Metaphors are a common way to express creative language, yet the cognitive basis of figurative language production remains poorly understood. Previous studies found that higher creative individuals can better comprehend novel metaphors, potentially due to a more flexible semantic memory network structure conducive to remote conceptual combination.…

Languages differ in their preferences for particular intensifying constructions. While intensifying adjectival compounds (IACs) (e.g. "ijskoud, ice-cold") are productively used to express intensification in Dutch and English, in French this construction is hardly productive. Consequently, French-speaking learners may encounter…

Differentiates between "hipobolicos", i.e., people lacking in a feeling for hyperbole; and "hiperbolicos", people with a feeling for hyperbole. (Text is in Spanish.) (DS)

Presents several socio-cultural contexts where both extremes of crudeness and euphemism are customary in everyday verbal communication. (TL)

Provides varied examples of the use of idioms. (Text is in Spanish.) (DS)

The stylistics of belief is the study of the ways in which language is used by speakers to express their beliefs, to convince other people they are right, or to avoid committing themselves to particular beliefs. Such study can contribute to an understanding of the ways in which people misuse and manipulate language for their own ends. The…

The loss of richness and multiplicity of word meaning can result in a decline in the metaphoric activity of the mind. A technologically-oriented civilization pressures students to devalue word connotation in favor of denotative exactitude. To counteract this tendency, teachers should adopt for themselves and instill in their students a regard for…