Synesthetic Metaphors Research Articles

СИНЕСТЕЗИЯ КАК ОСОБЕННОСТЬ ХУДОЖЕСТВЕННОГО МИРА ЮРГИСА БАЛТРУШАЙТИСА В КОНТЕКСТЕ РУССКОЙ СИМВОЛИСТСКОЙ ПОЭЗИИ

The speci fi c use of synesthetic metaphor in Yurgis Baltrushaitis’ poetic world is taken into consideration in the article. It is shown that the symbolists’ language concept was aimed at restoring its “magic function”. In the art of the XX century the word was to unite reality and dream. Symbolists paid special attention to phonetic organization and expressive means of the language. Synesthetic metaphor, based upon combining several senses, was one of the widely spread expressive means in symbolists’ poetry. It is proved that all the expressive means in Yurgis Baltrushaitis’ poetry were used to reveal the lyrical plot of a verse in the most detailed way. The peculiarities of synesthetic metaphors use are analyzed in early poet’s verses and in his later works. The structure, functions and patterns synesthetic metaphors are built by are taken into consideration in Yurgis Baltrushaitis’ poems and in creative works of other symbolists. It is shown that pattern hearing – sight is the most typical in Yurgis Baltrushaitis’ poetry. In Yurgis Baltrushaitis’ poems devoted to the problem of tragic character of man’s earth being synesthetic metaphor is the composite center. The poet uses metaphor to describe lyrical character’s emotional state. Synesthesia unites words and contributes to their fi gurative fi lling. More complicated patterns of synesthetic metaphors are characteristic of later Yurgis Baltrushaitis’ poems. All the patterns of synesthetic metaphors are used to form the main lyrical mood of his poems. Key words : synesthesia, synesthetic metaphor, lyrics, symbol, poetic world

Сенсорные характеристики вина как объект синестетической метафоры в интернет-пространстве

Сенсорные характеристики вина как объект синестетической метафоры в интернет-пространстве

A Study on the Extended Meaning of the Chinese Word ‘甜’

The purpose of this study is to explore the extended meaning of the Chinese word ‘甜(sweet)’, which is based on the viewpoint of a synesthetic metaphor and conceptual representation. The sense of taste, smell, hearing, sight, and touch all influence a human’s basic physical experience and they play an important role in semantics. First, the taste ‘甜(sweet)’ is extended in terms of perception such as the sense of hearing to the sense of smell and to the sense of sight. Moreover, ‘甜(sweet)’ is extended to other ideas such as ‘甜美的氣味(a sweet smell)’, ‘美好的聲音(a sweet voice)’ and ‘甜美的笑容(a sweet smile)’. Secondly, as the base of a metaphor is iconicity, the base of a synesthetic metaphor is also iconicity. Here, iconicity means the taste ‘甜(sweet)’ can extend its perception of pleasantness to other senses, which has been proven in biology. Finally, the taste ‘甜(sweet)’ can also be extended to a psychological sense based on the conceptual blending theory.

SYNAMET - A Microcorpus of Synesthetic Metaphors. Preliminary Premises of the Description of Metaphor in Discourse

SYNAMET - A Microcorpus of Synesthetic Metaphors. Preliminary Premises of the Description of Metaphor in DiscourseThis article describes the preliminary premises of metaphor annotation in SYNAMET - the developing microcorpus of synesthetic metaphors. The analysis is based on the CLST theory (Context-Limited Simulation Theory) put forward by D. Ritchie. According to this theory, the metaphor’s vehicle may activate various types of associations between words: semantic relations, perceptual sensations, or emotional simulations. The range of potential associations evoked by the vehicle is limited by the topic, i.e. the lexical context in which the metaphor appears. The relations between the vehicle and the topic may be presented in the form of a semantic frame.To reconstruct the frames within the project, linguistic works devoted to sensory perception- vision, hearing, smell and taste- will be utilized. The corpus annotation will consist of the following stages: 1) metaphor identification, 2) indication of the metaphor cluster (CM) - a phrase or a passage of the text, centered around one referent, 3) isolation of the metaphorical units (MU) - word forms or phrases combining lexemes primarily belonging to different perceptual frames.The outcome of the MU analysis will include: a general metaphorical scheme of the MU, lexical items activating the frame of the MU (together with their grammatical description), a detailed metaphor scheme of the MU, and the semantic and grammatical categorization of the MU. SYNAMET – mikrokorpus metafor synestezyjnych. Wstępne założenia opisu metafory w dyskursieArtykuł opisuje wstępne założenia anotacji metafor w powstającym mikrokorpusie metafor synestezyjnych SYNAMET. Podstawą metody opisu będzie teoria CLST (Context-Limited Simulation Theory) D. Ritchie’go. W myśl tej teorii nośnik metafory (vehicle) może aktywować różne typy powiązania między wyrazami: semantyczne, zmysłowe lub emocjonalne. Potencjalny zakres powiązań nośnika ogranicza topik (topic), czyli kontekst, w którym metafora się pojawia. Powiązania nośnika oraz topiku przedstawia się w postaci ram interpretacyjnych.W rekonstrukcji ram na potrzeby korpusu wykorzystane zostaną prace językoznawcze poświęcone percepcji zmysłowej: wzrokowi, słuchowi, zapachowi, smakowi. Anotacja korpusu będzie przebiegać według następującego schematu: 1) identyfikacja metafor, 2) wyodrębnienie w tekście układu metaforycznego (UM) – frazy lub fragmentu tekstu, zorganizowanego wokół jednego referenta, 3) wyodrębnienie jednostek metaforycznych (JM) – form wyrazowych lub fraz, w których występuje połączenie leksemów przynależnych prymarnie do różnych ram percepcyjnych.Wyniki analizy JM zostaną przestawione w postaci: ogólnego schematu metaforycznego, zestawu wyrazów aktywujących ramy (wraz z ich opisem gramatycznym), szczegółowego schematu metaforycznego, kategoryzacji semantycznej i gramatycznej metafor.

Synesthetic Metaphors: Aspects of Intralingual and Interlingual Translation

Abstract In the last decade, several studies have been conducted to contrast the way synesthetic metaphors are perceived in various languages, however, these studies have not addressed translation of this type of metaphor. The paper aims to analyze synesthetic metaphors considering aspects of interlingual and intralingual translation in three working languages, English, Latvian and Russian. Samples selected from a variety of literary and promotional texts are analyzed to identify translation challenges and solutions. It is demonstrated that synesthetic metaphors composed following adjective-noun pattern display a relatively high degree of translatability whereas synesthetic metaphors based on linguistic iconicity may pose translation problems.

The Cognitive Function of Synesthetic Metaphor

This paper aims to introduce the cognitive fuction of synesthetic metaphor under the framework of Conceptual Metaphor Theory. By studying this, more information about the nature of synesthetic metaphor can be learnt.

METAFORA DALAM KUMPULAN CERPEN CHUBB CHATTĀ ATHRĀFI ‘L-ASHĀBI’ KARYA AHCMAD AL-GHARBĀWĪ

This paper is aimed to disscuss metaphor in the anthology of short stories Chubb Chatta Athrafi’l-Ashabi‟ written by Ahcmad Al-Gharbawi (2010). The short stories anthology has studied because there are metaphores utterance used in. Three metodes are used inthis research, that are the metod of collecting data, analyzing data, and reporting data analyzing. Depends on the study of metaphor in this short stories anthology, there are four metaphor used, namely anthropomorphic metaphor, animal metaphor, from concret to abstract metaphor, and synesthetic metaphor. The function of metaphors in that anthology is expressive function from the writter to arise the puitical and interestical style in his work, so it makes the readers not to be boring to follow the story.

Describing Sensory Experience: The Genre of Wine Reviews

The purpose of the article is to shed light on how experiences of sensory perceptions in the domains of vision, smell, taste, and touch are recast into text and discourse in the genre of wine reviews. Because of the alleged paucity of sensory vocabularies, in particular in the olfactory domain, it is of particular interest to investigate what resources language has to offer in order to describe those experiences. We show that the main resources are, on the one hand, words evoking properties that are applicable cross-modally and properties of objects that range over more than one domain, and on the other, vivid imagery that compares the characteristics of the wine with people, buildings, animals, and the hustle and bustle of market places and other events. The second goal is to account for the construals of the meanings of the expressions used in the recontextualization into written discourse in the light of their apparent flexibility across the descriptions of the sensory experiences. In contrast to a large body of the literature on sensory meanings in language, we argue that the descriptors of properties such as sharp, soft, lemon, and cherry used to describe a wine's qualities across the sensory domains are not polysemous synesthetic metaphors, but monosemous synesthetic metonymizations, more precisely zone activations. With regard to the imagery used, the construals represented cover both similes, metaphorizations and metonymizations proper.

On the Study of Synesthesia and Synesthetic Metaphor

This paper aims to introduce a brief review on the study of synesthesia from two different perspectives. By presenting these different findings from various approaches, more information about the nature of synesthesia can be learnt.

“Synesthetic metaphor of” the hypothesis of unidirectional For specifics of the senses

“Synesthetic metaphor of” the hypothesis of unidirectional For specifics of the senses

Food as a Source and Target of Metaphors: Inclusion and Exclusion of Foodstuffs and Persons through Metaphors

Food is an engine and source of metaphorical meanings that permeates our life. Apples can incorporate references of sin or toxin or simple land life, and tomatoes, blood and love. Fast food symbolically represents for many items of the American Dream. Olives are seen as signs of peace. However, foodstuffs are not only the source, but also the target of metaphorical meanings, contrary to the central dogma of Lakoff and Johnson that there is only a one-way traffic from target to source. In daily life, we use an elaborate system of implicit metaphorical references in tasting food: a glass of Bordeaux wine tastes like berries, in oysters some taste a kiss and others snot. In this essay, four different types of life- and food-styles on the basis of the work of Mary Douglas are distinguished: hierarchy (traditional, authentic, natural food); enclave (elitist, high-culture food); competitive individualist (fast food); and eclectic individualist (i.e., slow food). It is argued that in particularly the second and fourth individualizing food-styles synesthetic metaphors play a larger role than in the others. This implies that Douglas’s contention that the metaphors are not based on material reference but on social categories alone cannot be upheld. Moreover, I show on the basis of qualitative research that there is intensive border crossing between the four types of lifestyles which is also contrary to Douglas’s theory; these four styles allow for ambivalence and ambiguities and are not strictly separated from one another. Finally, the metaphors used in framing foodstuffs and nonfood things like persons convey respect and discrimination as well. Because metaphors function in the distribution of respect and nonrespect, they have an inherent ethical component.

Manner-of-motion verbs in wine description

Manner-of-motion verbs are frequently used in English narratives to portray motion events in vivid terms. This use of motion verbs contrasts with their use in non-narrative texts where the verbs are used to qualify static entities, and often instantiate figurative phenomena. The present paper explores the use of motion verbs in the descriptive-plus-evaluative genre of the wine tasting note. The discussion draws upon the results of an ongoing research project dealing with figurative language in wine discourse, and is theoretically anchored in research done in cognitive linguistics. My goals in this paper are two: on the one hand, I describe the way the expressions are used in the genre and the reasons underlying this use; on the other, I discuss the figurative motivation of the motion verbs in the genre under analysis, particularly their reliance on synesthetic metaphor and metonymy, respectively.

Synesthetic metaphor: A cognitive perspective

The theory of conceptual metaphor claims that poetic metaphor basically uses the same cognitive mechanisms as everyday metaphor; and what makes poetic metaphor look different, however is its extension, elaboration, and combination of those mechanisms in ways that go beyond the ordinary. In light of this claim, the present study focuses on a particular kind of metaphor, synesthetic metaphor, with data extracted from the novels and short stories by Mo Yan, a preeminent contemporary Chinese novelist highly acclaimed for his innovation with language. An analysis shows that his use of synesthetic metaphors (as well as other metaphors and figures), although very novel and unusual, largely conforms to some general tendencies found in both ordinary and poetic language by previous empirical studies. The finding supports the claim that human meaning and understanding are embodied, constrained by the kind of body we have and how it functions.

Loud Tastes, Colored Fragrances, and Scented Sounds: How and When to Mix the Senses in Persuasive Communications

Synesthetic, or cross-sensory, associations equate sense A to sense B and are prevalent in persuasive language in mass communication. Consider, for example, “Bright Crunch” (for Sun Crunchers cereal) and “the Loudest Taste on Earth” (for Doritos), which are examples of synesthetic advertising claims. Based on theory of synesthesia and of metaphor, this research tests whether the literal use of both senses A and B by the product inhibits our appreciation of synesthetic language and thus reduces its persuasive impact. Findings are discussed with respect to the underlying processes by which synesthetic metaphors persuade and the implications for sensory-rich media.

Theory of Synesthesia Applied to Persuasion in Print Advertising Headlines

Synesthetic metaphors are prevalent historically in popular culture, including advertising. Such metaphors equate sense A to sense B, such as hearing to sight, as demonstrated in the advertising headline, “Can't You Just Hear This Color?” In clinical terms, synesthesia is a rare condition in which stimulation of one sense produces an involuntary perception in another. For example, a person actually sees vivid, corresponding colors when listening to sound. Although awareness of synesthesia began with the study of synesthetes, the general population can enjoy a synesthetic experience metaphorically. As a consequence of its clinical roots, psychological implications, and aesthetic impact, synesthesia has received attention in diverse disciplines. The experiment reported here tests hypotheses regarding the persuasive impact of synesthetic metaphor in print advertising headlines. Findings suggest that in some circumstances, synesthetic headlines produce less, rather than more, favorable attitudes toward the advertisement and brand than literal equivalents.

On cross-modal similarity: auditory-visual interactions in speeded discrimination.

A series of four experiments explored how cross-modal similarities between sensory attributes in vision and hearing reveal themselves in speeded, two-stimulus discrimination. When subjects responded differentially to stimuli on one modality, speed and accuracy of response were greater on trials accompanied by informationally irrelevant "matching" versus "mismatching" stimuli from the other modality. Cross-modal interactions appeared in (a) responses to dim/bright lights and to dark/light colors accompanied by low-pitched/high-pitched tones; (b) responses to low-pitched/high-pitched tones accompanied by dim/bright lights or by dark/light colors; (c) responses to dim/bright lights, but not to dark/light colors, accompanied by soft/loud sounds; and (d) responses to rounded/sharp forms accompanied by low-pitched/high-pitched tones. These results concur with findings on cross-modal perception, synesthesia, and synesthetic metaphor, which reveal similarities between pitch and brightness, pitch and lightness, loudness and brightness, and pitch and form. The cross-modal interactions in response speed and accuracy may take place at a sensory/perceptual level of processing or after sensory stimuli are encoded semantically.

Perceiving Similarity and Comprehending Metaphor

We conducted a series of 3 experiments to assess the comprehension of 4 types of cross-modal (synesthetic) similarities in nearly 500 3.5-13.5-year-old children and more than 100 adults. We tested both perceptual and verbal (metaphoric) modes. Children of all ages and adults matched pitch to brightness and loudness to brightness, thereby showing that even very young children recognize perceptual similarities between hearing and vision. Children did not consistently recognize similarity between pitch and size until about age 11. This difference in developmental timetables is compatible with the view that pitch-brightness and loudness-brightness similarities are intrinsic characteristics of perception (characteristics based, perhaps, on common sensory codes), whereas pitch-size similarity may be learned (perhaps through association of size with resonance properties). In a parallel verbal task, even 4-year-old children showed at least some capacity to translate meanings metaphorically from one modality to another (e.g., rating "low pitched" as dim and "high pitched" as bright). But not all literal meanings produced metaphoric equivalents in the youngest children (e.g., rating "sunlight" brighter but not louder than "moonlight"). Improvements with age in making metaphoric translations of synesthetic expressions paralleled increasing differentiation of meanings along literal dimensions and increasing capacity to integrate meanings of components in compound expressions. We postulate that perceptual knowledge about objects and events is represented in terms of locations in a multidimensional space; cross-modal similarities imply that the space is also multimodal. Verbal processes later gain access to this graded perceptual knowledge, thus permitting the interpretation of synesthetic metaphors according to the rules of cross-modal perception.

Bright sneezes and dark coughs, loud sunlight and soft moonlight.

Synesthetic metaphors (such as "the dawn comes up like thunder") are expressions in which words or phrases describing experiences proper to one sense modality transfer their meanings to another modality. In a series of four experiments, subjects used scales of loudness, pitch, and brightness to evaluate the meanings of a variety of synesthetic (auditory-visual) metaphors. Loudness and pitch expressed themselves metaphorically as greater brightness; in turn, brightness expressed itself as greater loudness and as higher pitch. Although loudness thus shared with brightness a metaphorical connection, pitch and brightness showed a connection that was closer and that applied more generally to different kinds of visual brightness. The ways that people evaluate synesthetic metaphors emulate the characteristics of synesthetic perception, thereby suggesting that synesthesia in perception and synesthesia in language both may emenate from the same source-from a phenomenological similarity in the makeup of sensory experiences of different modalities.

Synesthetic perception and poetic metaphor.

To explore the role of cross-modal perception in the apprehension of synesthetic metaphors, subjects read 15 short lines from poetry, each of which contained a metaphor relating visual and auditory qualities; the subjects' task was to set the loudness of a 1000-Hz tone and the brightness of a white light to match the levels implied by each metaphor. The sound settings and light settings suggest that a cross-modal equivalence between loudness and brightness largely underlay the responses to the metaphors. This general cross-modal equivalence was characterized by some notable intersubject differences and was modified, in part, by certain metaphors that resisted complete equivalence. Even so, the metaphorically induced settings of loudness and brightness are mainly governed by a cross-modality matching function that is qualitatively like the relation found in people with visual-auditory synesthesia, and that is quantitatively like the function obtained in more traditional psychophysical studies.