Understanding Metaphors in Contexts and Pragmatics

Question 1 (30 marks)

As Lakoff and Johnson (2003) discuss, metaphors are affected by contexts since we seldom take the literal meaning of a metaphor. Read the following metaphorical expressions, and explain how contexts matter in understanding such utterances. Write about 400 words.

i My new car is a lemon. ii John is a snake in the grass. iii Peter, the butcher, has run away.

Note: You may find it helpful to read Lakoff and Johnson’s Chapter 3 ‘Metaphorical systematicity: Highlighting and hiding’ in Metaphors We Live By, pages 10–13.

Question 2 (30 marks)

Do you agree with the notion suggested by Lakoff and Johnson that ‘the most fundamental values in a culture will be coherent with the metaphorical structure of the most fundamental concepts in the culture’? Illustrate with your own examples where appropriate in about 450 words.

Note: You may find it helpful to read Lakoff and Johnson’s Chapter 5 ‘Metaphor and cultural coherent’ in Metaphors We Live By, pages 22–24.

2      LANG A330 Introduction to Semantics and Pragmatics

Question 3 (20 marks)

Consider the following contexts carefully. Explain the abstract meaning(s), utterance meaning(s) and the force(s) thereof. Write about 350 words.

Context 1: a young boy talking to his mother Context 2: a street beggar addressing a passerby

‘I’m hungry.’

Note: You may find it helpful to read Thomas’s Chapter 1 ‘What is pragmatics’ in Meaning in Interaction: An Introduction to Pragmatics, pages 16–23.

Question 4 (20 marks)

Take a look at the following sentences. Identify and explain whether there is personification in each of them. Write about 350 words.

i Water runs to the mouth of the river.

ii The clock hands have stopped moving.

iii The table has only three legs.