The processing of literal, novel metaphorical and semantically anomalous expressions in native Dutch speakers and German Dutch learners was examined using event-related potentials. The N400 component was determined for expressions which were formulated in an “A is a B” form and varied in their degree of figurativeness. A three-choice task was used in which the participants had to decide whether...

Abstract In Systemic Functional Linguistics, meanings in semantic stratum could be realized by congruent/premetaphorical, metaphorical, or demetaphorical/post-metaphorical expressions lexico-grammatical stratum. This paper, evidenced from the Corpus of Historical American English (COHA), explores specific pathway metaphorical to post-metaphorical ones guided principles Context-first and AS IF p...