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Article published In: Revista Española de Lingüística Aplicada/Spanish Journal of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 32:2 (2019) ► pp.650–684

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Metaphor and metonymy in jokes

Evidence from Cognitive Linguistics and frame-shifting theory

 | Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM)
Published online: 5 November 2019
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/resla.16047.her
Abstract
Over the last few years there has been a rapprochement between Cognitive Linguistics and semantic theories of humour based on the notion of script or frame. By drawing on Ritchie’s version of the theory of frame-shifting (Ritchie, D. L. (2005). Frame-Shifting in Humor and Irony. Metaphor and Symbol, 20 (4), 275–294. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) and reviewing the cognitive linguistic account of humour, we shall demonstrate how the interpretation of jokes containing a metaphor or a metonymy involves two cognitive-pragmatic tasks: the completion of the metaphorical/metonymic mapping that results in a new frame, and the resolution of the joke’s incongruity via a contrast with the surrounding frames of the joke.
We also develop a classification of frame shifts according to their ontological structure (non-metaphorical/metonymic shifts and shifts based on metaphorical and/or metonymic reasoning) and the degree of the interpreter’s inferential activity (conceptual filling out and metaphor/metonymy replacement). In doing so, we attempt to identify some of the defining features of humorous metaphors and metonymies, as well as other phenomena that may also characterise jokes.
Resumen
Recientemente ha habido un acercamiento entre la lingüística cognitiva y las teorías semánticas del humor basadas en la noción de marco (script/frame). Basándonos en la versión de Ritchie, D. L. (2005). Frame-Shifting in Humor and Irony. Metaphor and Symbol, 20 (4), 275–294. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar sobre la teoría fundamentada en el cambio de marco (frame-shifting) y tras repasar las propuestas relativas al humor desde la lingüística cognitiva, trataremos de mostrar cómo la interpretación de chistes que incluyen una metáfora o una metonimia conllevan dos tareas pragmático-cognitivas: completar la proyección metafórica/metonímica (de forma que se genere un nuevo marco) y resolver la incongruencia del chiste a través del contraste con el resto de los marcos existentes.
También se ofrece una clasificación de cambios de marco según su estructura ontológica (según estén basados o no en razonamiento metafórico y/o metonímico) y el grado de actividad inferencial por parte del intérprete (relleno conceptual y reemplazo metafórico/metonímico). Para finalizar, intentamos identificar algunos de los rasgos característicos de las metáforas y metonimias relacionadas con el humor, así como otros fenómenos que podrían explicar ciertos chistes.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Metaphor and metonymy
  • 3.Metaphor and metonymy in jokes
    • 3.1Non-metaphorical/metonymic shifts
    • 3.2Shifts based on metaphorical and/or metonymic reasoning
      • 3.2.1Shifts based on conceptual filling out
      • 3.2.2Shifts based on metaphor/metonymy replacement
    • 3.3Humorous vs. non-humorous metaphors and metonymies
    • 3.4Cued vs. non-cued jokes
  • 4.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
References (95)
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