Metonymy is an important means for people to know the world and enrich the language. It is not called by its own name, but by the name of something which is closely related or implicit in the context one of the most common metonyms is the use of the capital city of a country to mean the government of that country, which is usually in the capital city. Examples of metaphor and metonymy were therefore seen as linguistic evidence of. The cognitive nature of metonymy and its implications for. The connection may sometimes be rather distance, as in metalepsis. Metonymy definition is a figure of speech consisting of the use of the name of one thing for that of another of which it is an attribute or with which it is associated such as crown in lands belonging to the crown. A famous example is, the pen is mightier than the sword, from edward bulwer lyttons play richelieu. A conventional metonymy is a metonymy that is commonly heard in everyday language. Because metonymy allows associated ideas to stand for actual ideas, it should not be used in literal writing. In the oftquoted phrase, the pen refers to the the written word, which, according to the statement, is a more effective and powerful instrument of change than the sword, which represents military or. Synecdoche and metalepsis are considered specific types of metonymy. Metonymy examples and definition of metonymy literary devices. Examples are the use of wheels to mean car, brain to mean intelligent person, and asshole to mean person in an insulting context. A concise definition of metonymy along with usage tips, an expanded explanation, and lots of examples.
Polysemy, multiple meanings of a single word or phrase, sometimes results from relations of metonymy. The first one is the oftenheard claim that metonymies are typically used for indirect referring, example like place. This article will show you the importance of metonymy and how to use it in a sentence. One can find metonymy examples in literary works like poetry, prose, drama, etc. Metonymy is a derivative of metaphor as it is a type of figurative language. Pete wells, new york times, at sushi nakazawa, only the price remains the same, 14 jan. Government silicon valley the computer tech industry hollywood the film industry detroit the auto industry the vatican the pope or the catholic church scotland yard the british police. When people use metonymy, they do not typically wish to transfer qualities from one referent to another as they do with metaphor. Read on to know what is metonymy and about examples of metonymy. The stated effect is help, what the psalmist will receive. Metonymy and related figures of speech are common in everyday speech and writing. Metonymy is a type of figurative speech in which a word or phrase is substituted for another similar or closelyrelated word. Metonymy is a type of figurative language in which an object or concept is referred to not by its own name, but instead by the name of something closely associated with it.
The part that is chosen to be a metonym of its whole is not arbitrary. Metonymy is a figure of speech in which an object or idea is referred to by the name of something closely associated with it, as opposed to by its own name. Metaphor is a nonliteral expression that uses a form to express a meaning that is similar to the literal meaning, an example being time is money. Poetics today, 1984 metonymy and metaphor also have fundamentally different functions. Metonymy definition and meaning collins english dictionary. Examples of metonymy to help you understand this figure of speech. The english language is replete with various figures of speech that we tend to use so casually, but without understanding what kind of figure of speech we are actually using. The approach supports lakoff and johnsons 1980 views that metonymy and metaphor are quite different phenomena, that in metonymy an entity stands for another, whereas in metaphor an entity is viewed as another. In literature, we conceive of almost everything through metaphor. The previous example about a head count is an example of a conventional metonymy. Definition of metonymy from our glossary of english linguistic and grammatical terms containing explanations and crossreferences to other relevant english grammar terms. In these examples the relevant conceptual relation is between a. According to the contemporary theories, metonymy and metaphor are two major types of word meaning extension, which reveal how people perceive unfamiliar, abstract concepts via familiar, concrete one on the basis of bodily experience. We can come across examples of metonymy both from literature and in everyday life.
A common form of metonymy uses a place to stand in for an institution, industry, or person. Sentences 1 and 2 contain examples of metaphor and metonymy. To show how metonymy is used creatively in everyday texts, this article reports findings from an indepth study of metonymy in an 11,067word corpus of. Lets talk about synecdoche and metonymy, two very particular types of metaphorical expression in which one word. As the name suggests, it is a literary term that involves commenting on or against an opponent, to undermine him instead of his arguments. Metonymy uses names, whilst metaphor can indicate any representation. A metonym is a figure of speech used in rhetoric in which a thing or concept is not called by its own name, but by the name of something intimately associated with that thing or concept.
Metonymy works by the contiguity association between two concepts, whereas the term metaphor is based upon their analogous similarity. Metonymy can be used in a number of associations, for example. Pdf on jan 1, 1999, gunter radden and others published towards a theory of metonymy find. Metonymy may also be used in situations where an alternative to an existing noun is called for, perhaps as a very informal or insulting term. Examples of metonymy to help you understand this figure of. The cognitive turn in linguistics changed the point of view to the interaction between language and mind, thus, new approaches to understand what metonymy is might come into life.
There is also a 2page file with practice of termsincludes a teacher key. V metaphor metonymy 1 metaphor definition metaphor is a. Both metonymy and metaphor involve the substitution of one term for another. Translators are interested in metonymy from a crosslanguage point of view. Metonymy definition of metonymy by the free dictionary. Metonymy can be poetic or, conversely, straightforward and simplifying. Metonymy is a more deeply embedded and ingrained capability of the human mind than classical approaches may tell. However, this broad notion of metonymy might run the risk of becoming too unrestricted and vacuous. The ham sandwich is waiting for his check lakoff and johnson 1980, p. Metonymy is the replacement of words with related or associated words. Metonymy is a figure of speech that replaces the name of a thing with the name of something else with which it is closely associated. It is a figure of speech where the name of an idea or thing is substituted for another name that the original name is closely associated with.
They know that both in the original languages of the bible, as well as in versions in their own. The word metonymy comes from meta, indicating change, and onoma, a name or in grammar, a noun. A method for discriminating metonymy and metaphor by computer. Metonymy meaning in the cambridge english dictionary. Through the data of black from oxford advanced learners englishchinese dictionary 6th edition, under the theories in cognitive linguistics. Ad hominem is a latin word that means against the man. What is the difference between metonymy and synecdoche. Pdf this study takes the discussion on concept structure in metonymy presented by truszczynska 2003 as a starting point and raises further questions. Lakoff and johnsons example of the metonymy in shes. In cognitive linguistics, the role of figurative language, especially metaphor, in creativity has been studied lakoff and johnson, 1980. An example of a metonymy in literature pen and the pad. A cognitive approach to the metonymy and metaphorbased. Zipped file that includes a 12slide powerpoint with definitions and examples of metonymy and synecdoche.
There is nothing presslike about reporters or crownlike about a monarch, but the press and the. Metaphor creates the relation between its objects, while metonymy presupposes that relation. A computational approach to metonymy and metaphor is proposed that distinguishes between them, literalness, and anomaly. Metonymy and metaphor proceedings of the 12th conference.
There are many figures of speech in the english language, one of them being metonymy. The times hasnt arrived at the press conference yet. In contrast, a metaphor is about understanding and interpretation. Examples of metaphor and metonymy were therefore seen as. Metonymy simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Metonymy is quite close to metaphor, but with a more specific use.
They know that new metonyms fade and become part of the regular usage and structure of the language. The use of metonymy as a creative linguistic resource has received very little attention in the literature on everyday creativity. Metonymy substitutes the contained for the container, the effect for the cause. In this song, the singer sings that you shoot me down but i wont fall cause im titanium. Recent examples on the web within a year, its name was a metonym for excellence in the art of raw fish. For instance, westminster, a borough of london in the united kingdom, could be used as a metonym for the countrys government. For example, in wall street prefers lower taxes, the new york city street that was the original home of the new york stock exchange stands in. Since the examples answering to this description form the largest subcategory and also. Such a part must be in some sense outstanding, easily recognizable, and play a unique role in the whole. The takeover of ideas of metonymy into applied branches of linguistics like translation. For example, calling a car a wheel is a synecdoche, as a part of a car the.
They know that metonymy results in meaning and collocational changes. A steering wheel would be a good metonym for driving, a violin a good metonym for a classical orchestra, bread a good metonym for a bakers shop, a file folder a good metonym for. I make the claim that metonymy, defined here as the ability to. In order to come to grips with the problem, the author proposes a narrower definition of metonymy, according to which linguistic metonymies coactivate the source, the target, and the relation between them so that only the target is expressed. Pdf it has often been claimed on the basis of discussions of referential or nominal metonymies that, unlike metaphor, metonymy has hardly any impact.
For example, in wall street prefers lower taxes, the new york city street that was the original home of the new york stock. Analyzing visual metaphor and metonymy to understand. Definition, usage and a list of metonymy examples in common speech and. Metonymy definition, a figure of speech that consists of the use of the name of one object or concept for that of another to which it is related, or of which it is a part, as scepter for sovereignty, or the bottle for strong drink, or count heads or. The figure of speech metonymy involves the exchange of nouns or verbs, where one noun or verb is put for another related noun or verb. Metonymy involves a word or phrase substituting or standing in for another word or phrase. For example, add some laughing gas would be considered inappropriate in dentistry manuals, whereas administer nitrous oxide would be appropriate. For example, god uses various forms of both metonymy and idiom regarding the subject with which we are dealing. In brief, the present book chiefly explores variation in metonymy from an.