<i>Metonymy and Metaphor in Grammar</i> is a fascinating collection of thought-provoking chapters offering a new understanding of what we mean by grammar of natural languages. Grammar is not the solid, unassailable, hard rock that formal grammarians imagine it to be, and figurative devices like metonymy and metaphor are not the soft, slippery, and dangerous paths to be avoided at all costs. Instead, figurative devices like metonymy and metaphor infuse and permeate grammar, massively, and must be confronted at every turn. This volume argues eloquently and forcefully for this view of grammar, drawing upon a diverse array of languages and lexicogrammatical phenomena, including gender, case, compounds, tense, and a variety of construction types. I wholeheartedly recommend <i>Metonymy and Metaphor in Grammar</i> to all linguists who are open to rethinking the basics of their discipline.
- John Newman , University of Alberta,
The greatest value of this volume lies in the fact that it represents an integrated attempt at elucidating the extent and depth of how specifically metonymy and metaphor underlie conceptual structuring of grammar. Although the contributions reflect the diversity of possible approaches in identifying ways in which metonymy and metaphor, seen as conceptual phenomena, interact and influence lexicogrammatical structures, they are held together by a well-defined theoretical framework of Cognitive Linguistics, carefully explicated in the Introduction. This volume enriches our understanding of the conceptual make-up of lexicogrammatical structures and will definitely trigger further research into the complex mechanisms that hold between metonymy and metaphor in grammar.
- Milena Žic-Fuchs,University of Zagreb,
For a long time metonymy and metaphor were seen as ornaments to make language more varied and beautiful. With this volume edited by Panther, Thornburg, and Barcelona, we have moved as far as possible from this idea. The startling new insight of the book is that the huge complexity of linguistic structure depends, in large measure, on such natural, automatic, and hard-to-notice cognitive processes as metonymy and metaphor.
- Zoltán Kövecses, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest,
Metaphor and metonymy are often thought of as lexical phenomena, a matter of words and how they are used. This book challenges this assumption and proposes that the grammar -- syntax and morphology -- reflect metaphorical and metonymic processes of conceptualization. It offers an exciting and innovative perspective on a variety of topics in a wide range of languages and is an important addition to the growing literature on the conceptual and functional basis of grammar.
- John Taylor, University of Otago, New Zealand,