Metaphor and the Space Structuring Model
Metaphor and the Space Structuring Model
Seana Coulson
University of California, San Diego
Teenie Matlock
University of California, Santa Cruz
ABSTRACT
We propose an account of metaphor comprehension based on conceptual blending theory. We review data from on-line processing measures that support predictions of conceptual blending theory, and report results of an off-line feature listing study that assessed how different sorts of contexts alter the information activated by a given word. Participants generated features for words used in the null context, in sentences that promoted a literal reading of the target word, sentences that promoted a metaphorical reading, and sentences that required literal mapping. In literal mapping, the literal sense of the word was used in a way that prompts the reader to blend it with structure from a different domain. Results revealed some overlap in the features generated in each of the four contexts, but that some proportion of the features listed for words in literal, literal mapping, and metaphoric sentence contexts were unique and context-specific.
Metaphor and the Space Structuring Model
