Literal and figurative language

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Literal and figurative language is a distinction that exists in all natural languages; it is studied within certain areas of language analysis, in particular stylistics, rhetoric, and semantics.

Contents

Literal usage confers meaning to words, in the sense of the meaning they have by themselves. [2] It maintains a consistent meaning regardless of the context, [3] with the intended meaning of a phrase corresponding exactly to the meaning of its individual words. [4] On the contrary, figurative use of language (a later offshoot being the term figure of speech ) is the use of words or phrases with a meaning that does make literal sense but that might also be true. [5]

The Ancient Greek philosopher of rhetoric Aristotle and later the Roman rhetorician Quintilian were among the early documented language analysts who expounded on the differences between literal and figurative language. [6] A comprehensive scholarly examination of metaphor in antiquity, and the way its early emergence was fostered by Homer's epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey , is provided by William Bedell Stanford, Greek Metaphor, [7]

In 1769, Frances Brooke's novel The History of Emily Montague was used in the earliest Oxford English Dictionary citation for the figurative sense of literally; the sentence from the novel used was, "He is a fortunate man to be introduced to such a party of fine women at his arrival; it is literally to feed among the lilies." [8] This citation was also used in the OED's 2011 revision. [8]

Within literary analysis, such terms are still used; but within the fields of cognition and linguistics, the basis for identifying such a distinction is no longer used. [9]

Figurative language

Uses of figurative language, or figures of speech, can take multiple forms, such as simile, metaphor, hyperbole, and many others. [10] Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature says that figurative language can be classified in five categories: resemblance or relationship, emphasis or understatement, figures of sound, verbal games, and errors. [11]

A simile [12] is a comparison of two things, indicated by some connective, usually "like", "as", "than", or a verb such as "resembles" to show how they are similar. [13]

Example: "His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry.../And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow." (emph added)—Clement Clark Moore [14]

A metaphor [15] is a figure of speech in which two "essentially unlike things" are shown to have a type of resemblance or create a new image. [16] The similarities between the objects being compared may be implied rather than directly stated. [16] The literary critic and rhetorician, I. A. Richards, divides a metaphor into two parts: the vehicle and the tenor. [17]

Example: "Fog comes on little cat feet"—Carl Sandburg [18] In this example, “little cat feet” is the vehicle that clarifies the tenor, “fog.” A comparison between the vehicle and tenor (also called the teritium comparitionis ) is implicit: fog creeps in silently like a cat.

An extended metaphor is a metaphor that is continued over multiple sentences. [19] [20]

Example: "The sky steps out of her daywear/Slips into her shot-silk evening dress./An entourage of bats whirr and swing at her hem, ...She's tried on every item in her wardrobe." Dilys Rose [21]

Onomatopoeia is a word designed to be an imitation of a sound. [22]

Example: “Bark! Bark!” went the dog as he chased the car that vroomed past.

Personification [23] is the attribution of a personal nature or character to inanimate objects or abstract notions, [24] especially as a rhetorical figure.

Example: "Because I could not stop for Death,/He kindly stopped for me;/The carriage held but just ourselves/And Immortality."—Emily Dickinson. Dickinson portrays death as a carriage driver. [24]

An oxymoron is a figure of speech in which a pair of opposite or contradictory terms is used together for emphasis. [25]

Examples: Organized chaos, Same difference, Bittersweet.

A paradox is a statement or proposition which is self-contradictory, unreasonable, or illogical. [26]

Example: This statement is a lie.

Hyperbole is a figure of speech which uses an extravagant or exaggerated statement to express strong feelings. [27]

Example: They had been walking so long that John thought he might drink the entire lake when they came upon it.

Allusion is a reference to a famous character or event.

Example: A single step can take you through the looking glass if you're not careful.

An idiom is an expression that has a figurative meaning often related, but different from the literal meaning of the phrase.

Example: You should keep your eye out for him.

A pun is an expression intended for a humorous or rhetorical effect by exploiting different meanings of words.

Example: I wondered why the ball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.

Standard pragmatic model of comprehension

Prior to the 1980s, the "standard pragmatic" model of comprehension was widely believed. In that model, it was thought the recipient would first attempt to comprehend the meaning as if literal, but when an appropriate literal inference could not be made, the recipient would shift to look for a figurative interpretation that would allow comprehension. [28] Since then, research has cast doubt on the model. In tests, figurative language was found to be comprehended at the same speed as literal language; and so the premise that the recipient was first attempting to process a literal meaning and discarding it before attempting to process a figurative meaning appears to be false. [29]

Reddy and contemporary views

Beginning with the work of Michael Reddy in his 1979 work "The Conduit Metaphor", many linguists now reject that there is a valid way to distinguish between a "literal" and "figurative" mode of language. [30]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metaphor</span> Figure of speech of implicit comparison

A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to create a likeness or an analogy.

An oxymoron is a figure of speech that juxtaposes concepts with opposite meanings within a word or in a phrase that is a self-contradiction. As a rhetorical device, an oxymoron illustrates a point to communicate and reveal a paradox. A general meaning of "contradiction in terms" is recorded by the 1902 edition of the Oxford English Dictionary.

A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two things. Similes are often contrasted with metaphors, where similes necessarily compare two things using words such as "like", "as", "so", or "than", while metaphors often create an implicit comparison. However, there are two schools of thought regarding the relationship between similes and metaphors. The first defines them as opposites, such that a statement cannot be both a simile and a metaphor — if it uses a comparison word such as "like" then it is a simile; if not, it is a metaphor. The second school considers metaphor to be the broader category, in which similes are a subcategory — according to which every simile is also a metaphor. These two schools reflect differing definitions and usages of the word "metaphor" and whether or not it encompasses similes, but both agree that similes always involve a direct comparison work such as "like".

An idiom is a phrase or expression that usually presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase. Some phrases which become figurative idioms, however, do retain the phrase's literal meaning. Categorized as formulaic language, an idiom's figurative meaning is different from the literal meaning. Idioms occur frequently in all languages; in English alone there are an estimated twenty-five thousand idiomatic expressions.

A connotation is a commonly understood cultural or emotional association that any given word or phrase carries, in addition to its explicit or literal meaning, which is its denotation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Synonym</span> Words or phrases of the same meaning

A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words begin, start, commence, and initiate are all synonyms of one another: they are synonymous. The standard test for synonymy is substitution: one form can be replaced by another in a sentence without changing its meaning. Words may often be synonymous in only one particular sense: for example, long and extended in the context long time or extended time are synonymous, but long cannot be used in the phrase extended family. Synonyms with exactly the same meaning share a seme or denotational sememe, whereas those with inexactly similar meanings share a broader denotational or connotational sememe and thus overlap within a semantic field. The former are sometimes called cognitive synonyms and the latter, near-synonyms, plesionyms or poecilonyms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metonymy</span> Figure of speech in which something is referred to by the name of an associated thing

Metonymy is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Figure of speech</span> Change of the expected pattern of words

A figure of speech or rhetorical figure is a word or phrase that intentionally deviates from straightforward language use or literal meaning to produce a rhetorical or intensified effect. In the distinction between literal and figurative language, figures of speech constitute the latter. Figures of speech are traditionally classified into schemes, which vary the ordinary sequence of words, and tropes, where words carry a meaning other than what they ordinarily signify.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Synecdoche</span> Figure of speech

Synecdoche is a type of metonymy; it is a figure of speech in which a term for a part of something is used to refer to the whole, or vice versa. The term is derived from Ancient Greek συνεκδοχή (sunekdokhḗ) 'simultaneous understanding'.

Hyperbole is the use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech. In rhetoric, it is also sometimes known as auxesis. In poetry and oratory, it emphasizes, evokes strong feelings, and creates strong impressions. As a figure of speech, it is usually not meant to be taken literally.

In linguistics and philosophy, the denotation of a word or expression is its strictly literal meaning. For instance, the English word "warm" denotes the property of having high temperature. Denotation is contrasted with other aspects of meaning including connotation. For instance, the word "warm" may evoke calmness, coziness, or kindness but these associations are not part of the word's denotation. Similarly, an expression's denotation is separate from pragmatic inferences it may trigger. For instance, describing something as "warm" often implicates that it is not hot, but this is once again not part of the word's denotation.

In literature and writing, stylistic devices are a variety of techniques used to give an auxiliary meaning, idea, or feeling.

A contronym, contranym or autoantonym is a word with two opposite meanings. For example, the word cleave can mean "to cut apart" or "to bind together". This feature is also called enantiosemy, enantionymy, antilogy or autoantonymy. An enantiosemic term is by definition polysemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glossary of rhetorical terms</span>

Owing to its origin in ancient Greece and Rome, English rhetorical theory frequently employs Greek and Latin words as terms of art. This page explains commonly used rhetorical terms in alphabetical order. The brief definitions here are intended to serve as a quick reference rather than an in-depth discussion. For more information, click the terms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glossary of literary terms</span>

This glossary of literary terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts used in the discussion, classification, analysis, and criticism of all types of literature, such as poetry, novels, and picture books, as well as of grammar, syntax, and language techniques. For a more complete glossary of terms relating to poetry in particular, see Glossary of poetry terms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trope (literature)</span> Use of figurative language for artistic effect

A literary trope is the use of figurative language, via word, phrase or an image, for artistic effect such as using a figure of speech. Keith and Lundburg describe a trope as "a substitution of a word or phrase by a less literal word or phrase". The word trope has also undergone a semantic change and now also describes commonly recurring or overused literary and rhetorical devices, motifs or clichés in creative works. Literary tropes span almost every category of writing, such as poetry, film, plays, and video games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">English-language idioms</span> Common words or phrases with non-literal meanings

An idiom is a common word or phrase with a figurative, non-literal meaning that is understood culturally and differs from what its composite words' denotations would suggest; i.e. the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words. By another definition, an idiom is a speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements. For example, an English speaker would understand the phrase "kick the bucket" to mean "to die" – and also to actually kick a bucket. Furthermore, they would understand when each meaning is being used in context.

In literary criticism and rhetoric, a tautology is a statement that repeats an idea, using near-synonymous morphemes, words or phrases, effectively "saying the same thing twice". Tautology and pleonasm are not consistently differentiated in literature. Like pleonasm, tautology is often considered a fault of style when unintentional. Intentional repetition may emphasize a thought or help the listener or reader understand a point. Sometimes logical tautologies like "Boys will be boys" are conflated with language tautologies, but a language tautology is not inherently true, while a logical tautology always is.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trope (cinema)</span> Element of film semiology

In cinema, a trope is what The Art Direction Handbook for Film defines as "a universally identified image imbued with several layers of contextual meaning creating a new visual metaphor".

References

  1. ↑ "Figure of speech." Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Merriam-Webster, Inc. 2015.
  2. ↑ Jaszczolt, Katarzyna M..; Turner, Ken (2003). Meaning Through Language Contrast. Volume 2. John Benjamins Publishing. pp. 141–. ISBN   978-1588112071 . Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  3. ↑ Glucksberg, Sam (2001). Understanding Figurative Language:From Metaphor to Idioms: From Metaphor to Idioms. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0195111095 . Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  4. ↑ Harley, Trevor A. (2001). The Psychology of Language: From Data to Theory. Taylor & Francis. pp. 293–. ISBN   978-0863778674 . Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  5. ↑ Montgomery, Mar; Durant, Alan; Fabb, Nigel; Tom Furniss; Sara Mills (2007). Ways of Reading: Advanced Reading Skills for Students of English Literature. Taylor & Francis. pp. 117–. ISBN   978-0415346337 . Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  6. ↑ M.H. Abrams; Geoffrey Harpham (2011). A Glossary of Literary Terms (10 ed.). Cengage Learning. ISBN   978-0495898023.
  7. ↑ W. Bedell Stanford, Greek Metaphor (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1936)
  8. 1 2 "Language Log » Frances Brooke, destroyer of English (Not literally)".
  9. ↑ Barber, Alex; Stainton, Robert J (2009). Concise Encyclopedia of Philosophy of Language and Linguistics. Elsevier. pp. 230–. ISBN   978-0080965000 . Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  10. ↑ Montgomery, Martin; Durant, Alan; Fabb, Nigel; Tom Furniss; Sara Mills (2007). Ways of Reading: Advanced Reading Skills for Students of English Literature. Routledge. pp. 117–. ISBN   978-0203597118 . Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  11. ↑ Merriam-Webster, inc. (1995). Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature. Merriam-Webster. p.  415. ISBN   978-0877790426 . Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  12. ↑ Origin: 1350–1400; Middle English < Latin: image, likeness, comparison, noun use of neuter of similis similar. "Simile". simile, n. Oxford English Dictionary.
  13. ↑ Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia. An Introduction To Poetry . 13th ed. Longman Pub Group, 2007. p. 594.
  14. ↑ Terban, Marvin; joi, Giulio Maestro (1993). It Figures!: Fun Figures of Speech. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 12–. ISBN   978-0395665916 . Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  15. ↑ Origin: 1525–35; < Latin metaphora < Greek metaphorá a transfer, akin to metaphérein to transfer. See meta-, -phore "Metaphor". metaphor, n. Oxford English Dictionary.
  16. 1 2 Miller, Carol Rawlings (2001). Irresistible Shakespeare: 6 Sensational Scenes from Favorite Plays and Dozens of Fun Ideas That Introduce Students to the Wonderful Works of Shakespeare. Scholastic Inc. pp. 25–. ISBN   978-0439098441 . Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  17. ↑ I. A. Richards, The Philosophy of Rhetoric (New York: Oxford University Press, 1936), 119–127.
  18. ↑ Fandel, Jennifer (2005). Metaphors, Similes, And Other Word Pictures. The Creative Company. pp. 30–. ISBN   978-1583413401 . Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  19. ↑ "Extended Metaphor". Dictionary.com.
  20. ↑ Oliver, Mary (1994). Poetry Handbook. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 103–. ISBN   978-0156724005 . Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  21. ↑ Liddell, Gordon F.; Gifford, Anne (2001). New Scottish poetry. Heinemann. pp. 131–. ISBN   978-0435150983 . Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  22. ↑ Origin: 1570–80; < Late Latin < Greek onomatopoiía making of words = onomato- (combining form of ónoma name) + poi- (stem of poieîn to make; see poet) + -ia -ia "Onomatopoeia". onomatopoeia, n. Oxford English Dictionary.
  23. ↑ Origin: 1745–55; personi(fy) + -fication "Personification". personification, n. Oxford English Dictionary.
  24. 1 2 Moustaki, Nikki (2001). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Poetry. Penguin. pp. 146–. ISBN   978-1440695636 . Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  25. ↑ Origin: < post-classical Latin oxymoron, figure of speech in which a pair of opposed or markedly contradictory terms are placed in conjunction for emphasis (5th cent.; also oxymorum) < ancient Greek ὀξυ-oxy- comb. form1+ μωρόςdull, stupid, foolish (see moron n.2). "Oxymoron". Oxford English Dictionary.
  26. ↑ Origin: < Middle French, French paradoxe (1495 as noun; 1372–74 in plural paradoxesas the title of a work by Cicero; paradoxon (noun) philosophical paradox in post-classical Latin also a figure of speech < ancient Greek παράδοξον, especially in plural παράδοξαStoical paradoxes, use as noun of neuter singular of παράδοξος (adjective) contrary to received opinion or expectation < παρα-para- prefix1+ δόξαopinion (see doxology n.), after ancient Greek παρὰ δόξαν contrary to expectation "Paradox". paradox, n. Oxford English Dictionary.
  27. ↑ Origin: < Greek ὑπερβολήexcess (compare hyperbola n.), exaggeration; the latter sense is first found in Isocrates and Aristotle. Compare French hyperbole (earlier yperbole). "Hyperbole". hyperbol e, n. Oxford English Dictionary.
  28. ↑ Katz, Albert N. (1998). Figurative Language and Thought. Oxford University Press. pp. 166–. ISBN   978-0195109634 . Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  29. ↑ Eysenck, Michael William; Keane, Mark T. (2005). Cognitive Psychology: A Student's Handbook. Taylor & Francis. pp. 369–. ISBN   978-1841693590 . Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  30. ↑ Ortony, Andrew (1993). Metaphor and Thought. Cambridge University Press. pp. 204–. ISBN   978-0521405614 . Retrieved 20 December 2012.
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