Literal Meaning and “Figurative Meaning”

Theoria ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROGER M. WHITE
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 62-85
Author(s):  
Yosef Yunandow Siahaan

Throughout the history of the church, from the early Church to the present, Christology has become the main topic of discussion, and it has often led to debates and even polemics for both the Church and those outside the church. The point of a long debate in the field of Christology is about Jesus as a creator or only as a creation. This study investigates this by using theological research, this study uses the exegesis method. The text that will be executed to provide evidence that Jesus was the Creator or creation is Colossians 1:15-20. Jehovah's Witnesses say that this text shows that Jesus was God's First creation. Whereas true Christians actually view this text as saying that Jesus is the Creator. The research used the exegesis method. The results show that Christ is the agent of creation. In building the understanding of the eldest word (Prototokos), it is not allowed to use the isolated text method. There are at least 2 meanings of this word, the first literal meaning is as the first born according to the order of time, and the second, the figurative meaning The eldest means the main, superior. Of course when looking at the context in Colossians 1:16-17, then Christ is not the first born according to chronological order, and comes from creation. Rather, He is the Creator, so it is not surprising that He is supreme or superior to all creation. Abstrak Indonesia Sepanjang sejarah gereja mulai dari Gereja mula-mula hingga kini Kristologi menjadi topik utama diskusi bahkan tak jarang menimbulkan perdebatan bahkan polemik baik bagi Gereja maupun kalangan di luar gereja. Yang menjadi titik perdebatan panjang dalam bidang Kristologi adalah Mengenai Yesus sebagai pencipta ataukah hanya sebagai ciptaan. Penelitian ini menyelidiki hal tersebut dengan menggunakan penelitian Teologi, penelitian ini menggunakan metode eksegesis. Teks yang akan dieksegesa guna untuk memberikan bukti Yesus adalah Pencipa atau ciptaan adalah Kolose 1:15-20. Saksi-saksi Yehuwa mengatakan bahwa teks ini menunjukkan bahwa Yesus adalah ciptaan Pertama dari Allah. Sedangkan Kristen sejati justru memandang teks ini mengatakan bahwa Yesus adalah Pencipta. Penelitian menggunakan metode eksegesis. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan Kristus adalah pelaku penciptaan. Dalam membangun pemahaman kata yang Sulung (Prototokos), tidak boleh menggunakan metode teks terisolasi. Paling tidak ada 2 makna dari kata ini, yang pertama makna literal adalah sebagai yang lahir pertama menurut urutan waktu, dan yang kedua, makna figuratif Yang sulung berarti yang utama, unggul. Tentu ketika melihat konteks dalam Kolose 1:16-17, maka Kristus bukanlah sang pertama lahir menurut urutan waktu, dan berasal dari ciptaan. Melainkan Ia adalah Pencipta, sehingga tidak mengherankan bahwa Ia adalah yang utama atau paling unggul di atas segala ciptaan.


Pragmatics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suwon Yoon

Abstract The goal of this study is to propose a pragmatic analysis of what we call Emotive Taste Terms (ETTs) in Korean, compared to English. What makes Korean taste adjectives special is its multidimensional meaning: In descriptive dimension, (i) the literal meaning concerns the taste; or (ii) it can be extended toward the situation, yielding a figurative meaning. In expressive dimension, (iii) the choice of particular derivation form reflects the speaker’s positive or negative emotional attitude; and (iv) another potential expressive meaning concerns honorification, thought it is not part of the meaning of ETTs. We thus propose that ETTs are a novel subcase of expressive elements, triggering Conventional Implicature. We show how the analysis of ETTs as a CI allows us to successfully derive subtle connotational differences amongst numerous variants. Finally, we show how the co-occurrence pattern of multiple expressives, ETTs and other expressives, within the sentence can be captured by Compatibility Condition Model.


2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Istvan Kecskes

This article discusses three claims of the Graded Salience Hypothesis presented in Rachel Giora’s book On our mind. It is argued that these claims may give second language researchers the chance to revise the way they think about word meaning, the literal meaning-figurative meaning dichotomy and the role of context in language processing. Giora’s arguments are related to recent second language research and their relevance is explained through examples. There are also several suggestions made for further research.


1992 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian C. Cronk ◽  
Wendy A. Schweigert

ABSTRACTThe relationships among the familiarity of an idiom's figurative meaning, the likelihood of its literal meaning (literalness), and its usage were explored. Previous research has been inconsistent in supporting any one model of idiom comprehension, although certain factors have been found to affect reading times of sentences containing idioms. Consistent with this research, familiarity was found to have a significant effect on reading times for sentences containing idioms. A significant new finding is that literalness affects reading times. Additionally, it was found that familiarity and literalness exert interactive effects, suggesting a common underlying mechanism. The results are interpreted as supporting a model of idiom comprehension in which a single phrase processor simultaneously computes figurative and literal meanings of idioms.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bungsu Keumala Sari ◽  
Amin Saragih ◽  
Zainuddin Zainuddin

The reserach dealt with Acehnese proverbs with the aims of this study were to (1) toinvestigate kinds of translation strategies in translating the Acehnese proverbs into Bahasa Indonesia, (2) to investigate Acehnese proverbs realized in its translationinto Bahasa Indonesia, (3) to describe the translation strategies applied in the ways they are. The research was conducted by using qualitative descriptive design. The data of this study were Acehnese proverbs and there were translated into Bahasa Indonesia by Hasjim M.K. at all (1977) taken from the book entitle “Peribahasa Aceh”. The results of this study showed that (1) There were three kinds of translation strategies in translating the Acehnese proverbs into Bahasa Indonesia namely exact equivalent, near equivalent, and literal meaning,  (2) In realization of Acehnese proverbs there were three ways in translating proverbs namely the words following the proverb could be introduced as the meaning of the proverb, it can be replaced with an equivalent local proverb, and its non-figurative meaning could be stated straight forwardly,  (3) In translating Acehnese proverbs, the translators need to know all aspects of cultural background of both languages.Key words: Translation, Strategies, Proverbs


FORUM ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-150
Author(s):  
Hyeon-ju Kim

Translation of metaphor presents both practical and theoretical problems. Within translation theory, metaphor has often been studied in terms of (un)translatability, which, in turn, has been treated as part of general (un)translatability. This paper examines representative views in this debate, which have been particularly vigorous in the journal Babel. The analysis focuses on three main issues at stake : the classification of metaphor, categories and their translatability, and the (un)translatability of metaphor. The analysis demonstrates that the conceptions of translation and metaphor constitute the pivotal point of the debate. Translation and metaphor have been understood as substitutive notions (A in place of B), according to which translation represents substitution of one linguistic unit by another and metaphor, a substitution of a literal meaning by a figurative meaning. A critical analysis of this conception shows that this static framework view has limitations when describing the dynamic processes of real language usage involving translation and metaphor.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dmitrij Dobrovol’skij ◽  
Elisabeth Piirainen

AbstractThe starting point of this paper is a particular idiom category. It deals with idioms that contain determinative compounds of a special kind. The first element of the compound points to the figurative meaning of the idiom, while the second element is a part of the source concept of the metaphor and thus interacts with the literal meaning. An appropriate apparatus for describing idioms of this category is provided by the Conceptual Blending Theory. It is shown that, apart from metaphorization processes, the blending of mental spaces plays a significant part in bringing about the figurative meaning of the idioms. At the same time, the paper supports the recently discussed hypothesis that phrasemes can be constructed according to certain patterns as recurrent form-meaning pairs. Therefore, the paper contributes to Construction Grammar as well as to Blending Theory and clarifies some aspects of idiom semantics and motivation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy van Ginkel ◽  
Ton Dijkstra

AbstractIn two lexical-decision experiments, we investigated the processing of figurative and literal meaning in idioms. Dutch native and German–Dutch bilingual speakers responded to target words presented after a minimal context idiom prime (e.g., ‘He kicked the bucket’). Target words were related to the figurative meaning of the prime (‘die’), the literal word at the end of the idiom (‘water’), or unrelated to both (‘face’). We observed facilitation in RTs for figuratively and literally related targets relative to unrelated targets for both participant groups. A higher frequency idiom-final word caused inhibition in responses to the literally related target for native speakers, indicating competition between the idiom as a whole and its literal word constituents. Native speakers further showed sensitivity to transparency of the idiom's meaning and the plausibility of the idiom as a literally interpretable sentence. The results are interpreted in terms of available L1/L2 idiom comprehension models, and a more detailed processing account for literal and idiomatic sentence interpretation.


Author(s):  
Stefan Rabanus ◽  
Eva Smolka ◽  
Judith Streb ◽  
Frank Rösler

AbstractThis study investigated whether verbs in figurative language activate different types of associations than do verbs in literal language. In a sentence-priming experiment, we compared idiomatic sentences and literal sentences that comprised the same verb. The German perfect tense is of particular interest here, since the verb (i.e. the past participle) is always cast in sentence-final position. This allowed us to examine associations with the verb immediately after its presentation. We compared response times for associations with the literal meaning of the verb, with the figurative meaning of the phrase, or for unassociated nouns. Even though the idiomatic sentences were highly predictable, our results showed that not only associations with the figurative meaning but also associations with the literal verb meaning were activated. This contrasts with the configuration hypothesis (Cacciari/Tabossi 1988) assuming that literal associations should not be activated in idiomatically biased sentences. We argue that the literal verb meaning is essential in both figurative and non-figurative language and present a model that integrates our findings.


2018 ◽  

The article establishes the features of multiple actualization of meaning in modern English and German texts of printed consumer advertising taking into account verbal and non-verbal components in terms of polycode and cognitive-pragmatic approaches. Multiple actualization of words and phraseological units in English and German advertising texts occurs either solely on the basis of verbal components or involves non-verbal components. The former case refers to a language game device based on polysemy, homonymy or paronymy – a pun, which also comprises anthanaclasis – repetition of words in different meanings. The pun is more frequent in German advertising texts, which is explained by the greater importance of the verbal component as compared to the English ones. The latter case describes a visual metaphor. Both direct and figurative meaning of the lexical/phraseological unit can be subject to visualization. When the direct, literal meaning is visualized, in the verbal component words are used in a figurative meaning, and in the image the meaning is literalized according to one of four varieties: 1) visualization of the entire explicit proposition; 2) visualization of the proposition with the addition of an implicit actant; 3) visualization of the subject actant of the sentence and 4) visual interpretation of the internal form. Visualization of the figurative meaning suggests that the direct meaning of the word is actualized through the verbal component, and the figurative meaning is reflected in the image. Multiple actualization of meaning is not affected by the occurring phenomenon – homonymy, polysemy or paronymy.


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