The number of topic-attributed features affects speakers' metaphor production

This study examined whether or not the number of topic-attributed features affects the speakers' use of metaphor production rather than literal expressions. Across two experiments, participants were asked to produce an expression that best paraphrased a given sentence. The number of features attributed to each topic was manipulated: one feature ("Her sarcasm hurts people"), two features ("Her sarcasm hurts people and is sharp"), and three features ("Her sarcasm hurts people, is sharp, and is piercing to the heart"). Participants' responses were classified into nominal metaphor/simile, literal, other metaphor/simile, and others. In both Experiment 1 and Experiment 2, participants' nominal metaphor responses (e.g., "Her sarcasm is a knife") increased with the number of topic-vehicles that shared significant features in a given sentence. These results suggest that the number of topic-attributed features affects participants' preference for the use of metaphorical expressions. We discussed the results based on the compactness hypothesis (Ortony, Educational Theory, 25: 45-53, 1975) of metaphor production.