Colston Herbert L, Gibbs Raymond W
Department of Linguistics.
Can J Exp Psychol. 2021 Jun;75(2):228-233. doi: 10.1037/cep0000254. Epub 2021 May 27.
We often believe that figurative language refers to speakers saying what they do not really mean. After all, metaphors, idioms, irony, and other varied figures of speech are presumed to communicate something beyond what they literally state. Yet this traditional view mistakenly assumes it is sometimes possible to directly, and precisely express one's meaning, through the use of so-called literal language. Under this view, figurative language is primarily employed, sometimes quite deliberately, for special rhetorical reasons, such as to be polite, to be memorable, to be vivid, or to express ideas that simply can't be easily formulated into literal speech. This article takes issue with many of these long-held beliefs within the multidisciplinary study of figurative language. Figurative language works efficiently, and is mostly produced and understood without special effort, because it precisely demonstrates what we mean. This quality of figurative language makes it an ideal vehicle for capturing our complex figurative thoughts and enables others to experience what we are thinking and feeling. In many respects, figurative language works so well because it communicates directly given there is simply no alternative method which meets people's adaptive cognitive and social needs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
我们常常认为，比喻性语言是指说话者表达的并非其真正的意思。毕竟，隐喻、习语、反讽以及其他各种修辞手法被认为传达的内容超出了其字面表述。然而，这种传统观点错误地假定，有时通过使用所谓的直白语言能够直接且精确地表达一个人的意思。在这种观点下，比喻性语言主要是出于特殊的修辞原因而使用，有时是相当刻意地使用，比如为了礼貌、为了令人难忘、为了生动形象，或者是为了表达那些难以简单用直白语言表述的想法。本文对比喻性语言多学科研究中许多这些长期以来的观点提出了质疑。比喻性语言运作高效，并且大多在无需特别努力的情况下就能产生和被理解，因为它精确地展示了我们的意思。比喻性语言的这种特质使其成为捕捉我们复杂的比喻性思维的理想工具，并能让他人体验我们的所思所感。在许多方面，比喻性语言之所以效果良好，是因为鉴于根本没有其他能满足人们适应性认知和社会需求的替代方法，它能直接进行交流。（《心理学文摘数据库记录》（c）2021美国心理学会，保留所有权利）
