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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Portland State University

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

2008

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

X Is A Journey: Embodied Simulation In Metaphor Interpretation, L. David Ritchie Jul 2008

X Is A Journey: Embodied Simulation In Metaphor Interpretation, L. David Ritchie

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

This essay compares simulation-based accounts of metaphor processing recently proposed by Gibbs (2006a) and Ritchie (2006), using examples of metaphors based on the metaphor vehicle "journey" from four different texts. From analysis of these different examples, it is concluded that simulation may come into play at different levels, depending on the metaphor and the context in which it is used. Further, it is suggested that the imaginative simulation of the object or action named by a metaphor vehicle, proposed by Gibbs, incorporates a partial subset of detail-level perceptual simulators. This leads to the proposal that the two models describe cognitive …


Hair Of The Frog And Other Empty Metaphors: The Play Element In Figurative Language, L. David Ritchie, Valrie Dyhouse Apr 2008

Hair Of The Frog And Other Empty Metaphors: The Play Element In Figurative Language, L. David Ritchie, Valrie Dyhouse

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this essay we discuss a class of apparently metaphorical idioms, exemplified by "fine as frog's hair," that do not afford any obvious interpretation, and appear to have originated, at least in part, in language play. We review recent trends in both play theory and metaphor theory, and show that a playful approach to language is often an important element in the use and understanding of metaphors (and idioms generally), even when metaphors can be readily interpreted by means of a vehicle-to-topic mapping. Based on this evidence we call for a more deliberate inclusion of language play in metaphor theory …