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Metaphor in using and understanding euphemism and dysphemism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Kerry L. Pfaff
Affiliation:
University of California, Santa Cruz
Raymond W. Gibbs Jr*
Affiliation:
University of California, Santa Cruz
Michael D. Johnson
Affiliation:
University of California, Santa Cruz
*
Raymond W. Gibbs, Jr., Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064

Abstract

Six experiments examined the role of metaphorical knowledge in people's use and understanding of euphemisms and offensive expressions. Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrated that familiar euphemisms and dysphemisms are viewed as more appropriate and are easier to comprehend when there is a conceptual match between them and the context. The data from Experiments 3 and 4 showed a similar pattern for novel euphemisms and offensive phrases. Experiments 5 and 6 ruled out the hypothesis that the previous results were due to semantic priming. The findings from these experiments indicate that people's metaphorical conceptualization of a certain topic can influence the processing time and appropriate use of euphemistic and dysphemistic expressions.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1997

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