Presented to you through Paradigm Publishing Services

John Benjamins Publishing Company

Visit our Partner Page See all our books
Home John Benjamins Publishing Company Chapter 15. A computational exploration of creative similes
Chapter
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Chapter 15. A computational exploration of creative similes

Abstract

The syntactic form of explicit as-similes provides a ready-made infrastructure for linguistic creativity that writers and speakers can exploit with remarkable freedom. This chapter adopts a computational approach to similes, asking: what kinds of knowledge must a computational agent possess so as to recognize the ironic intent of a humorous comparison and to what degree is this intent telegraphed to the audience by the use of specific markers or support structures? Using automated means to collect two very large corpora of similes, one that favours the conventional and one that favours the creative use of similes, the chapter describes the characteristics of similes used with ironic intent and the role played by ‘about’ as a scaffolding structure for creative similes.

Abstract

The syntactic form of explicit as-similes provides a ready-made infrastructure for linguistic creativity that writers and speakers can exploit with remarkable freedom. This chapter adopts a computational approach to similes, asking: what kinds of knowledge must a computational agent possess so as to recognize the ironic intent of a humorous comparison and to what degree is this intent telegraphed to the audience by the use of specific markers or support structures? Using automated means to collect two very large corpora of similes, one that favours the conventional and one that favours the creative use of similes, the chapter describes the characteristics of similes used with ironic intent and the role played by ‘about’ as a scaffolding structure for creative similes.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. List of contributors vii
  4. Acknowledgements ix
  5. Introduction 1
  6. Part 1. Contexts of research
  7. Chapter 1. An assessment of metaphor retrieval methods 21
  8. Chapter 2. Metaphor in discourse 51
  9. Chapter 3. Metaphor identification in Dutch discourse 69
  10. Chapter 4. Locating metaphor candidates in specialized corpora using raw frequency and keyword lists 85
  11. Part 2. Contexts of production
  12. Chapter 5. Metaphor variation across L1 and L2 speakers of English 109
  13. Chapter 6. Metaphorical expressions in L2 production 135
  14. Chapter 7. Researching linguistic metaphor in native, non-native and expert writing 149
  15. Part 3. Contexts of interpretation
  16. Chapter 8. Appreciation and interpretation of visual metaphors in advertising across three European countries 177
  17. Chapter 9. English native speakers’ interpretations of culture-bound Japanese figurative expressions 195
  18. Chapter 10. The limits of comprehension in cross-cultural metaphor 217
  19. Part 4. Metaphor, topic, and discourse
  20. Chapter 11. Conceptual types of terminological metaphors in marine biology 239
  21. Chapter 12. Gestures, language, and what they reveal about thought 261
  22. Part 5. Metaphor and culture
  23. Chapter 13. Armed with patience, suffering an emotion 285
  24. Chapter 14. Trolls 309
  25. Chapter 15. A computational exploration of creative similes 329
  26. Part 6. Afterword and prospects for future research
  27. Chapter 16. Metaphors, snowflakes, and termite nests 347
  28. Name index 373
  29. Terms index 375
Metaphor in Use
This chapter is in the book Metaphor in Use
https://doi.org/10.1075/hcp.38.23vea

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. List of contributors vii
  4. Acknowledgements ix
  5. Introduction 1
  6. Part 1. Contexts of research
  7. Chapter 1. An assessment of metaphor retrieval methods 21
  8. Chapter 2. Metaphor in discourse 51
  9. Chapter 3. Metaphor identification in Dutch discourse 69
  10. Chapter 4. Locating metaphor candidates in specialized corpora using raw frequency and keyword lists 85
  11. Part 2. Contexts of production
  12. Chapter 5. Metaphor variation across L1 and L2 speakers of English 109
  13. Chapter 6. Metaphorical expressions in L2 production 135
  14. Chapter 7. Researching linguistic metaphor in native, non-native and expert writing 149
  15. Part 3. Contexts of interpretation
  16. Chapter 8. Appreciation and interpretation of visual metaphors in advertising across three European countries 177
  17. Chapter 9. English native speakers’ interpretations of culture-bound Japanese figurative expressions 195
  18. Chapter 10. The limits of comprehension in cross-cultural metaphor 217
  19. Part 4. Metaphor, topic, and discourse
  20. Chapter 11. Conceptual types of terminological metaphors in marine biology 239
  21. Chapter 12. Gestures, language, and what they reveal about thought 261
  22. Part 5. Metaphor and culture
  23. Chapter 13. Armed with patience, suffering an emotion 285
  24. Chapter 14. Trolls 309
  25. Chapter 15. A computational exploration of creative similes 329
  26. Part 6. Afterword and prospects for future research
  27. Chapter 16. Metaphors, snowflakes, and termite nests 347
  28. Name index 373
  29. Terms index 375
Sign up now to receive a 20% welcome discount
Institutional Access
How does access work?
Winner of the OpenAthens UX Award 2026
Winner of the OpenAthens UX Award 2026
Have an idea on how to improve our website?
Please write us.
© 2026 De Gruyter Brill
Downloaded on 1.4.2026 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1075/hcp.38.23vea/html
Scroll to top button