Hyperbole and emotionalisation: Escalation of pragmatic effects of proverb and metaphor in the “Brexit” debate

(How) Can the use of hyperbole in metaphorical idioms and scenarios contribute to an increase in emotionalisation of public debates? Using a research corpus of quotations from British politicians speeches and interviews and of press texts 2016-2020, this paper investigates hyperbolic formulations in Brexit-related applications of the proverb You cannot have your cake and eat it and related scenarios of national liberation, which appear to have strongly boosted emotionalised public debates. For instance, Brexit proponents reversal of the cake proverb into the assertion, We can have our cake and eat it, and their figurative interpretation of Brexit as a war of liberation (against the EU) triggered highly emotional reactions: triumphant affirmation among followers, fear and resentment among opponents. The paper argues that the combination of figurative speech (proverb, metaphor) with hyperbole heightened the emotional and polemical impact of the pro-Brexit argument. Whilst this effect may be deemed to have been rhetorically successful in the short term (e.g. in referendum and election campaigns), its long-term effect on political discourse is more ambivalent, for it leads to a polarisation and radicalisation of political discourse in Britain (as evidenced, for instance, in the massive use of hyperbole in COVID-19 debates). The study of hyperbole as a means of emotionalisation thus seems most promising as part of a discourse-historical investigation of socio-pragmatic effects of figurative (mainly, metaphorical) language use, rather than as an isolated, one-off rhetorical phenomenon.

Dropping Beans or Spilling Secrets: How Idiomatic Context Bias Affects Prediction

Idioms can have both a literal interpretation and a figurative interpretation (e.g., to “kick the bucket”). Which interpretation should be activated can be disambiguated by a preceding context (e.g., “The old man was sick. He kicked the bucket.”). We investigated whether the idiomatic and literal uses of idioms have different predictive properties when the idiom has been biased toward a literal or figurative sentence interpretation. EEG was recorded as participants performed a lexical decision task on idiom-final words in biased idioms and literal (compositional) sentences. Targets in idioms were identified faster in both figuratively and literally used idioms than in compositional sentences. Time–frequency analysis of a prestimulus interval revealed relatively more alpha–beta power decreases in literally than figuratively used idiomatic sequences and compositional sentences. We argue that lexico-semantic retrieval plays a larger role in literally than figuratively biased idioms, as retrieval of the word meaning is less relevant in the latter and the word form has to be matched to a template. The results are interpreted in terms of context integration and word retrieval and have implications for models of language processing and predictive processing in general.

Figurative Interpretation of Oscillatory and Multidirectional Movement in the Scottish English

This work is devoted to the study of the semantics of the verbs denoting oscillatory and multidirectional movement in the English dialect Scots, and identifying ways of metaphorical modeling of the semantics of this type of movement. The objectives of the study are to define the group of dialectical metaphorical verbs, and to describe the sphere of axiological orientation of metaphorical images of this type of movement in the Scottish dialect. The results of the study showed that the class of verbs of this type of movement is rather representative. The work shows not just the study of a certain form of movement, but the identification of those components of semantics in the dialectical verb vocabulary, which are the basis of metaphorical likening of processes and phenomena of different spheres of activity. As part of the study, the authors concluded that the “orientation point” component is one of the main traits on which metaphorical transfer was based. Therefore, the analysis was carried out taking into account the interaction of signs of the direction of movement, which influence the formation of a metaphorical image. Images of oscillatory and multidirectional movement are the source sphere for metaphorical modeling of the social, emotional sphere of human existence, as well as physiological aspects of people.

Ibn Khuzaymah Dan Takwil Hadis Sifat: Sebuah Analisis Kepada Kandungan Hadis Wajh Dan Ṣūrah

How to understand the content of Hadis Sifat is one of the most contested topics in the history of Islamic theology. In short, Hadis Sifat is a term for certain hadiss that seem to assign human attributes to God. Methodological differences in understanding the content of such hadiss have sparked polemics between those who endorse ta’wil (figurative interpretation) and those who disapprove it. This article will examine the approach used by Muhammad bin Ishāq bin Khuzaymah (d. 311 H), a respected scholar of hadis in Nishapur, in dealing with Hadis Sifat in his Kitāb al-Tawḥīd. It will observe his commentaries on certain hadiss in which the prophet explicitly mentioned divine face (wajh) and form (ṣūrah). This study applied document and textual analysis. It found that although Ibn Khuzaymah generally stressed on the obligation of accepting the literal meaning, he did not entirely discard the ta’wil interpretation. He in some cases applied speculative interpretation to avoid misconceptions and to prevent anthropomorphism.

Cognitive organization of cognitive activities of students on the basis of effective harmonization of logical and emotional aspects of acquiring of scientific knowledge

The relevance of the article is due to the fact that cognitive pedagogy has set the task of identifying the patterns of functioning and the formation of learning mechanisms for students in order to increase the effectiveness and quality of higher education in the era of digitalization. The purpose of the article is to reveal the integrative integrity of cognitive-logical and emotional-figurative mechanisms of cognition based on the relationship between the perceptions of the procedural deployment of educational material with the patterns in the presentation of a simultaneous image in the process of semantic disclosure of educational information. The cognitive paradigm is positioned as a methodological basis for the study, based on the appeal to methods, types and technologies of information processing by a person in order to create his own system of knowledge of the world with access to the generation of knowledge. The authors emphasize the importance of using the mechanisms of art in the process of emotionally figurative interpretation of scientific knowledge associated with the hermeneutic direction, according to which it is necessary to prepare students for perception, adjust them to experience and empathy, which contribute to the assimilation of scientific knowledge not reproductively, but constructively, creatively. In the process of experimental work, diagnostics of the dominant perceptual modality and imagination were used in order to identify their role in the organization of educational and cognitive activity in conditions of intensive generation of knowledge.

Verbalization of Bacchic Actions in the Artistic World of Fyodor Abramov

The features of verbalization of Bacchic actions in the works of Fyodor Abramov (tetralogy “Brothers and Sisters”, novels “Pelageya”, “Alka”, “Mamonikha”, “Wooden Horses” and stories) are considered. The linguistic means of the individual author’s interpretation of the “Wine Drinking” sphere as a fragment of the semantic field of a literary text are analyzed. Bacchic action from the point of view of manifestation of one or another cultural semantics in it (according to M. L. Kovshova): utilitarian, functional, aesthetic, social hierarchical, ideological and spiritual is studied. It is noted that in the artistic world of Abramov, the utilitarian and functional aspects generally correspond to the general cultural ones, reflected in the paremias. It was revealed that the social-hierarchical cultural layer has its own specificity, which manifests itself in two oppositions: “village — city”, “collective farmer-peasant — rural intellectuals”. The author notes that the ideological and spiritual component in understanding the situation of wine drinking is associated with the expression of the author’s attitude, his worldview through the prism of the character’s opinion. It is concluded that the verbalization of Bacchic action is distinguished by figurative interpretation, the attraction of components from various spheres: the use of expressions containing somatisms, animalisms, perceptual vocabulary, verbs of physical impact, etc. When analyzing the social component of some Bacchic expressions, it is noted that the objects of wine drinking (vessels) are interpreted as subjects of interpersonal relationships.

ISSUES OF ETHNOCULTURAL TRADITIONS DEVELOPMENT IN MODERN ARTISTIC PRACTICE

The article deals with insufficiently studied theoretical aspects of revealing and analyzing new elements and motives of artistic and compositional means of expression in folk art, as well as topical issues concerning determining principles and possible options for their creative development in modern decorative and applied art, design, and artistic practice in general. The most important structural features of shaping in traditional art in the ontologically interrelated system "nature — man — object" are analyzed. The main structurally stable elements and components in Kazakh folk ornament are distinguished and characterized, these are the circle, S-shaped element, cruciform and triangular components. The evolution of their ideological and figurative interpretation and symbolism is traced, and their role in the genesis of folk art traditions formed over thousands of years is revealed. The selected basic elements of folk ornament, as the main components of means of artistic expression, are proposed to be defined and developed in line with modern interpretations of artistic and aesthetic categories — dynamics, statics, harmony and their decorative variations in accordance with the volumetric and spatial features of form.

The Semantic System of the Mari Folk Costume and its Artistic-Figurative Interpretation

The article is devoted to the study of the traditional Mari costume, which unifi es the worldview, aesthetical and artistic perceptions of the surrounding world. The semantic system of the folk costume and its artistic-fi gurative interpretation presumes a unity of their utilitarian and decorative purposes. On the basis of studies of material related to archeology, ethnography and art studies the ethnic-determining sources are revealed which are important for the development of the practice of contemporary ethnic design.