Chapter published in:
Producing Figurative Expression: Theoretical, experimental and practical perspectivesEdited by John Barnden and Andrew Gargett
[Figurative Thought and Language 10] 2020
► pp. 511–532
Metaphor as sign and as symbol
Tony Veale | University College Dublin
Metaphors come as second nature to users of
language because they are so often the norm. We trade in them
deftly, to the point of seeming indifference to, and sometimes even
ignorance of, their figurative natures. But the opposite is also
true, since words that are offered with the plainest of intentions
can be granted a metaphorical significance by those who wish to
perceive it. In this paper we contribute to the debate about
deliberate metaphors by exploring a related
concept, the potential metaphor. Any text that
supports a non-literal interpretation is a potential metaphor,
regardless of its author’s avowed intentions. We build on this
distinction to model the mechanical generation of metaphors as an
opportunistic process, whereby potential metaphors are converted
into deliberate metaphors. We argue that the distinction between
potential and deliberate is mirrored in that between signs and
symbols, and demonstrate how this understanding leads to a more
nuanced basis for generating and interpreting metaphors on a
machine.
Keywords: signs, symbols, deliberate metaphors, potential metaphors
Published online: 17 December 2020
https://doi.org/10.1075/ftl.10.18vea
https://doi.org/10.1075/ftl.10.18vea
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