Metonymy
Hidden Shortcuts in Language, Thought and Communication

This book explores metonymy in language, gesture, music, art and film, and discusses the challenges it presents in cross-cultural communication.

Jeannette Littlemore (Author)

9781107043626, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 29 January 2015

240 pages, 5 b/w illus. 1 table
24 x 18.5 x 1.4 cm, 0.4 kg

'Until recently, metonymy studies had to be content with playing second fiddle to metaphor analysis, both in terms of theoretical status and methodological applications. Littlemore's brilliant book puts paid to this tradition by giving a succinct overview over the advances in cognitive modelling of metonymy production, identification, comprehension and usage, as well providing fascinating insights into the interplay of metaphor and metonymy in real-world contexts, including political, therapeutic, pedagogic and intercultural communication.' Andreas Musolff, University of East Anglia

'Metonymy' is a type of figurative language used in everyday conversation, a form of shorthand that allows us to use our shared knowledge to communicate with fewer words than we would otherwise need. 'I'll pencil you in' and 'let me give you a hand' are both examples of metonymic language. Metonymy serves a wide range of communicative functions, such as textual cohesion, humour, irony, euphemism and hyperbole - all of which play a key role in the development of language and discourse communities. Using authentic data throughout, this book shows how metonymy operates, not just in language, but also in gesture, sign language, art, music, film and advertising. It explores the role of metonymy in cross-cultural communication, along with the challenges it presents to language learners and translators. Ideal for researchers and students in linguistics and literature, as well as teachers and general readers interested in the art of communication.

Introduction
1. 'What those boys need is a good handbagging'. What is metonymy?
2. 'He coughed and spluttered a lot and sneezed his lunch all over the place'. Types of metonymy and their behaviour in real-world data
3. 'He's only bowing to his passport'. Theoretical models of metonymy: uses and drawbacks
4. ''BBC', her mother would have said'. What do people use metonymy for?
5. 'But what can we expect, after all, of a man who wears silk underpants?'. Playful, evaluative and creative functions of metonymy
6. 'The Government of Britain is sort of there'. How can we identify 'metonymy'?
7. 'I found Robbie Williams in the lounge'. How is metonymy processed in the mind?
8. 'He started as nobody from Austria'. Cross-linguistic and cross-cultural variation in metonymy: implications for language learning and translation
9. 'These huts did absolutely unbelievable work'. What do we now know about metonymy?

Subject Areas: Political leaders & leadership [JPHL], Psychology [JM], History [HB], Communication studies [GTC], Language teaching & learning [other than ELT CJ], Sign languages, Braille & other linguistic communication [CFZ], Translation & interpretation [CFP], Linguistics [CF], Creative writing & creative writing guides [CBV], Language [C]