Figurative Language: Understanding Figures of Speech, Idioms, and Metaphors, Summaries of Semantics of Programming Languages

Download Figurative Language: Understanding Figures of Speech, Idioms, and Metaphors and more Summaries Semantics of Programming Languages in PDF only on Docsity! CHAPTER 5 — - Figurative Language By: Wedyan Alssadi *Overview: e Figurative language is distinct from the literal language. ¢ Figurative language is a language that is used non-literally to create a special meaning. ¢ Figurative and Literal Language Literally: words function exactly as defined The car is blue. Figuratively: figure out what it means I’ve got your back. | /\ I've got your back e Figurative language employs figures of speech (kinds of figurative uses of language). e Ifthe real meaning is not understood, the figurative effect is lost. e The use of figurative language shows us how pragmatics complements semantics, because it goes beyond the literal meaning: inferring information beyond semantics. Q: What is the difference between idioms and figures of speech like similes, metaphors, and hyperbole? e Figures of speech (metaphor, simile, metonymy etc.) are different from idioms because figures of speech can be interpreted according to general, cognitive, principles, while idioms have to be learnt. e An idiom is an expression that conveys something different from its literal meaning, and that cannot be guessed from the meanings of its individual words. (kick the bucket) Arabic Body Parts English Body Parts Idioms Meaning Idioms Meaning cna! eles Refer to trustworthy Costan arm anda z 1 a Very expensive (your right arm) person leg peel ye gly Le abs)! oe A The family should _ Point the finger at 2 (the nail is not coming To blame someone not become enemies someone out of the meat) ; To be an HELST Gdye Ga ety OBES! eye G9 . Have achip onyour _ because you think 3 (show me your To fire someone shoulder you have been shoulders) : treated unfairly ab n 4 Usb owe Thief Give somebody.a To help someone (his hand is long) hand e A figure of speech is a phrase or an expression that expresses an idea by using words in a nonliteral and imaginative way. Unlike an idiom, it is possible to understand a figure of speech even if you have never heard it before. Q: What about coinages? e The invention of a totally new term is called coinage. e Coinages (new words) are not figures of speech because they don't yet have established literal meanings. e COINAGES ARE OFTEN IMAGINATIVE (e.g. Google). e A figurative interpretation is an explicature (stage 2 interpretation) that involves treating words as if they had meanings different from their literal ones. e The context helps decide which is the right interpretation. e The reason why a particular figurative interpretation is chosen as better than another is that a literal interpretation is somehow inappropriate (untrue, too obvious, or empty of content). e In poetry the figurative interpretation of language is more common (e.g. a poem). e A type of figurative language, in which the intended meaning of an expression is the opposite of the literal meaning. e It is a figure of speech in which the intended meaning is the opposite of that expressed by the words used o Ex. "How nice!" she said, when I told her I had to work all weekend e The object of the irony is to mock or ridicule the words or opinions of someone else. 1. VERBAL IRONY: what is said is the opposite of what is meant. Ex. when we open the window in the morning and see a bad weather we say “What a beautiful day”. Looking at her son's messy room, Mom says, "Wow, you could win an award for cleanliness! On the way to school, the school bus gets a flat tire and the bus driver says, "Excellent! This day couldn't start off any better!" 2. SITUATIONAL IRONY: when the outcome of a certain situation is completely different from what is expected; it can be called irony of events. o Ex."a fire station burns down". A traffic cop gets suspended for not paying his parking tickets e A figure of speech that involves a relation of association. o Ex. "Japan were beaten 0-1 by Saudi", the words Japan and Saudi are not used to denote the countries, but to refer indirectly to football teams representing those countries. Bas lew We will swear loyalty to the crown. # Types of Metonymy relations: material — object of it' (She is wearing a fox); ‘container — containee' (I ate three plates) 1 2. 3. ‘place — people' (The city is asleep) 4. ‘producer — product’ (We bought a Picasso); 5 ‘whole — part' (We have 10 heads here); #Note: The term for a figuratively-used word (or phrase) is vehicle. The vehicle carries the figurative meaning Ex. "He devoured the book in 2 hours", devour is the vehicle for reading. e Isa figure of speech containing an implied comparison, in which a word or phrase generally used for one thing is applied to another. e aword or phrase for one thing that is used to refer to another thing in order to show or suggest that they are similar. o Ex, "Time is money” Heart of stone She's a night owl Life is a highway Her eyes were diamonds. e Metaphors tend to provoke more thoughts and feelings than literal descriptions do. o Ex, “All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players [...]” This quote is a metaphor because the world is not literally a stage. Shakespeare makes a comparison between the world and a stage to convey an understanding about the mechanics of the world and the lives of the people within it. # Metaphor VS Simile: ___Simile_ __|_ Metaphor _ Compares two different things. Compares two different things. Something is like or as something | Something is something else. else. e ° For example: For example: * He was as quiet as a mouse. * Ali is a walking dictionary. * She swam like a fish. 7 > * Time is money. e¢ Ametaphor is distinct from, but related to a simile: a simile uses the word like or as to compare two things, while a metaphor simply suggests that the dissimilar things are the same. ¢ Metaphors are just similes with the Hike-erased. o Ex. "She is Htkea rose." # Metaphor VS Metonymy: e Unlike metaphor, metonymy is not based on a relation of similarity or analogy. e Metaphor is used for substitution, while metonymy is used for association. e Often metaphors are difficult to understand because the reader might not have the needed presuppositions to understand the vehicle. e Metaphor interpretation is more difficult than metonymy interpretation because in metonymy the vehicle indicates the significant aspects of the referent , whereas in metaphor an idea is pointed to and it is left to the addressee to find its salient features for a satisfactory interpretation. e This is the case with proper name metaphors. e Proper names do not have conventional meanings that language users know from knowing the language. o Ex. if I hear "He is a Donald Trump", I can only understand the sense of this sentence if I know something about the president of US. Out of context, this sentence could be interpreted either literally (he is a person who has the name Donald Trump) or metaphorically (he is a person who is similar in some ways to the person who is now president of the US). Note: Idioms VS Metaphor VS Proverbs IDIOM — an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements, as ‘kick the bucket’ — to die. PROVERB — a short popular saying, usually of unknown and ancient origin, that expresses effectively some commonplace truth or useful thought, as ‘a stitch in time saves nine’ — prompt attention to minor problems will avoid bigger problems later (or literally, take care of one loose stitch now and you may avoid having to sew up nine stitches later) METAPHOR ~ a figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison, as in “a sea of troubles” or “All the world's a stage” (Shakespeare)