Much of language is used non-literally and its interpretation involves metaphor and metonymy. The comprehension of non-literal language requires a considerable amount of shared knowledge on the part of the interlocutors and many theories of metaphor and m etonymy are based on studies where this shared knowledge is available.
The overall aim of this project is to investigate impediments to understanding resulting from variation in non-literal language and thought in various contexts. To this end, metonymy and metaphor will be studied in different settings where the level of shared understanding between interlocutors is somehow reduced: cross linguistic/cross-cultural communication; communication with individuals who have psychological impairments; and hum an-computer interaction.
Twelve different doctoral investigations will be conducted across Europe, divided into four strands:
Strand A: Non-literal language in cross-linguistic communication and language learning
Strand B: The psychological processing of non-literal language by individuals with psychological impairments and its applications to psychotherapy
Strand C: Non-literal language in professional communication
Strand D: Non-literal language in human-computer interaction
Strand A involves resea rch into the ways in which language teachers and translators can best deal with non-literal language and the challenges that it presents.
Strand B comprises the psychological component of the project, investigating the ways in which metaphor and metonymy are processed by people with psychological disorders.
Strand C investigates how metaphor and metonymy in financial services advertising are processed by potential customers with varying degrees of financial expertise, and the use of non-literal language in the discussion of ethics.
Strand D focuses on the interpretation and generation of non-literal language by computers, including study of the formal semantics of metaphor and metonymy.