Mereology in the Flesh

Simon Devylder

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingBook chapterResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Figurative language repositories typically encompass expressions that are coded manually in formal content analyses. This chapter proposes to discuss a number of theoretical and methodological issues related to mereology – the study of parts, wholes, and their relation – that are crucial for coding part–whole figurative expressions. This contribution draws the attention to the importance of: distinguishing language and experience of part whole relations; taking into account the existence of two different kinds of whole; and finding ways to implement these distinctions in coding schemes to be used to annotate figurative expressions in electronic repositories. Finally, based on cognitive scientific evidence, this chapter formulates a hypothesis on how part–whole relations are acquired through bodily experiences and therefore could indeed said to be “in the flesh”.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationMetaphor and Metonymy in the Digital Age
Subtitle of host publicationTheory and methods for building repositories of figurative language
EditorsMarianna Bolognesi, Mario Brdar, Kristina Despot
Place of PublicationAmsterdam
PublisherJohn Benjamins Publishing Company
Pages199-224
ISBN (Electronic)9789027262295
ISBN (Print)9789027203441
Publication statusPublished - 2019 Aug 22

Publication series

NameMetaphor in Language, Cognition, and Communication
Volume8
ISSN (Print)2210-4836

Subject classification (UKÄ)

  • Comparative Language Studies and Linguistics

Free keywords

  • figurative language repositories
  • mereology
  • metonymy
  • manual coding
  • embodiment
  • partonymy
  • meronymy
  • cognitive science

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