Lexical priming and metaphor – Evidence of nesting in metaphoric language
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Katie J. Patterson
Abstract
Metaphoricity is often regarded as a distinctive linguistic phenomenon, in opposition to literal, or non-figurative language. Recent research from a corpus-linguistic perspective has begun to show, however, that such a dichotomist stance to metaphor does not bear scrutiny (Deignan 2005; Partington 2006; Philip 2011). Our ability to manipulate or bend the limits of linguistic conventions (semantically, lexically, grammatically) in order to cope with communicative demands is one area where this dichotomy does not hold up. The focus of this chapter is to explore a nesting (cf. Hoey 2005) pattern of grew that is specific to its use in metaphoric contexts, and compare this to its absence in non-metaphoric contexts. The data are taken from a 49m-word corpus of nineteenth century writings. The findings go some way to suggesting that as a metaphor, grew is qualitatively a different lexical item when compared to its non-metaphoric use(s). It is proposed that Hoey’s (2005) Drinking Problem Hypothesis can account for these lexical differences, providing a psychological explanation for what drives us as language users to identify metaphor. Crucially, adopting lexical priming as a means to exploring metaphor shifts the perspective of metaphoricity to the individual language user: the findings show that a metaphoric sense of an item appears to be dependent on the primings activated in a reader. It can thus be argued, based upon the lexical priming approach, that metaphoricity is inherent in the language user rather than the language itself, and that its manifestation is often dependent on the individual’s interpretation of the language.
Abstract
Metaphoricity is often regarded as a distinctive linguistic phenomenon, in opposition to literal, or non-figurative language. Recent research from a corpus-linguistic perspective has begun to show, however, that such a dichotomist stance to metaphor does not bear scrutiny (Deignan 2005; Partington 2006; Philip 2011). Our ability to manipulate or bend the limits of linguistic conventions (semantically, lexically, grammatically) in order to cope with communicative demands is one area where this dichotomy does not hold up. The focus of this chapter is to explore a nesting (cf. Hoey 2005) pattern of grew that is specific to its use in metaphoric contexts, and compare this to its absence in non-metaphoric contexts. The data are taken from a 49m-word corpus of nineteenth century writings. The findings go some way to suggesting that as a metaphor, grew is qualitatively a different lexical item when compared to its non-metaphoric use(s). It is proposed that Hoey’s (2005) Drinking Problem Hypothesis can account for these lexical differences, providing a psychological explanation for what drives us as language users to identify metaphor. Crucially, adopting lexical priming as a means to exploring metaphor shifts the perspective of metaphoricity to the individual language user: the findings show that a metaphoric sense of an item appears to be dependent on the primings activated in a reader. It can thus be argued, based upon the lexical priming approach, that metaphoricity is inherent in the language user rather than the language itself, and that its manifestation is often dependent on the individual’s interpretation of the language.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Foreword ix
- Introduction xi
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Part I. Discourse analysis
- Cohesion and coherence in a content-specific corpus 3
- A corpus-based investigation into English representations of Turks and Ottomans in the early modern period 41
- Forced lexical primings in transdiscoursive political messaging 67
- Can lexical priming be detected in conversation turn-taking strategies? 93
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Part II. Similes, synonymy and metaphors
- Lexical priming and the selection and sequencing of synonyms 121
- Lexical priming and metaphor – Evidence of nesting in metaphoric language 141
- Teaching near-synonyms more effectively 163
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Part III. Collocations, associations and priming
- Lexical priming and register variation 189
- Colligational effects of collocation 231
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Part IV. Language learning and teaching
- Lexical and morphological priming 253
- Concordancing lexical primings 273
- Notes on authors 297
- Index 303
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Foreword ix
- Introduction xi
-
Part I. Discourse analysis
- Cohesion and coherence in a content-specific corpus 3
- A corpus-based investigation into English representations of Turks and Ottomans in the early modern period 41
- Forced lexical primings in transdiscoursive political messaging 67
- Can lexical priming be detected in conversation turn-taking strategies? 93
-
Part II. Similes, synonymy and metaphors
- Lexical priming and the selection and sequencing of synonyms 121
- Lexical priming and metaphor – Evidence of nesting in metaphoric language 141
- Teaching near-synonyms more effectively 163
-
Part III. Collocations, associations and priming
- Lexical priming and register variation 189
- Colligational effects of collocation 231
-
Part IV. Language learning and teaching
- Lexical and morphological priming 253
- Concordancing lexical primings 273
- Notes on authors 297
- Index 303
