ABSTRACT

Studies have suggested that metaphors (Lawyers are sharks) and similes (Lawyers are like sharks) have distinct representations: metaphors engender more figurative and abstract properties, whereas similes engender more literal properties. We investigated to what extent access to such representations occurs automatically, during on-line reading. In particular, we examined whether similes convey a more literal meaning by following the metaphors and similes with explanations that expressed either a figurative (dangerous) or a literal property (fish) of the vehicle. In a self-paced reading with a moving window paradigm, we presented participants with negated simile and metaphor main clauses (Lawyers are not (like) sharks) followed by explanations that also negated either a figurative (because lawyers are not dangerous) or a literal property of the vehicle (because lawyers are not fish). We found that vehicles (sharks) in metaphors were read significantly faster than those in similes. In addition, explanations negating a figurative property were read faster after metaphors, whereas explanations negating a literal property were read faster after similes. These results support the hypothesis that metaphors and similes rely on different interpretive processes, suggesting that similes access literal representations while metaphor access figurative ones in real time.

摘要

研究表明，隐喻（律师是鲨鱼）和明喻（律师是鲨鱼）具有不同的表示形式：隐喻具有更多的比喻和抽象性质，而明喻则具有更多的字面性质。我们调查了在线阅读过程中自动访问此类表示的程度。尤其是，我们通过按照隐喻和明喻来解释明喻是否传达了更多的字面意义，这些解释表达了车辆的象征性（危险）或字面性质（鱼）。在带有移动窗口范式的自定进度阅读中，我们向参与者展示了否定的明喻和隐喻主句（律师不是（像）鲨鱼），随后由也否定任一个形象化（解释因为律师不危险）或车辆的文字属性（因为律师不鱼）。我们发现，隐喻中的交通工具（鲨鱼）的阅读速度比明喻中的交通工具要快得多。另外，在隐喻之后，否定比喻性质的解释读得更快，而在明喻之后，否定文字属性的解释得读得更快。这些结果支持这样的假设，即隐喻和明喻依赖于不同的解释过程，这表明明喻可以实时访问文字表示，而隐喻则可以实时访问图形表示。