TY - JOUR
T1 - How come silence is sweet but sweetness is not silent
T2 - A cognitive account of directionality in poetic synaesthesia
AU - Shen, Yeshayahu
AU - Cohen, Michal
PY - 1998
Y1 - 1998
N2 - Synaesthesia (e.g. 'sweet silence') consists of the mapping of properties from one modality to another. The present article introduces a cognitive account regarding the directionality of the mapping in poetic discourse. Firstly, we suggest that mapping from lower modalities onto higher ones (e.g. from 'touch' onto 'sight') is more frequently used in poetic discourse than the opposite mapping (i.e. from higher to lower modalities). The findings of a textual analysis of a large-scale poetic corpus are introduced, which support this proposal, and reveal that the 'low to high' mapping is more frequently used than its inverse, and that this tendency is a universal one (across national boundaries and historical periods). Secondly, we propose a cognitive account for this universal tendency according to which the 'low to high' mapping conforms to (while its inverse violates) the following cognitive constraint: mapping from a more accessible concept onto a less accessible one is more natural than its inverse. The findings of an interpretation experiment are introduced, which provide some support for this account by suggesting that the more frequently used structure (i.e. the mapping from the more accessible to the less accessible sense) is easier to comprehend than its inverse. We conclude by proposing that aspects of poetic language are themselves constrained by general cognitive constraints.
AB - Synaesthesia (e.g. 'sweet silence') consists of the mapping of properties from one modality to another. The present article introduces a cognitive account regarding the directionality of the mapping in poetic discourse. Firstly, we suggest that mapping from lower modalities onto higher ones (e.g. from 'touch' onto 'sight') is more frequently used in poetic discourse than the opposite mapping (i.e. from higher to lower modalities). The findings of a textual analysis of a large-scale poetic corpus are introduced, which support this proposal, and reveal that the 'low to high' mapping is more frequently used than its inverse, and that this tendency is a universal one (across national boundaries and historical periods). Secondly, we propose a cognitive account for this universal tendency according to which the 'low to high' mapping conforms to (while its inverse violates) the following cognitive constraint: mapping from a more accessible concept onto a less accessible one is more natural than its inverse. The findings of an interpretation experiment are introduced, which provide some support for this account by suggesting that the more frequently used structure (i.e. the mapping from the more accessible to the less accessible sense) is easier to comprehend than its inverse. We conclude by proposing that aspects of poetic language are themselves constrained by general cognitive constraints.
KW - Cognitive constraints
KW - Cognitive linguistics
KW - Cognitive poetics
KW - Empirical study of literature
KW - Figurative language
KW - Metaphor
KW - Metaphor compreherrsion
KW - Poetic figures
KW - Poetic synaesthesia
KW - Synaesthesia
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34248754661&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/096394709800700202
DO - 10.1177/096394709800700202
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AN - SCOPUS:34248754661
SN - 0963-9470
VL - 7
SP - 123
EP - 140
JO - Language and Literature
JF - Language and Literature
IS - 2
ER -