In:Changes in Meaning and Function: Studies in historical linguistics with a focus on Spanish
Edited by Jorge Fernández Jaén and Herminia Provencio Garrigós
[IVITRA Research in Linguistics and Literature 25] 2020
► pp. 109–116
A note on the relative diachronic productivity of metaphor and metonymy
Published online: 2 April 2020
https://doi.org/10.1075/ivitra.25.05gee
https://doi.org/10.1075/ivitra.25.05gee
Abstract
The assumption that the progress of culture is
characterized by an increase in abstract thinking (in terms of the
Vygotskyan model of cognitive development) suggests that the proportion of
productive metaphor compared to metonymy increases over time. However, a
large-scale investigation of metonymical and metaphoric shifts recorded in
Buck’s dictionary of Indo-European synonyms does not support that
suggestion.
Keywords: diachronic productivity, metaphor, metonymy, Indo-European, Vygotsky, synonymy
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