Related to poster:

John Barnden

School of Computer ScienceUniversity of BirminghamEngland

From work supported by EPSRC

(Unparelleled) Creativity in Metaphor

ATT-Meta:a Theory & a System

Theoretical account of types of reasoning claimed to be fundamental in much metaphor.

Not particularly geared towards AI.

Implemented computer program partially instantiating that theory: in order to

enhance the completeness & coherence of the theory test it lead the way to new AI systems for metaphor.

Implementation work inspired new theoretical developments, including (cf. talks at NDCL-05):

the major role of source-over-target overriding, and how to handle overriding in metaphor.

deconstruction of relationship between metaphor & metonymy.

Metaphor talking (etc.) about something as if it were something else, to

exploit the something-else’s qualities.

E.g.: “Time is galloping past.”

Think of metaphor as involving a “metaphorical view” that involves mappings between “source” subject matter and “target” subject matter.

Novel metaphor = when the utterance does not use familiar views: John unpeeled the temperature // // The road was a dolphin.

Stock metaphorical phraseology (idioms): particular words, phrases, or templates that are often used, usually based on very familiar metaphorcial views:

in the recesses of X’s mind

Variation of stock metaphorical phraseology: in the unlit recesses of X’s mind

ATT-Meta’s Main Aim:map-transcending metaphor

When the utterance uses familiar metaphorical views BUT some source aspect is NOT mapped by them:

SnakeByte technologies gobbled up RabbitWare and spat its managers out.

One part of me was insisting that I should go.

Map-Transcending Metaphor, contd.

He dredged up his mud-encrusted memories.

In the far reaches of her mind, Anne knew that …

Men aren’t islands, but some are peninsulas.

The middle managers have cricks in their necks from talking down to the workers and up to the bosses.

Variation of Stock Metaphorical Phraseology [cf. Moon 1998] “in the recesses of X’s mind” could be in a

lexicon, a WordNet, etc.

But productive variationproductive variation is possible: in the dim recesses of X’s mind in the deep recesses of X’s mind in the distant recesses of X’s mind in the unlit recesses of X’s mind

Such variation is often map-transcending.

Emphasizes degrees (gradations).

Emphasizes qualitative uncertainty.

Allows source information to override target.

Allows combinations of metaphorical views.

(Parallel & serial.)

CERTAIN Target Informationoverriding Potential Transfer from

Source

Peter’s job is a jail. In general, this could connote that

• The job severely limits Peter’s freedom of action within the job• Peter cannot leave it• It was imposed as a punishment.

However, we may be certain that actually Peter can leave it whenever he likes, and that it was not imposed as a punishment.

Thatcher was the Ronald Reagan of the UK.

Thatcher remains female (& ferociously ferrous)!

even though

Macoute was the Jane Austen of France

plausibly connotes femaleness for Macoute if the

gender of this person is unknown.

Note that things (stereotypically) associated with maleness can carry over in the Thatcher/Reagan case …

E.g., desire to win at things

(as long as Reagan himself plausibly had this quality).

Transfers from Source overriding UNcertain Target Information[cf. Deane 1993; Blending theory]

Peter’s job is a jail when we only know that most people in the given context can leave

their jobs whenever they like: the sentence can override this default.

The company nursed its competitors back to health overriding the target default that companies don’t generally help their

competitors.

In the dim recesses of her mind, Mary was thinking that …. overriding the target default that when people are thinking about

something they are doing it in a standardly conscious way.

I actually seek out stress and wallow in the stuff overriding the target defaults that stress is to be avoided

and that it feels unpleasant.

I’d sloshed the two things together [mentally] overriding the target default that the two things in

question would normally have been kept separate in one’s mind.

Her words triggered an elusive memory. … I frowned, trying to drag it to the surface, but I couldn’t get hold of it

overriding the target default that memories have already been “got hold of”.

Range of Exceptionality

Some exceptions to defaults are more unusual than others.

The company nursed its competitors back to health

very exceptional

In the dim recesses of her mind, Mary was thinking that ….

the exception itself is a common situation

Transfers from Source overriding even CERTAIN Target Information

When, e.g., the metaphor is in a question or counterfactual condition.

Is Peter’s job a jail? Even if answerer is certain that Peter can leave his job

whenever he likes, he/she must still allow for questioner not knowing this.

If Peter’s job were a jail, he would go crazy. Similarly, understander has to allow for the possibility

that Peter’s leaving-job ability is being suspended in the counterfactual condition.

A Conjecture One major function of metaphor is precisely to

help describe non-default situations (as well as default ones).

Non-default situations in a domain are ones that are likely not to be directly describable using the standard linguistic resources of the domain.

She knew that she had made a mistake. She knew somewhere in the dim recesses of her mind

that she had made a mistake.

Conflicts with target defaults are often the whole point of the metaphor, rather than an unfortunate hitch.

View-Neutral Mapping Adjuncts[cf. Carbonell]

Emotions, value judgments and mental states are often implicitly transferred from source to target in metaphor in general. (May even be a primary function of metaphor.)

Managerialism is sneaking into academia. Poverty is a disease. We’re conducting a war on terrorism.

Transferred irrespective of the particular metaphorical views in play.

Transferred only by default.

Other VNMAs

uncertainty

degrees (intensities)

causation, enablement, ability, ease, etc.

proper functioning

event shape, temporal relationships

sets, qualitative set sizes.

Some implemented, some being implemented.

VNMAs: Example 1

“John and Mary are in a race with each other at work.”

Rests on Abstract Process as Physical JourneyAbstract Process as Physical Journey.

John & Mary are viewed as being in a race.

So each intends to win that race, i.e. to finish the race journey first.

The finishing and the first-ness map by VNMAs.

So each intends to finish their work first, by another VNMA.

VNMAs: Example 2“This all means that general managers have cricks in their necks

from talking down to the Community Health Councils and District Health Authorities, and up to Regions and the Department.” [real example, quoted in Goatly 1997]

Rests on Organizational Control AS Vertical PositionOrganizational Control AS Vertical Position.

So in the PRETENCE the managers experience negative emotions, and can no longer talk easily to the Councils, Dept, etc.

The emotions, the no-longer, and ability map by VNMAs.

So the managers, in REALITY, experience negative emotions, and can no longer talk easily to the Councils, Dept, etc.

See sheets at end for more detail & a diagram (Fig 2).

Contextual-Issue-Drivenness“In the far reaches of her mind, Anne knew Kyle was

having an affair, but to acknowledge the betrayal to herself would have meant she would have had to take a stand.” [Cosmopolitan, 1994]

“acknowledge to herself” and the “but” raise the issue of the extent of Anne’s conscious awareness.

Suppose we know a conscious thinking AS physical operation metaphorical correspondence.

Then, raise issue of extent to which Anne physically operates on the idea of Kyle having an affair.

Answer this by using general knowledge about physical objects and space, incl. about “far reaches”.