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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 .
A figure of speech or rhetorical figure is a word or phrase that intentionally deviates from straightforward language use or literal meaning to produce a rhetorical or intensified effect (emotionally, aesthetically, intellectually, etc.). [1] [2] In the distinction between literal and figurative language, figures of
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).
The literal first hypothesis proposes that, only after an appropriate literal meaning is not found, a mental idiom list is assessed to retrieve the idiomatic meaning. This hypothesis posits that there are separate storage for normal words and idioms, and that literal processing and figurative processing require different modes.
Analysts group metaphors with other types of figurative language, such as antithesis, hyperbole, metonymy, and simile. [3] “ Figurative language examples include “similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, allusions, and idioms.”” [ 4 ] One of the most commonly cited examples of a metaphor in English literature comes from the " All ...
A special case of semantic syllepsis occurs when a word or phrase is used both in its figurative and literal sense at the same time. [3] Then, it is not necessary for the governing phrase to relate to two parts of the sentence. One example is in an advertisement for a transport company: "We go a long way for you."
The result is a piecemeal approach where employees are left to fend for themselves, navigating both literal and figurative storms. The contrast with other countries is striking.
Example: "From up here on the fourteenth floor, my brother Charley looks like an insect scurrying among other insects." (from "Sweet Potato Pie," Eugenia Collier) (from "Sweet Potato Pie," Eugenia Collier)