On why people don’t say what they mean
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Herbert L. Colston
Abstract
The study addresses two problems with recent psycholinguistic research on why people don’t say what they mean, (1) possible underrepresentation in research studies of types of figurative language found in everyday talk, and (2) potential ecological validity problems due to using standard psycholinguistic experimental methodologies and inauthentic language materials. In three experiments, these problems were addressed using authentic productions of a relatively unexplored figurative language type – formulaic language, specifically gratitude acknowledgements, which cover a range of figurativity (e.g., “don’t worry about it”, through, “anytime”), often using hyperbole as part of their functioning – a key focus of the present study. The results demonstrate that speakers use figurative gratitude acknowledgements to achieve the pragmatic effects of politeness and esteem display as well as fondness expression, which are not achieved to the same extents by nonfigurative gratitude acknowledgements. The particular pragmatics of this figurative form, the influence of these pragmatic effects on some theoretical questions, and the broader implications of inclusion of new figurative language forms, as well as authentic language items and methods, in research on figurative language production and pragmatics, are discussed.
Abstract
The study addresses two problems with recent psycholinguistic research on why people don’t say what they mean, (1) possible underrepresentation in research studies of types of figurative language found in everyday talk, and (2) potential ecological validity problems due to using standard psycholinguistic experimental methodologies and inauthentic language materials. In three experiments, these problems were addressed using authentic productions of a relatively unexplored figurative language type – formulaic language, specifically gratitude acknowledgements, which cover a range of figurativity (e.g., “don’t worry about it”, through, “anytime”), often using hyperbole as part of their functioning – a key focus of the present study. The results demonstrate that speakers use figurative gratitude acknowledgements to achieve the pragmatic effects of politeness and esteem display as well as fondness expression, which are not achieved to the same extents by nonfigurative gratitude acknowledgements. The particular pragmatics of this figurative form, the influence of these pragmatic effects on some theoretical questions, and the broader implications of inclusion of new figurative language forms, as well as authentic language items and methods, in research on figurative language production and pragmatics, are discussed.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Introduction 1
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Section 1. General empirical studies, with main focus on metaphor
- Producing metaphor (and other forms of non-literal language) in the laboratory 37
- Metaphor and one-off pictures 55
- Metaphor production and metaphor interpretation 85
- On the role of perceptual similarity in producing visual metaphors 105
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Section 2. General empirical studies – other
- On why people don’t say what they mean 129
- How nice does it sound? 175
- How defaultness shapes our language production 211
- Producing figurative meanings 237
- The production of verbal irony 263
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Section 3. Empirical and analytical studies aimed at specific applications
- Generating metaphors in product design 299
- Rock bottoms, juggling balls and coalprints 331
- Figurative production in a computer-mediated discussion forum 363
- The production of time-related metaphors by people who have experienced pregnancy loss 389
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Section 4. Other theoretical analysis and cognitive or computational modelling
- Metaphor generation through context sensitive distributional semantics 421
- Mind the gap 449
- Figurative language 469
- Metaphor as sign and as symbol 511
- Topic Index 533
- Author Index 543
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Introduction 1
-
Section 1. General empirical studies, with main focus on metaphor
- Producing metaphor (and other forms of non-literal language) in the laboratory 37
- Metaphor and one-off pictures 55
- Metaphor production and metaphor interpretation 85
- On the role of perceptual similarity in producing visual metaphors 105
-
Section 2. General empirical studies – other
- On why people don’t say what they mean 129
- How nice does it sound? 175
- How defaultness shapes our language production 211
- Producing figurative meanings 237
- The production of verbal irony 263
-
Section 3. Empirical and analytical studies aimed at specific applications
- Generating metaphors in product design 299
- Rock bottoms, juggling balls and coalprints 331
- Figurative production in a computer-mediated discussion forum 363
- The production of time-related metaphors by people who have experienced pregnancy loss 389
-
Section 4. Other theoretical analysis and cognitive or computational modelling
- Metaphor generation through context sensitive distributional semantics 421
- Mind the gap 449
- Figurative language 469
- Metaphor as sign and as symbol 511
- Topic Index 533
- Author Index 543
