Yan, Xinxin; (2024) From Likeness to Meaning: A Relevance-Theoretic Account of Similes and Other Comparison Statements. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

This thesis presents a new theoretical and experimental investigation into the nature and comprehension of similes, e.g. ‘She is like a mouse’. The study begins by tackling the question ‘What are similes?’. A comprehensive review of existing literature reveals a gap in capturing the figurativeness inherent to similes. Consequently, a novel definition of similes, as compared with literal comparisons, is proposed, based on whether the relevant likeness is intended to be literally or metaphorically true. A critical review of existing comparison models of simile processing in Chapter 3 exposes their limitations, setting the stage for the central contribution of the thesis in Chapter 4: an original relevance-theoretic account of comparison understanding, which aims to explain the interpretation of both similes and literal comparisons. Comprehension of similes shares the basic processing mechanism with literal comparisons, but requires radical conceptual modulation of the properties saliently associated with the vehicle concept. Testing the hypothesized differences between similes and literal comparisons, Chapter 5 reports two experimental studies that investigate and compare their online processing and their final interpretations. Results highlight the effortful nature of simile processing, characterized by their longer comprehension time and the higher proportion of emergent properties in their interpretations. Chapters 6 and 7 are dedicated to exploring the relationship between similes and metaphors, in particular their similarities and differences in both processing and the meaning communicated. It is argued that the formal linguistic difference between similes and metaphors has a significant impact on the processing of the two tropes and is closely connected with their communicative functions. Overall, the thesis contributes a cognitively-oriented, pragmatic account of simile and comparison statement comprehension, with key hypotheses concerning how similes are related to literal comparisons, on the one hand, and to metaphors, on the other hand, supported by empirical evidence.

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