Literal and figurative language

 ( Semantics ) 

The distinction between literal and figurative language exists in all ; the phenomenon is studied within certain areas of language analysis, in particular stylistics, rhetoric, and semantics.

• Literal language is the usage of exactly according to their direct, straightforward, or conventionally accepted meanings: their denotation.
• Figurative (or non-literal) language is the usage of words in addition to, or deviating beyond, their conventionally accepted definitions

" Figurative language refers to words or phrases that are meaningful, but not literally true." in order to convey a more complex meaning or achieve a heightened effect." Figure of speech." Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Merriam-Webster, Inc. 2015 "figure of speech ...: a form of expression (such as a simile or metaphor) used to convey meaning or heighten effect often by comparing or identifying one thing with another that has a meaning or connotation familiar to the reader or listener". This is done by language-users presenting words in such a way that their audience equates, compares, or associates the words with normally unrelated meanings. A common intended effect of figurative language is to elicit audience responses that are especially emotional (like excitement, shock, laughter, etc.), aesthetic, or intellectual.

The Ancient Greece philosopher Aristotle, and later the Roman rhetorician Quintilian, were among the early documented language analysts who expounded on the differences between literal and figurative language.

A comprehensive scholarly examination of metaphor in antiquity, and the way its use was fostered by Homer's epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey, is provided by William Bedell Stanford.W. Bedell Stanford, Greek Metaphor (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1936)

Within literary analysis, the terms "literal" and "figurative" are still used; but within the fields of cognition and linguistics, the basis for identifying such a distinction is no longer used.

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The meaning of literal language Literal usage confers meaning to words, in the sense of the meaning words have by themselves,

(2025). 9781588112071, John Benjamins Publishing. . ISBN 9781588112071

for example as defined in a dictionary. It maintains a consistent meaning regardless of the context,

Sam Glucksberg (2025). 9780195111095, Oxford University Press. . ISBN 9780195111095

with the intended meaning of a phrase corresponding exactly to the meaning of its individual words.

Trevor A. Harley (2025). 9780863778674, Taylor & Francis. . ISBN 9780863778674

On the other hand, figurative use of language (a later offshoot being the term figure of speech) is the use of words or phrases with a meaning that does make literal sense but that encourages certain mental associations or reflects a certain type of truth,

(2025). 9780415346337, Taylor & Francis. . ISBN 9780415346337

perhaps a more artistically presented one.

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Figurative language Uses of figurative language, or figures of speech, can take multiple forms, such as simile, metaphor, hyperbole, and many others.

(2025). 9780203597118, Routledge. . ISBN 9780203597118

Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature says that figurative language can be classified in five categories: resemblance or relationship, emphasis or understatement, figures of sound, verbal games, and errors.

Merriam-Webster, inc. (1995). 9780877790426, Merriam-Webster. . ISBN 9780877790426

A simileOrigin: 1350–1400; Middle English < Latin: image, likeness, comparison, noun use of neuter of similis similar. is a comparison of two things, indicated by some connective, usually "like", "as", "than", or a verb such as "resembles" to show how they are similar.Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia. An Introduction To Poetry. 13th ed. Longman Pub Group, 2007. p. 594.

Example: "His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry.../And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow." (emph added)—Clement Clark Moore

(1993). 9780395665916, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. . ISBN 9780395665916

A metaphorOrigin: 1525–35; < Latin metaphora < Greek metaphorá a transfer, akin to metaphérein to transfer. See meta-, -phore is a figure of speech in which two "essentially unlike things" are shown to have a type of resemblance or create a new image. The similarities between the objects being compared may be implied rather than directly stated.

The literary critic and rhetorician, I. A. Richards, divides a metaphor into two parts: the vehicle and the tenor.I. A. Richards, The Philosophy of Rhetoric (New York: Oxford University Press, 1936), 119–127.

Example: "Fog comes on little cat feet"—Carl Sandburg

Jennifer Fandel (2025). 9781583413401, The Creative Company. . ISBN 9781583413401

In this example, “little cat feet” is the vehicle that clarifies the tenor, “fog”. A comparison between the vehicle and tenor (also called the teritium comparitionis) is implicit: fog creeps in silently like a cat.

An extended metaphor is a metaphor that is continued over multiple sentences.

Example: "The sky steps out of her daywear/Slips into her shot-silk evening dress./An entourage of bats whirr and swing at her hem, ...She's tried on every item in her wardrobe." Dilys Rose

(2025). 9780435150983, Heinemann. . ISBN 9780435150983

Onomatopoeia is a word designed to be an imitation of a sound.Origin: 1570–80; < Late Latin < Greek onomatopoiía making of words = onomato- (combining form of ónoma name) + poi- (stem of poieîn to make; see poet) + -ia -ia

Example: “Bark! Bark!” went the dog as he chased the car that vroomed past.

PersonificationOrigin: 1745–55; personi(fy) + -fication is the attribution of a personal nature or character to inanimate objects or abstract notions, especially as a rhetorical figure.

Example: "Because I could not stop for Death,/He kindly stopped for me;/The carriage held but just ourselves/And Immortality."—Emily Dickinson. Dickinson portrays death as a carriage driver.

Nikki Moustaki (2025). 9781440695636, Penguin. . ISBN 9781440695636

An oxymoron is a figure of speech in which a pair of opposite or contradictory terms is used together for emphasis.Origin: < post-classical Latin oxymoron, figure of speech in which a pair of opposed or markedly contradictory terms are placed in conjunction for emphasis (5th cent.; also oxymorum) < ancient Greek ὀξυ-oxy- comb. form1+ μωρόςdull, stupid, foolish (see moron n.2).

Examples: Organized chaos, Same difference, Bittersweet.

A paradox is a statement or proposition which is self-contradictory, unreasonable, or illogical.Origin: < Middle French, French paradoxe (1495 as noun; 1372–74 in plural paradoxesas the title of a work by Cicero; paradoxon (noun) philosophical paradox in post-classical Latin also a figure of speech < ancient Greek παράδοξον, especially in plural παράδοξαStoical paradoxes, use as noun of neuter singular of παράδοξος (adjective) contrary to received opinion or expectation < παρα-para- prefix1+ δόξαopinion (see doxology n.), after ancient Greek παρὰ δόξαν contrary to expectation

Example: This statement is a lie.

Hyperbole is a figure of speech which uses an extravagant or exaggerated statement to express strong feelings.Origin: < Greek ὑπερβολήexcess (compare hyperbola n.), exaggeration; the latter sense is first found in Isocrates and Aristotle. Compare French hyperbole (earlier yperbole).

Example: They had been walking so long that John thought he might drink the entire lake when they came upon it.

Allusion is a reference to a famous character or event.

Example: A single step can take you through the looking glass if you're not careful.

An idiom is an expression that has a figurative meaning often related, but different from the literal meaning of the phrase.

Example: You should keep your eye out for him.

A pun is an expression intended for a humorous or rhetorical effect by exploiting different meanings of words.

Example: I wondered why the ball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.

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Use of literally non-literally Commentators have often noted (and sometimes criticized) how the word literally itself is very commonly now used non-literally to intensify the meaning of a sentence (as in "I literally died of laughter", where clearly the speaker did not die). Far from this being a recent development, however, this usage goes at least as far back as the 19th century. Frances Brooke's 1769 novel The History of Emily Montague was used in the earliest Oxford English Dictionary (OED) citation for the figurative sense of literally; the sentence from the novel used was: "He is a fortunate man to be introduced to such a party of fine women at his arrival; it is literally to feed among the lilies." This citation was also used in the OED's 2011 revision.

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Standard pragmatic model of comprehension

Prior to the 1980s, the "standard pragmatic" model of comprehension was widely believed. In that model, it was thought the recipient would first attempt to comprehend the meaning as if literal, but when an appropriate literal inference could not be made, the recipient would shift to look for a figurative interpretation that would allow comprehension.

Albert N. Katz (1998). 9780195109634, Oxford University Press. . ISBN 9780195109634

Since then, research has cast doubt on the model. In tests, figurative language was found to be comprehended at the same speed as literal language; and so the premise that the recipient was first attempting to process a literal meaning and discarding it before attempting to process a figurative meaning appears to be false.

(2025). 9781841693590, Taylor & Francis. . ISBN 9781841693590

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Reddy and contemporary views

Beginning with the work of Michael Reddy in his 1979 paper "Conduit metaphor", many linguists now deny that there is a valid way to distinguish between a "literal" and "figurative" mode of language.

Andrew Ortony (1993). 9780521405614, Cambridge University Press. . ISBN 9780521405614

Nevertheless, work has continued on making such a distinction. For example:

(2025). 9789027239044, John Benjamins Publishing Company. . ISBN 9789027239044

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See also

• Biblical literalism
• Connotation (semiotics)
• Denotation (semiotics)
• Denotation
• Figures of speech
• Frances Brooke
• Imagery
• Linguistics
• Metaphor
• Metonymy
• Phatic expression
• Philosophy of language
• Rhetoric
• Semantics
• Semiotics
• Signified and signifier

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External links

• The Word We Love To Hate. Literally. from Slate Magazine
• Figures of Speech from Silva Rhetoricae
• Metaphor and Meaning from Minerva – An Internet Journal of Philosophy. An account of how metaphor provides new perspectives, deepens understanding, and is a major tool of linguistic development.

Categories: Semantics, Conceptual Distinctions

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