LessonsDefining Literal Usage: Linguistic Assignment and Speech ConventionQuiz

CategoryCriterionExampleLiteralAccords with the governing assignmentAsad for the animal lionFigurativeAnother sense via a relation and indicatorAsad for a brave person in contextMistakeMisapplication without relevant relationMistaking a book for a horseNo actual useNo utterance has occurredA word existing only as a dictionary entry

The point is that departing from an ordinary sense is not a single phenomenon. There may be a change of register, an effective figure, an error, or no instance of language use at all.

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Comparison of literal, figurative and mistaken use

Defining Literal Usage: Linguistic Assignment and Speech Convention

CategoryCriterionExampleLiteralAccords with the governing assignmentAsad for the animal lionFigurativeAnother sense via a relation and indicatorAsad for a brave person in contextMistakeMisapplication without relevant relationMistaking a book for a horseNo actual useNo utterance has occurredA word existing only as a dictionary entry

The point is that departing from an ordinary sense is not a single phenomenon. There may be a change of register, an effective figure, an error, or no instance of language use at all.