Scarica Figurative Language: Metaphors, Idioms, and Lexical Phrases e più Schemi e mappe concettuali in PDF di Lingua Inglese solo su Docsity!
METAPHOR
A metaphor is a figure of speech that describes an object or action in a way that isn’t literally true, but helps explain an idea or make a comparison. A metaphor states that one thing is another thing. It equates those two things not because they actually are the same, but for the sake of comparison or symbolism If you take a metaphor literally, it will probably sound very strange. Metaphors are used in poetry, literature, and anytime someone wants to add some color to their language. New metaphors make sense of our experience in the same way conventional metaphors do: they provide coherent structure, highlighting some things and hiding others.
ORIENTATIONAL METAPHOR
An orientational metaphor is a metaphor in which concepts are spatially related to each other. For example the happy-as-up and the sad-as- down: I'm feeling up.
ONTOLOGICAL METAPHOR
An ontological metaphor is a metaphor in which an abstraction, such as an activity, emotion, or idea, is represented as something concrete, such as an object, substance, container, or person.
SEMANTIC CHANGE
Semantic Extensions Extensions in meaning occur when the set of appropriate contexts or referents for a word increases. The name of the fictional character Scrooge can be used to refer to anyone with miserly traits.The name of a particular traitor has been generalized to any traitor. The meanings of words often become less narrow as a result of what is referred to as metaphorical extension. We can also find cases of metaphorical extension in progress in the language around us, particularly if we consider creative uses of slang terms. Consider the use of the verb nuke to refer to microwave cooking. In this case, the metaphor hinges on the idea that microwave radiation is released during nuclear explosions. Semantic Reductions
Reductions occur when the set of appropriate contexts or referents for a word decreases. Historically speaking, this is relatively less common than extensions of meaning, though it still occurs fairly frequently. For example Skyline originally referred to the horizon in general. It has since been restricted to particular types of horizons. Semantic Elevations Semantic elevations occur when a word takes on somewhat grander or more positive connotations over time. For example the word knight. Semantic Degradations Semantic degradations are the opposite of semantic elevations; they occur when a word acquires a more pejorative meaning over time. For example the word lust. It is interesting to note that semantic changes in one word of a language are often accompanied by (or result in) semantic changes in another word.
IDIOMS
Idioms exist in every language. They are words or phrases that aren’t meant to be taken literally. For example, if you say someone has “cold feet,” it doesn’t mean their toes are actually cold. Rather, it means they’re nervous about something. Idioms can’t be deduced merely by studying the words in the phrase. If taken literally, you would think that someone with cold feet has… cold feet. But, after living with a certain group of people for a period of time, you’ll start to pick up their expressions. You can’t really deduce the meaning of these expressions without knowing what they mean. The next time someone says they’re feeling “under the weather,” you’ll know it has nothing to do with weather patterns, but rather that they’re feeling quite ill. Getting fired turned out to be a blessing in disguise. - Getting fired (normally a negative event) turned out to be a good thing.
PRINCIPLE OF COMPOSITIONALITY
The meaning of a sentence (or any other multi-word expression) is a function of the meanings of the words it contains and the way in which these words are syntactically combined. The principle of compositionality simply states that the meanings of multi-word expressions are
COLLOCATIONS
There are many possible definitions of collocation, but, in linguistics, they mostly boil down to the notion of a syntagmatic relationship among words which co-occur. A collocation is two or more words that often go together. These combinations just sound "right" to native English speakers, who use them all the time. On the other hand, other combinations may be unnatural and just sound "wrong". For example fast food.
LEXICAL PHRASES
Lexical phrases are sequences of words that collocate, are often idiomatic, have a high-frequency of occurrence, and perform specific rhetorical functions that can be applied across multiple disciplines and discourse types. A lexical phrase is a group of words which forms a grammatical unit of some kind and which exhibits a degree of 'inflexibility'. Some lexical phrases are totally 'frozen' (unchangeable) while others are rather variable.
LEXICAL BUNDLES
Lexical bundles are defined as recurrent sequences of three or more words that occur in high frequency across texts. They are re combinations of three or more words which are identified empirically in a corpus of natural language. Some examples of lexical bundles are expressions such as take a look at, I don't know, on the other hand.
PROVERBS
Pragmatic characteristics of proverbs include advice and warning, instruction and explaining, and communicating common experience and observations. They are not the words of the speaker, but quotations from a canon of proverbs shared by members of a community.A proverb is a simple, concrete, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic language. Examples: better late than never, don’t put the cart before the horse, an apple a day keeps the doctor away, the ball is in your court, you can’t get blood from a stone, just as the sun rises in the east.
COMPOUNDS
A compound is, in fact, the creation of a word with a unique meaning by combining two existing words, and in English many compounds in fact are written as two separate words. Compounds show asymmetry, with the second of the two words usually the head or core of the combination —for example, desk computer describes a type of computer and computer desk describes a type of desk.
PHRASAL VERBS
Phrasal verbs are a particularly English type of formulaic language phenomenon. They are verbs combined with a preposition or particle, or both, with often nonliteral meanings, or both literal and figurative interpretations, like idioms. Three structural categories exists Verb + preposition (prepositional phrasal verbs) Help me look after Jake’s dog for the weekend. Verb + particle (particle phrasal verbs) You should bring that up at the next meeting Verb + particle + preposition (particle-prepositional phrasal verbs) I am not putting up with any more outbursts from her. Three criteria exist for determining whether an item is in act a phrasal verb : 1 A phrasal verb does not permit insertion of an adverb between its components, for example, we cannot say, The kids loaded slowly up on chocolates before we got there. 2 A phrasal verb particle cannot be forefronted in a sentence, for example, we cannot say, Up with I am not putting any more outbursts. 3 A phrasal verb never exists as only literal in meaning, but must have some degree of figurative meaning, as seen in the examples above.
POLITICALLY CORRECT
The principle of PC language is to avoid the use of words that might insult or intimidate someone. For example some gender-specific-words like “mankind” should be avoided. However, some words were not originally meant to be discriminative but now they are regarded in this way. It is also important to avoid insensitive language like “to kill two birds with one stone”; or ability specific language like “people with learning disabilities”. In short it is important to avoid offensive language
