Figurative Language Comprehension

Herbert L. Colston, Albert N. Katz

• Contents: A.N. Katz, Preface. H.L. Colston, On Sociocultural and Nonliteral: A Synopsis and a Prophesy. Part I: Sociocultural Knowledge Influences.D.J. Barr, B. Keysar, Making Sense of How We Make Sense: The Paradox of Egocentrism in Language Use. R.J. Gerrig, W.S. Horton, Contextual Expressions and Common Ground. Part II: Sociocultural Phenomenological Influences.T. Holtgraves, Context and the Comprehension of Nonliteral Meanings. H.L. Colston, Social and Cultural Influences on Figurative and Indirect Language. R.W. Gibbs, Jr., C.D. Izett, Irony as Persuasive Communication. K.E. Link, R.J. Kreuz, Do Men and Women Differ in Their Use of Nonliteral Language When They Talk About Emotions? Part III: Sociocultural Processing Influences.A.N. Katz, Discourse and Social-Cultural Factors in Understanding Nonliteral Language. P.M. Pexman, Social Factors in the Interpretation of Verbal Irony: The Roles of Speaker and Listener Characteristics. R. Giora, N. Balaban, O. Fein, I. Alkabets, Explicit Negation as Positivity in Disguise. Part IV: New Sociocultural Influences.T.L. Blumentritt, R.R. Heredia, Stereotype Processing and Nonliteral Language. C. Curcó, On Mosquitoes and Camels: Some Notes on the Interpretation of Metaphorically Transparent Popular Sayings. M. Marschark, Metaphors in Sign Language and Sign Language Users: A Window Into Relations of Language and Thought.

"...this book deals simultaneously with two relatively marginalized areas of language processing. This fact alone makes the book an important and welcome contribution."—Language in Society