Computer Interpretation Of Metaphoric Phrases
by Sylvia Weber Russell /
2015 / English / PDF
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The computational approach of this book is aimed at simulating
the human ability to understand various kinds of phrases with a
novel metaphoric component. That is, interpretations of metaphor
as literal paraphrases are based on literal meanings of the
metaphorically used words. This method distinguishes itself from
statistical approaches, which in general do not account for novel
usages, and from efforts directed at metaphor constrained to one
type of phrase or to a single topic domain.
The computational approach of this book is aimed at simulating
the human ability to understand various kinds of phrases with a
novel metaphoric component. That is, interpretations of metaphor
as literal paraphrases are based on literal meanings of the
metaphorically used words. This method distinguishes itself from
statistical approaches, which in general do not account for novel
usages, and from efforts directed at metaphor constrained to one
type of phrase or to a single topic domain.
The more interesting and novel metaphors appear to be based on
concepts generally represented as nouns, since such concepts can
be understood from a variety of perspectives. The core of the
process of interpreting nominal concepts is to represent them in
such a way that readers or hearers can infer which aspect(s) of
the nominal concept is likely to be intended to be applied to its
interpretation. These aspects are defined in terms of verbal and
adjectival predicates. A section on the representation and
processing of part-sentence verbal metaphor will therefore also
serve as preparation for the representation of salient aspects of
metaphorically used nouns.
The more interesting and novel metaphors appear to be based on
concepts generally represented as nouns, since such concepts can
be understood from a variety of perspectives. The core of the
process of interpreting nominal concepts is to represent them in
such a way that readers or hearers can infer which aspect(s) of
the nominal concept is likely to be intended to be applied to its
interpretation. These aspects are defined in terms of verbal and
adjectival predicates. A section on the representation and
processing of part-sentence verbal metaphor will therefore also
serve as preparation for the representation of salient aspects of
metaphorically used nouns.
As the ability to process metaphorically used verbs and nouns
facilitates the interpretation of more complex tropes,
computational analysis of two other kinds of metaphorically based
expressions are outlined: metaphoric compound nouns, such as
-idea factory- and, together with the representation of
inferences, modified metaphoric idioms, such as -Put the cat back
into the bag-.
As the ability to process metaphorically used verbs and nouns
facilitates the interpretation of more complex tropes,
computational analysis of two other kinds of metaphorically based
expressions are outlined: metaphoric compound nouns, such as
-idea factory- and, together with the representation of
inferences, modified metaphoric idioms, such as -Put the cat back
into the bag-.