Number of topic-vehicle shared features influences the aptness of metaphors

ABSTRACT

This study investigated whether the number of topic-vehicle shared features influences readers’ evaluation of metaphor aptness. Experiment 1 compared the number of topic-vehicle shared features on metaphor aptness. A two topic-vehicle shared features condition showed a higher aptness rating than a one topic-vehicle shared feature condition. Experiments 2 and 3 compared the number of topic-vehicle shared features and unique features on metaphor aptness. The two topic-vehicle shared features condition showed a higher aptness rating than the one topic-vehicle shared feature and the one vehicle/topic unique feature and two unique features condition. There were differences in aptness between the metaphor and simile in a one topic-vehicle shared feature and a one topic/vehicle unique feature condition. Therefore, topic-vehicle shared features determine the aptness of metaphors, and the effect of topic/vehicle unique feature mixed with topic-vehicle shared features were different between metaphors and similes.

KEYWORDS:

• Metaphor
• aptness
• shared features

Acknowledgements

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. This study was approved by the ethics committee of the institution to which the second author belongs.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI [grant number 19K12121].