complexities of pragmatic effects in blended figures: the case of metaphtonymy
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Complexities of Pragmatic Effects in Blended Figures: The Case of Metaphtonymy. Herbert L. Colston , University of Alberta 1 st International Symposium on Figurative Thought and Language Thessaloniki, Greece, April 26, 2014. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
COMPLEXITIES OF PRAGMATIC EFFECTS IN BLENDED FIGURES:
THE CASE OF METAPHTONYMYHerbert L. Colston, University of Alberta
1st International Symposium on Figurative Thought and LanguageThessaloniki, Greece, April 26, 2014
Leonard: Just because people appreciate comic books doesn't make them weirdos. Stuart's a terrific artist. He went to the Rhode Island School of Design.
Penny: Okay, what about the guy over there in the superhero T-shirt tucked into his sweatpants?
Leonard: Ah, yeah, that's Captain Sweatpants. He doesn't really help the point I'm trying to make.
(Big Bang Theory, 2009)
“Captain Sweatpants”
Blends metaphor, synecdoche and irony (and possibly oxymora), & achieves, among other pragmatic effects, derision.
Irony has known mechanisms for affecting derision such as contrast effects (see Gibbs & Colston, 2012).
What about metaphor/synecdoche alone & derision? a) how do they achieve it?b) what happens when they’re blended?
HOW ARE METAPHORS DERISIVE? (SOME, IN ISOLATION) Borrowing – Association
Sharing – Similarity Enhancement
Blending – Mutual Highlighting
Emergence – Mutual Highlighting Plus X
Simulation – Re-experience
Borrowing - Association:TARGET is SOURCE&source is negative
“Clive Jr. is a fart blossom.” (Russo, 1994) [derived]
Sharing – Similarity Enhancement:TARGET is SOURCE&both are negative
“I was faced with that terrible thing, when somebody shows you their work and everything about it is shit.” (Banksy, 2010)
Blending – Mutual Highlighting:TARGET is SOURCE&mutually revealed negativity
“He’s such a noodle.” (colleague, 1999)
Emergence – Mutual Highlighting Plus X:TARGET is SOURCE&mutually revealed negativity and…
“They’re zipperheads.” (colleague, 1992)
Simulation – Re-Experience:TARGET is SOURCE&source conjures embodied negativity
“Christmas was vomited all over the house.” (student, 2010)
HOW ARE SYNECDOCHES DERISIVE? (SOME, IN ISOLATION)
Diminishment – For Human Targets & Synecdoche
Outing – In-group/Out-group Categorization
Iconic Minimalism – Akin to Asyndeton
Attitude Demonstration – Embellishment Reluctance
Colston & Brooks (2008), Colston (2014):Compared
Direct ReferenceProximal MetonymyNormal SynecdocheUnusual Synecdoche
Colston & Brooks (2008), Colston (2014):Ratings Collected On
Derision (Experiment 1)Humor (Experiment 2)Identification (Experiment 3)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7Less X More X
BLENDS:METAPHOR/METONYMY METAPHOR/SYNECDOCHE Examples (derived from overheard comments):
Synecdoche with Metaphorical Characteristics Metaphor with Synecdochal Characteristics
Metonymy with Metaphorical Characteristics Metaphors with Metonymic Characteristics
Resemblance-Metonymy with Metaphorical Characteristics
Metaphors with Resemblance-Metonymic Characteristics
“We better go, Crewcut told us to leave.”
“That guy is such a crewcut.”
“I have no idea, go ask Encyclopedia over there.”
“That woman is a total encyclopedia.”
“Here comes Weeble.”
“Rob Ford is a weeble.”
Blends & Derision Source Mechanism(s) Becomes Less Clear Enhancement vs. Diminishment, Open Empirical
Question
Blends & Combination Effects Admiration, Persuasion, Ingratiation, etc. Enhancement vs. Diminishment, Also an Open
Empirical Question
CONCLUSIONS
Metaphor achieves derision via fore-fronting negativity from source and/or target domains
Synecdoche & Metonymy achieve derision via schematic diminishment (with human targets)
Blends of Metaphor and Synedoche/Metonymy:
Muddle the individual derision mechanisms,
May achieve enhanced derision,
May achieve figurative density effects (e.g., ingratiation)
With Sincere Gratitude
Recent Collaborators:Elizabeth BrooksRaymond Gibbs, Jr.
Supporters:Chair’s Research Grant, Faculty of Arts, University of
AlbertaFaculty and Staff Professional Opportunities Fund,
University of Wisconsin-ParksideCollege of Arts & Sciences Undergraduate Apprenticeship
Program, University of Wisconsin-ParksideAssociation for Psychological ScienceCambridge University Press
References
Gibbs, R. W., & Colston, H. C. (2012). Using figurative language. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Colston, H. C., & Brooks, E. N. (2008, May). Pragmatic effects of metonymy. Poster session presented at the meeting of the Association for Psychological Science, Chicago, IL.Colston, H. C. (2014). Derision in referencing: Pragmatic effects of synecdoche and metonymy. Manuscript in preparation.Russo, R. (1994). Nobody’s fool. New York: Knopf Doubleday.Cushing, H., D’Cruz, J., & Gay-Rees, J. (Producers), & Banksy (Director). (2010). Exit through the gift shop. United Kingdom: Paranoid Pictures.Lorre, C. (Writer), & Cendrowski, M. (Director). (2009). The Hofstadter Isotope [Television series episode]. In C. Lorre, B. Prady, & S. Molaro (Executive Producers), The Big bang theory, City: CBS Broadcasting Inc.