Metaphor Processing Research Articles

Voice Synthesis Improvement by Machine Learning of Natural Prosody.

Since the advent of modern computing, researchers have striven to make the human-computer interface (HCI) as seamless as possible. Progress has been made on various fronts, e.g., the desktop metaphor (interface design) and natural language processing (input). One area receiving attention recently is voice activation and its corollary, computer-generated speech. Despite decades of research and development, most computer-generated voices remain easily identifiable as non-human. Prosody in speech has two primary components-intonation and rhythm-both often lacking in computer-generated voices. This research aims to enhance computer-generated text-to-speech algorithms by incorporating melodic and prosodic elements of human speech. This study explores a novel approach to add prosody by using machine learning, specifically an LSTM neural network, to add paralinguistic elements to a recorded or generated voice. The aim is to increase the realism of computer-generated text-to-speech algorithms, to enhance electronic reading applications, and improved artificial voices for those in need of artificial assistance to speak. A computer that is able to also convey meaning with a spoken audible announcement will also improve human-to-computer interactions. Applications for the use of such an algorithm may include improving high-definition audio codecs for telephony, renewing old recordings, and lowering barriers to the utilization of computing. This research deployed a prototype modular platform for digital speech improvement by analyzing and generalizing algorithms into a modular system through laboratory experiments to optimize combinations and performance in edge cases. The results were encouraging, with the LSTM-based encoder able to produce realistic speech. Further work will involve optimizing the algorithm and comparing its performance against other approaches.

Метафорическое терминообразование в техническом дискурсе (на материале русского, башкирского и английского языков)

The aim of the research is to identify the nominative and structural characteristics of metaphorical terms in technical discourse using the material of Russian, Bashkir, and English. The paper clarifies the notions “metaphor” and “metaphorical models” in a comparative aspect. In scientific language, metaphorization is the process of selecting terms based on similarities between different objects in terms of their features, functions, or characteristics. The main conceptual fields in the formation of metaphorical terms are represented by the metaphorical models “Human” and “Nature”. The study is novel in that it is the first to analyze metaphorical term formation in the Russian, Bashkir, and English languages, introducing into scientific use new factual data on technical terminology in a comparative aspect. It was found that in the analyzed languages, there is a high percentage of metaphors within the “Human” and “Nature” models. The research revealed that the process of metaphorization in technical terminology is more extensive in Russian and English compared to the Bashkir language. Metaphor proves to be an effective means of forming technical terms in the languages under consideration.

Color-Based Metaphors in English and the Process of Metaphorization in Technical Texts: A Review Study

The study of the complicated processes taking place in technical texts could change not only the mechanism of a contemporary term formation, but also widen their meanings and extend spheres of their application in both monolingual and multilingual communicative settings. Accordingly, this review study aims at the elaboration of the use and classification of the color-based metaphorical terms in English as well as at the analysis of the tendency for metaphorization of technical texts in English. It further aims at explaining the tendencies in the development of technical texts that have caused changes in the development of technical vocabulary initiating the ongoing process of metaphorization and an extension of meaning of the existing and newly created terms. To this end, the complicated mechanisms underlying the emerging concepts of enduring metaphorization are explained and the processes of meaning formation, extension or compression are illustrated. In the end, as there are potential threats in the pattern of the color-based term creation in technical terms in English and their possible translation into other languages, some relevant caveats are provided.

The process of metaphorization in French

The process of metaphorization in French

The process of metaphorization in French

The process of metaphorization in French

Tropological Animal

Biopolitics and necropolitics have used animals as a concept to illustrate a particular human biopolitical situation, much in the “tradition” of Aristotle’s provisional biopolitics. In the Western context, not only our understanding of politics but also tropology and the conceptual apparatus itself are haunted by this ancient legacy, which underlies a vertical ontology tied to processes of spatialization and containment, a vertical ontology that enables an intelligibility of figurative translation. The article considers tropological systems as systems embedded in particular forms of governmentality, forms of the violent administration of life and death. To show how certain bodies are marked as animal or animal-like and used in the (metaphorical) processes of exclusion/inclusion, it focuses on Giorgio Agamben’s thoughts on Carolus Linnaeus and Zakiyyah Iman Jackson’s analysis of metaphorics in the most recent (r)evolutionary theory, symbiogenesis, developed by Lynn Margulis. Moreover, to radically disturb the graduated ontological premises of traditional stylistics and tropology, we move beyond existing conceptualizations of the body and the sovereign, all of which are based on de-borderization, intersections, movements, and transfigurations.

Дометрические меры длины в произведениях русских и немецких писателей и их перевод

The aim of the study is to typologize the translation of the names of pre-metric units of length in Russian and German fiction by identifying common semantic transformations. The scientific novelty of the study lies in examining pre-metric units of length in the genetic, semantic and functional aspects. At the genetic level, the role of the anthropometric factor in the formation of such names is confirmed. At the semantic level, the commonality of transformational processes in the history of education and functioning of the vocabulary under consideration is investigated. At the functional level, translation techniques are analyzed in relation to the words selected for analysis in a broad literary context. A comprehensive study of this kind, combining the importance and mutual influence of all these levels, is being carried out for the first time. As a result, the commonality of semantic transformations in the sphere of the vocabulary in question (from the metonymic process, which virtually forms this lexical group, to the metaphorical process defining their new, abstract meaning) and, in particular, its inclusion in the processes of phraseologization are confirmed. The study also reveals how and to what extent the variety of translation modes reflects the semantic nuances of the vocabulary under consideration.

Притчевість у поезії дисидентів і герметистів (на прикладі лірики Тараса Мельничука та Василя Герасим’юка)

In modern Ukrainian literary studies, the problems of generational dialogues and conflicts, the heredity and discontinuity of the literary process in Soviet and independent Ukraine, as well as the restoration of the authenticity and originality of lyrical writing, the peculiarities of generational experiences, are actualized. Scientists are interested in designing the encoding of images and symbols in the lyrics of resistance members, in particular, dissidents and hermeticists, representatives of two forms of dissent — open and hidden. The modelling of history and reality in the work of Taras Melnychuk and Vasyl Herasymiuk, two poets from the Hutsul Region, still seems exotic, as it does not declare any phenomenon, but retells it as a strange phenomenon, as a fate, as a molfarism, as hereditary, as exceptional and usual at the same time. The core of the resistance literature was the imagery of the poetry of several generations, in particular dissidents and hermetists, which stood out from the mass of poetry of the second half of the 20th century with its fairy-tale and parable imagery. This literature of the resistance movement is well characterized, but not qualified by modern sources. Very interesting in this sense is the design of symbols and codes based on the metaphorical processing of ethnicity (partially relict). The lyrics of dissidents and hermeticists are, in fact, a demonstration of open (extroverted) and hidden (introverted) forms of resistance to the regime — through a parable, a fairy tale, a myth. The national culture revealed by the two poets in the poems is a contemplative part of their Europeanness, and therefore embodied both in dominant images and in explanations somewhat similar to exegesis, creating a completely underground allegory. Taras Melnychuk and Vasyl Herasymiuk are two Hutsul poets who not only offered readers to model reality based on its exoticization, but also to implement ethnocodes, oddities and molfarism as a tool to fight against totalitarianism. This is a manifestation of the form of the authors’ stoic positions, and is not only perceived as an expression of the beauty of the Carpathians and the Hutsul region.

Left-hand muscle contractions improve novel metaphor comprehension among adolescents

For people to understand metaphors that require the creation of associations between remote concepts, both the diffuse spread of activation in semantic networks in the right hemisphere (coarse semantic coding) and the tight and focused spread of activation in the left hemisphere (fine semantic coding) are required. During adolescence, the dynamic between the left and right hemispheres that enables the processing of metaphors is not yet established. Thus, the present study aimed to (1) test whether left-hand muscle contractions that activate the right hemisphere's sensory-motor regions can boost metaphor comprehension in adolescents; (2) compare conventional and novel metaphor processing (with no muscle contractions) in adolescents and adults. For the first goal, 83 adolescents between the ages of 14–16 squeezed a rubber ball with either their right hands, left hands, or not at all (control group) while presented with two-word expressions of four types: literal expressions, conventional metaphors, novel metaphors, and unrelated expressions. Results showed that left-hand muscle contractions led to more accurate processing of literal expressions and conventional and novel metaphors. However, the over-activation of the right hemisphere led to a decreased ability to process unrelated expressions. For the second goal, the adolescent control group was compared with an adult group of participants. Results revealed that despite a general disadvantage in language processing (including conventional metaphors), adolescents were more accurate in processing novel metaphors. Our findings suggest that adolescents' left lateralization for language is not yet established, resulting in over-reliance on coarse semantic coding. In addition, our results demonstrate the effectiveness of a simple, non-invasive technique for enhancing metaphor comprehension in adolescents. This technique may especially benefit adolescents who struggle with metaphor comprehension, such as adolescents with autistic spectrum disorders or with poor social skills.

Transformer-Based Language Models as Psycholinguistic Subjects: Focusing on Understanding Metaphor

Metaphor is a fundamental aspect of human language and cognition, playing a crucial role in communication, comprehension, and creative expression. In light of the recent advancements demonstrated by prominent language models, a pivotal question arises: Can these expansive language models effectively discern metaphorical knowledge? The primary objective involves comparing the surprisal values estimated from neural network language models like autoregressive and bidirectional language models to the reaction times of human when exposed to both metaphorical and literal sentences. Our secondary objective involves assessing the AI's comprehension of metaphors by utilizing the sensicality ratings generated by sophisticated ChatGPT. To achieve this, we used psycholinguistic methods, and adopted the experimental materials from Lai, Currana, and Menna (2009). We found the surprisal values estimated from the autoregressive language model demonstrate metaphor processing that closely resembles that of native speakers. Furthermore, ChatGPT's processing of conventional metaphorical sentences closely resembles its approach to literal sentences, mirroring the convergence observed in native speakers' ERP response to conventional metaphorical sentences and their alignment with that of literal sentences.

Knittedness: On the expressivity of knitting as metaphoric process

Knitted fabric is a part of everyday life for many, whether it be worn, made or metaphorically referenced. It can also be, when critically considered, an expressive practice with philosophical merit. The ostensibly simple looping of yarns into a continuous surface suggests conceptual depth through poetic comparisons to processes of living and storytelling, among others. The practice-led research project ‘Stranded colourwork: Meaning-making through experimental knitting practices’ worked to define the intrinsic qualities of knitting that make it meaningful, and to uncover its expressive potential as an experimental artistic practice. Through the creation of a series of figurative machine-knit artworks, the confluence of knitting and narrative created an opportunity to study the implications of stitched life. This article elucidates the theoretical framework behind the project and focuses on knittedness, a concept proposed through the research. Knittedness refers to the specific aesthetic and technical qualities inherent to the process, and how these qualities can become symbolically significant both in art making and in finding meaning and connection in life. The idea of pixelness is also proposed as an integral part of knitting and other pixelated processes, where the process and aesthetic quality is informed by a repetitive technical structure. These concepts can be expanded to advocate for a notion of craftedness, suggesting the value of determining the idiosyncratic expressivity of individual creative practices, and how a maker might use this knowledge to create technique-focused work and find new appreciation for the process.

Taking stock of an idiom's background assumptions: an alternative relevance theoretic account.

This paper begins by presenting the theoretical background of, and the accompanying psycholinguistic findings on, idiom processing. The paper then widens its lens by comparing the idiom processing literature to that of metaphor and irony. We do so partly to better understand the idiom superiority effect, according to which idiomatic sentences (unlike metaphoric and ironic ones) are generally processed faster than their literal controls; part of our motivation is to reconcile the differences between idiom processing, on the one hand, and metaphor and irony processing on the other. This ultimately leads us to Relevance Theory (RT), which has provided original insights into the processing of figurative language generally, but especially with respect to metaphor and irony. RT has paid less attention to idiomatic expressions (such as break the ice, fan the flames, or spill the beans), where one finds a single RT account that likens idioms to conventional metaphors. Through our overview, we ultimately arrive at an alternative RT account of idioms: We argue that idioms include a procedural meaning that takes into account relevant presuppositional information. For example, an idiomatic string such as break the ice not only asserts initiate social contact, it prompts the recovery of background assumptions such as there exists a social distance that calls for relief. This leads us (a) to apply linguistic-intuition tests of our presuppositional hypothesis, and; (b) to describe the paradigm and results from a pilot experiment. Both provide support for our claims. In doing so, we provide an original explanation for the idiom superiority effect.

A survey on computational metaphor processing techniques: from identification, interpretation, generation to application

A survey on computational metaphor processing techniques: from identification, interpretation, generation to application

The role of perceptual and action effector strength of graphs and bases of mathematical metaphors in the metaphorical processing of mathematical concepts.

Metaphors that describe an abstract concept in terms of a motion concept are widely used to enhance our understanding of abstract concepts. These metaphors are used not only in our daily language but also in learning mathematics. As an example, in the process of understanding the abstract representation of a mathematical concept, a graphical representation may play the role of a mediatory domain. This graphical representation could have a high degree of perceptual and action effector strength. This is particularly the case when a gestures (as a motion) is used to depict the graphical representation. After looking at this example, we discuss perceptual and action effector strength of the base domains of several mathematical metaphors that describe mathematical concepts in terms of spatial and motion concepts. Then, based on the data in the Lancaster Sensorimotor Norms, it is suggested that high degrees of perceptual and action effector strength of the base domains of these metaphors play an important role in the grounding of abstract mathematical concepts in the physical environment.

Metaphor processing: Referring and predicating

The general consensus emerging from decades of empirical investigation of metaphor processing is that, when appropriately contextualised, metaphorically used language is no more demanding of processing effort than literally used language. However, there is a small number of studies which contradict this position, notably Noveck, Bianco, and Castry (2001): they maintain that relevance-based pragmatic theory predicts increased cognitive costs incurred in deriving the extra effects that metaphors typically yield, and they provide experimental results that support this prediction. In our study, we first surveyed and assessed the tasks and stimulus materials of many experiments on metaphor processing from the 1970's to the present day. The most telling result was an apparent disparity between the processing of metaphorical language used predicatively versus referentially. We then ran two self-paced reading experiments to test our hypothesis that when used as a predicate, metaphorical language is no more costly than literal language, but when used referentially, it does incur extra costs, even given a preceding biasing context. In the first experiment, all metaphorical referring expressions were in subject position so occurred early in the sentence; in the second experiment, we controlled for any effect of sentence position by placing metaphorical referring expressions in object position, thus later in the sentence, similar to the predicate metaphors. In both cases, metaphorical referring incurred significantly greater costs relative to literal equivalents than did metaphorical predication, with no effect of sentence position. We end with a brief analysis of why the referential use of metaphor is special and effort-demanding.

Mapping models in novel metaphors and their effect on gaze behavior and default interpretations in native and target languages

In the study, we address the problem of existing differences in reading and understanding novel metaphors in the text fragments in native and target languages (L1 and L2), with these differences potentially attributed to both the specifics of forming analogies in native and target languages, and the mapping characteristics of metaphors. The study identifies the contingency effects of several primary metaphors onto the gaze behavior and default interpretation of textual novel metaphors in L1 (Russian) and L2 (English). To proceed, we use the text fragments in L1 and L2 containing novel metaphors appearing in more and less focal syntactic positions in a two-stage oculographic experiment. We obtain the participants’ gaze metrics values and the participants’ responses specifying the target domains of the novel metaphors, which further allows us to disclose the contingencies. Methodologically, the study is grounded in the metaphor processing theories developed in cognitive psychology, which explore the structure of analogical reasoning and associative fluency as manifesting potentially different effects in L1 and L2. To validate it, we also address the cognitive linguistic theories which provide the framework for identifying the primary metaphor models (here the models PATIENT (OBJECT) IS AGENT, PARTS ARE WHOLE, CONCRETE IS ABSTRACT) and for testing their effect onto information construal. We hypothesize that reading and understanding metaphors will proceed differently in L1 and L2, which is attributed to associative fluency in metaphor mapping in native and target languages. The experiment results do not show the differences in understanding the mapping model PATIENT (OBJECT) IS AGENT in L1 and L2, whereas these differences appear in understanding the models PARTS ARE WHOLE and CONCRETE IS ABSTRACT with higher default interpretation index in L1. The model PATIENT (OBJECT) IS AGENT is also found to stimulate higher gaze costs. The results suffice to claim that there are differences in the cognitive costs produced by primary metaphor models, which allows us to range and specify their role in information construal in L1 and L2.

Метафоризация медийного образа России (на материале английского языка)

The presented research article reflects the contextual content-semantic analysis of the concept of “media image of Russia” in media information field. Along with this, the method of media analysis of the text from the political and socio-cultural positions is implemented. The image of Russia is considered within the framework of media discourse through the use of metaphorization process. The designation is given to the manipulative essence
 of the US mass media. The concepts of “image of the country” and “media image of the country” are differentiated in the media plane context on the material of the US mass media texts. Various forms and means of creating a negative image of Russia within the media information field are established. The conducted research makes it possible to clarify the concept of stereotypical media information. The theoretical positions of the research actualize the analysis of the cognitive format of the media image of Russia in the US media, from today’s perspective. Both headline and text media materials are subject to research. The resulting database is represented by a wide range of thematic examples taken from media analysis of original articles of political nature.

Conceptual Metaphor and Cognition: From the Perspective of the Philosophy of Language

Metaphor remains a pivotal focus in the philosophy of language as Lakoff stresses that metaphor is a cognitive phenomenon of human beings and an indispensable part of key cognitive areas. By employing a vast number of metaphorical phenomena to demonstrate the intriguing correlation between language and cognitive structures, Lakoff proposes conceptual metaphor and integrated the study of metaphor into cognition, thereby breaking away from the shackles of traditional views on metaphor. Meanwhile Lakoff has realized the nature, mechanism and characteristics of metaphors from the cognitive perspective within the framework of philosophy of language. In terms of the transition from viewing metaphor as a rhetorical device to a cognitive pattern, relevant studies not merely emphasize on the linguistic form of the metaphor, but also on its essence as conceptual metaphor relying on the subjective cognition of language users as well as the external objective environment. On the basis of the philosophy of language, the essence of metaphor shall be defined and realized. Nowadays, machine translation is developing rapidly, but there are still many deficiencies in the use of AI affective computing and metaphor processing. Studies of metaphors and imagination in literary language can enhance the performance of AI in terms of machine translation and are expected to realize the true swarm intelligence in NLP.

Metaphoric synchrony in the development of an outdoor dance movement psychotherapy practice

This paper discusses the development, and frame of reference, for an intersubjective outdoor dance movement psychotherapy practice. Developing outdoor practice has raised my awareness, skills, understanding and application of nature-based interventions that support one-to-one DMP sessions with thriving human and more than-human ecological relationships. Key themes discussed as elements of practice are symbiotic relationships, cross-fertilisation of ideologies, sentient and animate reciprocity, earthly ethics, and metaphorical processes. The benefits of nature-based experiences for the embodied processes are exemplified in the therapeutic synchrony and outcomes of an allegorical client’s process. An additional positive outcome for clients is the significance of the outdoor safe space being a resource the client can return to without the therapist.

Priming shoppers’ well-being goal in grocery stores: Moving toward healthier food choices?

At the times of obesity epidemic, innovative ways to nudge food shoppers toward healthier choices are needed. Key ideas from the conceptual metaphor processing, food symbolism and contextual priming literatures are synthetized to argue for the idea that visual, olfactory and gustatory cues can activate shoppers’ well-being goal and guide their in-store movements and healthy food purchasing behaviors. Two field experiments, separated by an 8-month interval, are conducted in the same grocery store. The results show that priming the well-being goal in real store can push consumers to move toward spots where healthier options are available – materializing also into greater sales of yogurts, vegetables and heart healthy-labeled products. Counterintuitively, the well-being goal activation possibly first facilitate approaching indulgent foods. Yet, the actual sales of palatable foods such as ice cream and minced beef meat may in fact diminish. This research spurs numerable academic and practical implications.