Computational Approaches to Figurative Language

The heading figurative language subsumes multiple phenomena that can be used to perform most linguistic functions including predication, modification, and reference. Figurative language can tap into conceptual and linguistic knowledge (as in the case of idioms, metaphor, and some metonymies) as well as evoke pragmatic factors in interpretation (as in indirect speech acts, humor, irony, or sarcasm). Indeed, the distinction between the terms literal and figurative is far from clear cut. While there is a continuum from literal to figurative, certain phenomena such as metaphor and metonymy are considered prototypical instances of figurative language. To date, no comprehensive computational system addressing all of figurative language has been implemented, or even designed. Most computational work has focused on the conceptual and linguistic underpinnings of figurative language. Our discussion will focus on the two types of figurative language phenomena that have been studied computationally: metonymy (Section 2) and metaphor (Section 3). Each section introduces the phenomenon by way of examples and provides an overview of computational approaches. Section 4 concludes with a brief discussion of computational attempts to model other types of figurative language including humor and irony.