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Literal and figurative language is a distinction that exists in all natural languages; it is studied within certain areas of language analysis, in particular stylistics, rhetoric, and semantics. Literal language is the usage of words exactly according to their direct, straightforward, or conventionally accepted meanings : their denotation .
The first known use of the word literally was in the 15th century, [1] or the 1530s, [2] when it was used in the sense of "in a literal sense or manner". [1]The use of the word as an intensifier for figurative statements emerged later, in 1769, [3] [4] when Frances Brooke wrote the following sentence: [3]
"Literally" being used figuratively as an intensifier is often viewed as a recent change, but in fact usage dates back to the 1760s. [7] "Aks" as a production of African American English only. [citation needed] Use of "aks" in place of "ask" dates back to the works of Chaucer in Middle English, though typically in this context spelled "ax". [8]
Metalepsis: figurative speech is used in a new context. Metaphor: an implied comparison between two things, attributing the properties of one thing to another that it does not literally possess. [19] Metonymy: a thing or concept is called not by its own name but rather by the name of something associated in meaning with that thing or concept.
A figurative device which involves the substitution of one grammatical form for another. It is commonly used in metaphor; e.g. "to palm someone off" or "to have a good laugh". [2] Compare hypallage. end rhyme end-stopped line A line in poetry that ends in a pause, indicated by a specific punctuation, such as a period or a semicolon. [13 ...
An idiom is a common word or phrase with a figurative, non-literal meaning that is understood culturally and differs from what its composite words' denotations would suggest; i.e. the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words (although some idioms do retain their literal meanings – see the example "kick the bucket" below).
Idioms are processed both literally and figuratively simultaneously. However, the figurative meaning (lexical representation) of the idiom is accessed first since the word string is stored and processed as one entry. Literal processing consumes more time since it requires the understanding of each word individually.
Hyperbole is one of the most widely recognized and used forms of figurative language in everyday life. It is used heavily in advertising and entertainment. Advertisers use hyperbole to exaggerate the benefits of products to boost sales. Repetitive hyperbole is used in public relations to increase the popularity of a person or product. It is ...