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Metaphor in using and understanding euphemism and dysphemism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Kerry L. Pfaff,
Raymond W. Gibbs Jr and
Michael D. Johnson
Kerry L. Pfaff
Affiliation:
University of California, Santa Cruz
Raymond W. Gibbs Jr*
Affiliation:
University of California, Santa Cruz
Michael D. Johnson
Affiliation:
University of California, Santa Cruz
*
Raymond W. Gibbs, Jr., Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064
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Abstract

Six experiments examined the role of metaphorical knowledge in people's use and understanding of euphemisms and offensive expressions. Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrated that familiar euphemisms and dysphemisms are viewed as more appropriate and are easier to comprehend when there is a conceptual match between them and the context. The data from Experiments 3 and 4 showed a similar pattern for novel euphemisms and offensive phrases. Experiments 5 and 6 ruled out the hypothesis that the previous results were due to semantic priming. The findings from these experiments indicate that people's metaphorical conceptualization of a certain topic can influence the processing time and appropriate use of euphemistic and dysphemistic expressions.

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Type
Articles
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 18 , Issue 1 , January 1997, pp. 59 - 83
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1997

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