Metaphor and Attitude Ascription

摘要

Metaphor is a favorite subject in cognitive linguistics and much study has been devoted to it (Gluckberg 1999). However, an analytical method for clarifying our understanding of metaphors remains undeveloped. Nakayama (2000) clarified the meaning of metaphors by introducing non-standard interpretation functions. In this paper, I propose an interpretation of metaphor in terms of the speaker's intended meaning. In other words, I will point out that the hearer interprets a metaphor by ascribing a prepositional attitude to the speaker.