Transference Based on Similarity (Metaphor).
Metaphor.This term (originally applied indiscriminately to any kind
of transfer) denotes expressive renaming on the basis of similarity of two
objects: the real object of speech and the one whose name is actually used.
But there is only affinity, no real connection between the two.
As they are disconnected, to find features in common, the speaker must
search for associations in his own mind, that is not as is the case with
Metaphor is a complex cognitive phenomenon. It is traditionally thought of as a kind of comparison, although how we make instant and internally consistent comparisons between quite disparate things is not really understood. Examples of metaphors in everyday language abound. The expression, You are the sunshine of my life compares someone's beloved with sunshine; something that is impossible in literal terms unless that person becomes a ball of nuclear fusion. The expression candle in the wind likens life to a candle flame that may easily be blown out by any passing draft or gust. The fragility of life is thus emphasized. But metaphor is not just associated with poetic language or especially high-flown literary language.
Transference Based on Contiguity (Metonymy).
Metonymy [Top]
Metonymy is the use of one word with the meaning of another with which it is typically associated. Metonymy works by contiguity rather than similarity. The name for one thing is applied with the meaning of a different, but spatially and/or temporally associated thing. When someone uses metonymy, they don't wish to transfer qualities (as you do with metaphor), but to indirectly refer to one thing with another word for a related thing. The common expression The White House said today... is a good example of metonymy. The term White House actually refers to the authorities who work in the building called the White House. The latter is of course an inanimate object that says nothing. Similarly, in a monarchy the expression the Crown is used to mean the monarch and the departments of the government headed by the monarch. Crown literally refers only to a physical object sometimes worn by the actual monarch. In both of these cases the physical objects referred to by the words used become emblematic of the institutions associated with the object, and so the words for those objects can be applied to the (less concretely visible) institutions. Metonymy can be seen as a kind of shorthand indirect reference, and people use it all the time, sometimes in very fleeting and non-conventional ways. For example, a doctor or nurse might refer in shorthand to a patient by means of the body part treated (The broken ankle is in room 2); a waiter might use a similar metonymy for a customer, this time using the order as an identifying feature, saying The ham sandwich left without paying. In both cases the spatio-temporal contiguity of two things is exploited to use the word for one to refer to the other. The expression the press is used not only for an actual printing press (which are now becoming rare) but also for the collective institution of the print news media.
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Metonymy is a conceptual device of probably equal importance to metaphor when it comes to speakers' strategies for expressing what they want to say in different ways (and their hearers' strategies for working out what that is).
Amelioration vs. Pejoration of Meaning.
The process by which a word becomes more respectable or its meaning becomes more pleasant is amelioration. The history of groom provides a good illustration. Marshal and constable were also raised in status from referring to horse grooms to referring to police officers. Cnicht, the Anglo-Saxon word for knight, started out meaning servant.
The opposite process, by which a word becomes disreputable or its meaning degenerates, is pejoration.Probably the best example of the pejorative process and its effects is the word ain't. Originally ain't was spelled an't and pronounced ahnt. It was a contraction for am not and used only with I. But untutored American settlers began using the word (by then pronounced ant) with he, she, and they, extending its meaning to are not, is not, and even have not.
12. Specialization vs. Generalization of Meaning.
Specialization and Generalization
Connotations can change a word's meaning in other ways besides raising or lowering its acceptability. A word's use in a particular context or situation can lead to the broadening or narrowing of semantic meaning.
When the meaning of a word is extended to cover a similar or related idea, it undergoes generalization. When its meaning becomes more specific, it undergoes specialization. In either case, the old meaning may be kept along with the new, or the original may become obsolete, being replaced entirely by the new meaning.
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Generalization also occurs when the meaning of a word is broadened to include a related concept. Board, a flat piece of lumber, was extended to mean the table made from the board and later meals (served on the board) received as pay. Board was also extended in connection with another kind of table to mean a group of people in conference. Although board has not lost its original meaning, few people think of a piece of lumber when speaking of the chairman of the board.
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