Processing multiword idiomatic strings

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Cacciari
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Memory ◽  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Figurative Language ◽  
Specific Reference ◽  
Behavioral Models ◽  
Idiom Comprehension ◽  
Figurative Meaning ◽  
Multiword Expressions ◽  
Figurative Language Comprehension ◽  
Idiomatic Meaning

Idioms are strings of words whose figurative meaning does not necessarily derive from that of the constituent parts. They belong to the vast and heterogeneous realm of multiword expressions, i.e. literal and non-literal word clusters whose representations are stored in semantic memory. This article provides an updated review of the psycholinguistic and electrophysiological literature on the processes underlying idiom comprehension with specific reference to the cues that lead to idiom recognition, to the syntactic and semantic behavior of idioms, to the relationships between literal compositionality and idiomatic meaning retrieval. Behavioral models of idiom comprehension are presented and discussed also with respect to the electrophysiological correlates of idiom and figurative language comprehension.

scholarly journals Can you reach for the planets or grasp at the stars? – Modified noun, verb, or preposition constituents in idiom processing

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Smolka ◽  
Carsten Eulitz
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Type ◽  
The Other ◽  
Psycholinguistic Research ◽  
Idiom Comprehension ◽  
Figurative Meaning ◽  
Idiomatic Phrase ◽  
Idiom Processing ◽  
Special Case ◽  
Idiomatic Meaning ◽  
Control Sentence

Idioms are a special case of multi-word expressions in that their meaning cannot be compositionally constructed from the meaning of the single constituents. The question of how the idiomatic meaning is assembled remains an unsettled issue in psycholinguistic research. The present study examines whether the figurative meaning of an idiom is recognized if critical idiomatic constituents, such as the noun, verb, or preposition, are modified. In three paraphrase experiments, participants saw (a) the canonical idiomatic phrase (e.g., She reached for the stars), (b) the idiomatic phrase with a modified constituent (e.g., She reached/grasped for/at the stars/planets), or (c) a matched literal control sentence (e.g., She reached for the sweets) and rated on a scale from 1 (not at all) - 7 (completely) how strongly the sentence reflected the meaning of a paraphrase of the idiom (e.g., She has always aspired to unattainable goals). Sentence type and constituent type strongly affected paraphrase ratings with highest ratings for canonical idiomatic phrases, lowest ratings for control sentences, and ratings in between for idioms with modified constituents. Further, idioms with modified verbs were rated higher in matching the figurative meaning than idioms with modified prepositions or nouns. Overall these findings indicate that the figurative meaning was assembled in spite of the modifications. We conclude that idioms are not fully ‘semantically fixed’ but allow for some flexibility in the processing of idioms. Modified constituents that activate meanings similar to those of the canonical constituents will co-activate the figurative meaning of the idiom together with the other idiomatic constituents. We discuss psycholinguistic models on idiom comprehension.

A test of metaphoric comprehension and some preliminary developmental data

1979 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marilyn R. Pollio ◽  
Howard R. Pollio
Keyword(s):  
Elementary School ◽  
School Children ◽  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Elementary School Children ◽  
Figurative Language ◽  
Choice Test ◽  
Multiple Choice Test ◽  
Figures Of Speech ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Figurative Language Comprehension

ABSTRACTThe purposes of the present study was to develop a multiple-choice test of figurative language comprehension and to evaluate the development of such comprehension over a wide range of ages and children. To do this, samples of novel and frozen figures were selected from a corpus provided by elementary school children and then administered to 149 different children between 9 and 14 years. Results showed that the test produced was a reliable one, and one that produced meaningful developmental trends. In addition, differences were noted between the comprehension and production of novel and frozen figures of speech. These findings were discussed in terms of their methodological and developmental implications.

scholarly journals Figurative Language Comprehension in Schizophrenia and Its Neural Basis

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heben Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Brain Imaging ◽  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Figurative Language ◽  
Clinical Factors ◽  
Imaging Studies ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Behavioral Studies ◽  
Schizophrenic Patients ◽  
Figurative Language Comprehension

Schizophrenia is a kind of serious mental disease, which may cause major impairment in patients’ social-cognitive ability. It has been found that pragmatic ability in schizophrenic patients is often impaired, especially for figurative language comprehension. Figurative language refers to irony, metaphor, idiom and the like. People with schizophrenia tend to interpret figurative language as its literal meaning, which is called schizophrenic concretism. By reviewing extant literature, we found that the literature concerning this topic mainly consists of two parts: behavioral studies and brain-imaging studies. The behavioral studies mainly explore how clinical factors and cognitive ability have an impact on figurative language comprehension. Brain-imaging studies mainly discuss hemisphere lateralization in schizophrenia and whether theory of mind network in schizophrenic patients is different from that of normal groups. We conclude that future research should further explore the relationship among figurative language comprehension, cognitive ability and clinical factors, and also reveal related neural mechanism.

scholarly journals On Intentionality and Figurative Language Comprehension

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (2 (4)) ◽  
pp. 74-77
Author(s):  
Gohar Harutyunyan
Keyword(s):  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Figurative Language ◽  
Communicative Intent ◽  
Pragmatic Analysis ◽  
Figurative Language Comprehension

The communicative intent which is a linguo-philosophical notion is important from the perspective of pragmatic analysis. The article attempts to examine the complicated interconnection between the intention of communication and the perception of the figurative language. Special attention has been paid to metaphor and irony whose perception and interpretation heavily depend on the intention of communication.

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