Hyperbole in English: A Corpus-based Study of Exaggeration

by Claudia Claridge

• ISBN13: 9780521766357
• ISBN10: 0521766354
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-12-27
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Non-literal language is ubiquitous in everyday life, and while hyperbole is a major part of this, it has so far remained relatively unexplored. This volume provides the first investigation of hyperbole in English, drawing on data from genres such as spoken conversation, TV, newspapers, and literary works from Chaucer to Monty Python. Combining quantitative and qualitative analyses, it uses approaches from semantics, pragmatics, discourse analysis and classical rhetoric, to investigate in detail both speaker-centered and emotive aspects of hyperbole, and also addressee-related aspects, such as interpretation and interactional uptake. Illustrated with a range of diachronic case studies, hyperbole is also shown to be a main means of linguistic creativity, and an important contributor to language change. The book concludes with an exploration of the role of hyperbole in political speaking, humour, and literature. Original and in-depth, it will be invaluable to all those working on meaning, discourse, and historical linguistics.

Table of Contents

List of figures	p. x
List of tables	p. xi
Acknowledgements	p. xiii
Introduction	p. 1
The characteristics of hyperbole	p. 4
A preliminary definition	p. 4
Gradability and intensification	p. 7
Context	p. 12
An encyclopedic approach to meaning	p. 21
The problem of literal meaning	p. 27
Vagueness and hyperbolic interpretation	p. 32
Summing up: a revised definition	p. 37
Realisations of hyperbole	p. 40
Basic and composite hyperbole	p. 40
Hyperbolic forms	p. 44
Single-word hyperbole	p. 49
Phrasal hyperbole	p. 52
Clausal hyperbole	p. 55
Numerical hyperbole	p. 58
The role of the superlative	p. 62
Comparison	p. 64
Repetition	p. 66
Using hyperbole: the speaker perspective	p. 71
Frequency of hyperbolic expressions	p. 71
Hyperbole and subjectivity	p. 74
Expression of self I: encoding and transporting emotional attitude	p. 77
Speaker characteristics	p. 88
Expression of self II: self-presentation	p. 91
Creative hyperbole	p. 98
Modulating hyperbole	p. 102
Downtoning and emphasising	p. 102
Reformulations and self-contradictions	p. 111
Explicit hyperbole: signalling and metalinguistic comment	p. 117
Hyperbole in interaction	p. 130
Understanding hyperbole	p. 130
Hyperbole: reactions and interactions	p. 143
Competitive exaggeration: insulting and boasting	p. 158
Face and politeness	p. 161
Conventionalisation	p. 170
Conventional hyperbole	p. 170
Hyperbole and semantic change	p. 174
Conditions of communicative behaviour	p. 175
Mechanisms and evidence	p. 177
Routinisation: diachronic case studies	p. 179
Age	p. 180
Load	p. 184
Thousand	p. 188
Awful(ly)	p. 193
Die, dead and death	p. 197
Starve	p. 207
Results and interpretations	p. 209
The rhetoric of hyperbole	p. 216
Hyperbole as a persuasive device	p. 217
Rhetorical theory	p. 217
Political language	p. 219
Hyperbole and humour	p. 232
Literary uses of hyperbole	p. 246
Conclusion	p. 263
Modern corpora used (Chapter 1,2,3,4,5 and 6)	p. 268
Modern sources other than corpora (Chapters 2,3,4 and 5)	p. 275
Conventionalisation in dictionaries (Chapter 6)	p. 276
Corpora, dictionaries and texts used for the diachronic investigation (Chapter 6)	p. 281
Sources used in Chapter 7	p. 284
References	p. 287
Index	p. 299
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