1887
Volume 15, Issue 1
  • ISSN 1877-9751
  • E-ISSN: 1877-976X
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

It is usually taken for granted that synaesthesia (e.g., ) is a metaphor. However, the fact that partly different interpretations have also been proposed suggests that further research is needed. Based on a critical review of the alternative positions on the topic and on a detailed analysis of relevant data, I argue in this paper that synaesthesia (in both its conventional and living instances) is indeed a metaphor, displaying a conflict between separate sensory concepts that cannot be connected in terms of a consistent conceptual relationship. The clearer and more explicit account of synaesthesia proposed in this paper in turn fosters clearer understanding of (a) the relationship with other figures that can involve the senses, such as metonymy, hypallage, and simile, and (b) the possible role of (multi)sensory perceptual experience in conditioning association preferences in linguistic synaesthesia (e.g., vs. a less likely to occur ).

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/rcl.15.1.04str
2017-08-18
2025-02-10
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Anderson, E. R.
    (1998) A grammar of iconism. London: Associated University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Auvray, M. , & Spence, C.
    (2008) The multisensory perception of flavor. Consciousness and Cognition, 17(3), 1016–1031. doi: 10.1016/j.concog.2007.06.005
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2007.06.005 [Google Scholar]
  3. Barcelona, A.
    (Ed.) (2000a) Metaphor and metonymy at the crossroads: A cognitive perspective. Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. (2000b) On the plausibility of claiming a metonymic motivation for conceptual metaphor. In A. Barcelona (Ed.), Metaphor and metonymy at the crossroads: A cognitive perspective (pp.31–58). Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. (2008) Metonymy is not just a lexical phenomenon: On the operation of metonymy in grammar and discourse. In C. Alm-Arvius , N. Johannesson , & D. C. Minugh (Eds.), Selected papers from the Stockholm 2008 Metaphor Festival (pp.3–42). Stockholm: Stockholm University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Barcelona, A. , & Ruiz de Mendoza Ibáñez, F. J. (2014) Bibliography of metaphor and metonymy. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Available electronically at: https://benjamins.com/online/met/
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Bruhn, M. J.
    (Ed.) (2011a) Exchange values: Poetics and cognitive science. Special Issue ofPoetics Today, 32(3/4).
    [Google Scholar]
  8. (2011b) Harmonious madness: The poetics of analogy at the limits of blending theory. In M. J. Bruhn (Ed.), Exchange values: Poetics and cognitive science. Special Issue ofPoetics Today, 32(3/4), 619–662.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Calvert, G. , Spence, C. , & Stein, B. E.
    (Eds.) (2004) The handbook of multisensory processes. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Casati, R. , Dokic, J. , & Le Corre, F.
    (2014) Distinguishing the commonsense senses. In M. Matthen , D. Stokes , & S. Biggs (Eds.). Perception and its modalities (pp.462–479). Oxford: University Press. doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199832798.003.0020
    https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199832798.003.0020 [Google Scholar]
  11. Classen, C.
    (1993) Worlds of sense: Exploring the senses in history and across cultures. New York: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Dancygier, B. , & Sweetser, E.
    (2014) Figurative language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Day, S.
    (1996) Synaesthesia and synaesthetic metaphors. Psyche, 2, 32.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Dirven, R.
    (1985) Metaphor as a basic means for extending the lexicon. In W. Paprotté & R. Dirven (Eds.), The ubiquity of metaphor: Metaphor in language and thought (pp.85–119). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. doi: 10.1075/cilt.29.06dir
    https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.29.06dir [Google Scholar]
  15. Dombi, E.
    (1974) Synaesthesia and poetry. Poetics, 3(3), 23–44. doi: 10.1016/0304‑422X(74)90021‑7
    https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-422X(74)90021-7 [Google Scholar]
  16. Genette, G.
    (1972) Figures III. Paris: Seuil.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Gonzálvez-García, F. , Peña Cervel, M. S. , & Pérez Hernández, L.
    (Eds.) (2013) Metaphor and metonymy revisited beyond the contemporary theory of metaphor: Recent developments and applications. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. doi: 10.1075/bct.56
    https://doi.org/10.1075/bct.56 [Google Scholar]
  18. Goodman, N.
    (1968) Languages of art: An approach to a theory of symbols. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Howes, D.
    (2011) The senses: Polysensoriality. In F. E. Mascia-Lees (Ed.), A companion to the anthropology of the body and embodiment (pp.435–450). Oxford: Blackwell. doi: 10.1002/9781444340488.ch25
    https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444340488.ch25 [Google Scholar]
  20. Johnson, D. , Allison, C. , & Baron-Cohen, S.
    (2013) The prevalence of synaesthesia: The consistency revolution. In J. Simner & E. M. Hubbard (Eds.), Oxford handbook of synesthesia (pp.3–22). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Kövecses, Z.
    (2002) Metaphor: A practical introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Lakoff, G. , & Johnson, M.
    (1980) Metaphors we live by. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Le Guern, M.
    (1973) Sémantique de la métaphore et de la métonymie. Paris: Larousse.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Legallois, D.
    (2012) Penser les relations entre synesthésies perceptuelles et synesthésies linguistiques: quelques repères et notes. La Tribune Internationale des Langues Vivantes, 52/53, 64–73.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Marks, L. E.
    (1990) Synaesthesia: Perception and metaphor. In F. Burwick & W. Pape (Eds.), Aesthetic illusion: Theoretical and historical approaches (pp.28–40). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. doi: 10.1515/9783110884937.28
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110884937.28 [Google Scholar]
  26. (2011) Synesthesia, then and now. Intellectica, 55, 47–80.
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Marotta, G.
    (2012) Sinestesie tra vista, udito e dintorni: Un’analisi semantica distribuzionale. In M. Catricalà (Ed.), Sinestesie e monoestesie: Prospettive a confronto (pp.19–51). Milan: Franco Angeli.
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Mendelson, D.
    (1984) Synaesthetic metaphor in the work of Isaak Babel. Russian Literature, 15(3), 347–362. doi: 10.1016/0304‑3479(84)90022‑X
    https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3479(84)90022-X [Google Scholar]
  29. Nudds, M. (2011) The senses as psychological kinds. In F. MacPherson (Ed.), The senses: Classic and contemporary philosophical perspectives (pp.311–340). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  30. O’Malley, G.
    (1957) Literary synesthesia. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 15(4), 391–411. doi: 10.2307/427153
    https://doi.org/10.2307/427153 [Google Scholar]
  31. Ortony, A.
    (Ed.) (1979) Metaphor and thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  32. Paillard, M.
    (2002) From figures of speech to lexical units: An English-French contrastive approach to hypallage and metonymy. In B. Altenberg & S. Granger (Eds.), Lexis in contrast: Corpus-based approaches (pp.175–185). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. doi: 10.1075/scl.7.12pai
    https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.7.12pai [Google Scholar]
  33. Paissa, P.
    (1995) La sinestesia: Storia e analisi del concetto. Brescia: La Scuola.
    [Google Scholar]
  34. Paradis, C.
    (2015) Conceptual spaces at work in sensuous cognition: Domains, dimensions and distances. In F. Zenker & P. Gärdenfors (Eds.), Applications of conceptual spaces: Geometric knowledge representation (pp.33–55). Dordrecht: Springer Verlag.
    [Google Scholar]
  35. Paradis, C. , & Eeg-Olofsson, M.
    (2013) Describing sensory experience: The genre of wine reviews. Metaphor and Symbol, 28(1), 22–40. doi: 10.1080/10926488.2013.742838
    https://doi.org/10.1080/10926488.2013.742838 [Google Scholar]
  36. Popova, Y.
    (2005) Image schemas and verbal synaesthesia. In B. Hampe & J. E. Grady (Eds.), From perception to meaning: Image schemas in Cognitive Linguistics (pp.395–420). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. doi: 10.1515/9783110197532.5.395
    https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110197532.5.395 [Google Scholar]
  37. Prandi, M.
    (2012) A plea for living metaphors: Conflictual metaphors and metaphorical swarms. Metaphor and Symbol, 27(2), 148–170. doi: 10.1080/10926488.2012.667690
    https://doi.org/10.1080/10926488.2012.667690 [Google Scholar]
  38. (2017) Conceptual conflicts in metaphor and figurative language. New York/London: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  39. Rakova, M.
    (2003) The extent of the literal: Metaphor, polysemy and theories of concepts. London: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: 10.1057/9780230512801
    https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230512801 [Google Scholar]
  40. Ramachandran, V. S. , & Brang, D.
    (2013) From molecules to metaphor: Outlooks on synesthesia research. In J. Simner & E. M. Hubbard (Eds.), Oxford handbook of synesthesia (pp.999–1021). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  41. Ramachandran, V. S. , & Hubbard, E. M.
    (2001) Synaesthesia: A window into perception though and language. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 8(12), 3–34.
    [Google Scholar]
  42. Ronga, I. , Bazzanella, C. , Rossia, F. , & Iannetti, G.
    (2012) Linguistic synaesthesia, perceptual synaesthesia, and the interaction between multiple sensory modalities. Pragmatics & Cognition, 20(1), 135–167. doi: 10.1075/pc.20.1.06ron
    https://doi.org/10.1075/pc.20.1.06ron [Google Scholar]
  43. Rosiello, L.
    (1963) Le sinestesie nell’opera poetica di Montale. Rendiconti, 7, 3–21.
    [Google Scholar]
  44. Searle, J. R.
    (1979) Metaphor. In A. Ortony (Ed.), Metaphor and thought (pp.92–123). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  45. Shen, Y. , & Aisenman, R.
    (2008) ‘Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter’: Synaesthesia and cognition. Language and Literature, 17(2), 101–121.
    [Google Scholar]
  46. Shen, Y. , & Cohen, M.
    (1998) How come silence is sweet but sweetness is not silent: A cognitive account of directionality in poetic synaesthesia. Language and Literature, 7(2), 123–140. doi: 10.1177/096394709800700202
    https://doi.org/10.1177/096394709800700202 [Google Scholar]
  47. Simner, J. & Hubbard, E. M.
    (Eds.) (2013) Oxford handbook of synesthesia. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199603329.001.0001
    https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199603329.001.0001 [Google Scholar]
  48. Strik Lievers, F.
    (2015a) Synaesthesia: A corpus-based study of cross-modal directionality. Functions of Language, 22(1), 69–95. doi: 10.1075/fol.22.1.04str
    https://doi.org/10.1075/fol.22.1.04str [Google Scholar]
  49. (2015b) Synesthésies: Croisements des sens entre langage et perception. L’Information Grammaticale, 146, 25–31.
    [Google Scholar]
  50. (2016) Synaesthetic metaphors in translation. Studi e Saggi Linguistici (Italian Linguistic Studies), 54(1), 43–70.
    [Google Scholar]
  51. Taylor, J. R.
    (1995) Linguistic categorization (2nd edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  52. Tsur, R. (2012) Playing by ear and the tip of the tongue: Precategorial Information in poetry. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. doi: 10.1075/lal.14
    https://doi.org/10.1075/lal.14 [Google Scholar]
  53. Ullmann, S.
    (1957) Style in the French novel. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  54. Whitney, A. H.
    (1952) Synaesthesia in twentieth-century Hungarian poetry. The Slavonic and East European Review, 30(75), 444–464.
    [Google Scholar]
  55. Young, D.
    (2005) The smell of greenness: Cultural synaesthesia in the Western Desert. Etnofoor, 18(1), 61–77.
    [Google Scholar]
  56. Yu, N.
    (2003) Synesthetic metaphor: A cognitive perspective. Journal of Literary Semantics, 32(1), 19–34. doi: 10.1515/jlse.2003.001
    https://doi.org/10.1515/jlse.2003.001 [Google Scholar]
  57. Zhao, Q. & Huang, C. R.
    (2015) A corpus-based study on synaesthetic adjectives in Modern Chinese. In Q. Lu & H. Gao (Eds.), Chinese lexical semantics: 16th Workshop, CLSW 2015, Beijing, China, May 9–11, 2015, Revised selected papers (pp.535–542). Berlin: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978‑3‑319‑27194‑1_54
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27194-1_54 [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/rcl.15.1.04str
Loading
  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): hypallage; metaphor; metonymy; perception; simile; synaesthesia
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error