “sudnyy den’” can perform the nominative function when it names one of the main Judaic holidays - Yom Kippur. The word combination becomes a phraseological unit with a characterizing meaning when it denotes a religious concept - judgment of the people in the end times. The article reveals and describes the differences in the understanding of the unit in the Christian (Orthodox) and Islamic Russian language discourses and shows the process of metaphorization of the unit in secular texts in which the actualization of the component “sud” (judgment) brings about the emergence of a new meaning of the unit not recorded in dictionaries (the phraseological unit begins to denote a vitally important event: the judgment day or the judgment hour is looked forward to as a moment of truth). Special attention is given to the semantic shift of the phraseological unit under the influence of films and computer games (elimination of the moral-didactic component, its substitution by salient visual images), and to the phraseological derivatives which have become urgent in the political discourse and are associated with the threat of a new world war.

二语隐喻加工顺序神经机制研究综述

二语隐喻加工顺序神经机制研究综述

Metaphor processing in middle childhood and at the transition to early adolescence: the role of chronological age, mental age, and verbal intelligence.

Metaphor development in conjunction with verbal intelligence and linguistic competence in middle childhood and at the transition to early adolescence was investigated. 298 individuals between seven and ten years (chronological age) who attended grades two-four (mental age) were tested for metaphor processing by the Metaphoric Triads Task, for linguistic competence (HELD), and verbal intelligence (WISC-III). Chronological age significantly predicted metaphor processing with a breakpoint of 8.2 years regarding identification and comprehension, and 10.2 years regarding preference. Fourth-graders showed highest metaphor processing scores. Verbal intelligence significantly predicted metaphor processing; this effect became stronger with increasing age. Attributional metaphors were best understood and most preferred. Chronological and mental age are associated with metaphor processing in an age span that is seemingly crucial for metaphor development. Verbal analogical reasoning, concept formation, verbal abstraction, and semantic knowledge predicted metaphor comprehension. Understanding facts, principles, and social situations, and resultant inferential verbal reasoning predicted metaphor preference.

KAJIAN SLANG AUSTRALIA: PROSES MORFOLOGIS DAN PERUBAHAN SEMANTIK

This study aims to investigate the formation process slang of Australian English. This research employs a qualitative-descriptive approach. The data of this research are conversation transcripts of Australians consisting three males and one female and being analysed analytically to find the use of slang. Observational technique was used to gather the data. The researcher taped the conversation and transcribed them to make the data analysis easier. Slang is formed into a morphological and semantic process. The morphological processes consist of derivation, clipping, blending, acronym, and alliteration. The semantic process consists of generalization, metaphor, specialization, and arbitrary process. The use of slang affects the society in terms of social and communication function. Knowing this intensely helps non natives to get close and increase more understanding in communicating with Australians.

The Concept of Happiness in Djarum 76 “Yang Penting Hepii..”

This thesis mainly deals with the process of signification and metaphor in order to reveal the concept of happiness in Djarum 76 video commercial with its tagline “Yang Penting Hepii..”. The focus of the writer’s analysis is the verbal and visual expression in the video commercial as the writer uses Barthes’s process of signification and Lakoff’s and Johnson’s theory of metaphor in analysing the data. Those Barthes’s, Lakoff’s and Johnson’s theories helped the writer analyse the use of verbal and visual expression in the advertisement, then, figured out the concept of happiness in Djarum 76 video commercial. The writer analyses a video commercial of Djarum 76 entitled “Jangkrik”. This research used descriptive qualitative approach to describe the concept of happiness in the video commercial of Djarum 76. From the analysis, the writer found out that the video commercial of Djarum 76 uses process of signification to associate happiness with laughter. In doing so, Djarum 76 used verbal expression to build the patterned plot while the visual expression pictures elements of happiness within each videos to evoke laughter. In conclusion, the use of verbal and visual expression is aimed to make the audiences laugh which then associated with happiness.

Variations of Meaning within Multiunit Metaphors in the Technical Semantic Sphere of the English Language

The research features variations of meaning within multiunit metaphors in the technical conceptual sphere of the English language. Its objective was to reveal the heuristic potential of the multiunit metaphor, which contributes to the description of the metaphoric process pragmatically directed at changing the addressee’s worldview. The author employed the method of the complex heuristic potential modeling within a conceptual sphere, thus disclosing the nature of one-, twoand multiunit metaphors as non-contradictory and pragmatically charged. The heuristic potential modeling and the holistic approach to the multiunit metaphor makes it possible to identify misconceptions, beliefs and myths based on technical metaphors. The general emotive key of the technical metaphor is negative as it reveals the process of breakage and malfunction. The author states that technical metaphors have to be used with caution in order to avoid manipulation and reveal the false character of the Man Is Machine metaphor.