The Point of Words: Children's Understanding of Metaphor and Irony - Softcover

Winner, Ellen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0674681266 ISBN 13: 9780674681262

Verlag: Harvard University Press, 1997

Inhaltsangabe

A small child looks at a dripping faucet and says that it is drooling". Another calls a centipede a "comb". An older child notices the mess in his younger brother's room and says, "Wow, it sure is neat in here". Children's spontaneous speech is rich in such creative, nonliteral discourse. How do children's abilities to use and interpret figurative language change as they grow older? What does such language show us about the changing features of children's minds? In this absorbing book, psychologist Ellen Winner examines the development of the child's ability to use and understand metaphor and irony. These, she argues, are the two major forms of figurative language and are, moreover, complementary. Metaphor, which describes and sometimes explains, highlights attributes of a topic. As such, it serves primarily a cognitive function. Irony highlights the speaker's attitude toward the subject arid presupposes an appreciation of that attitude by the listener. In contrast to metaphor, irony serves primarily a social function. Winner looks in detail at the ways these forms of language differ structurally and at the cognitive and social capacities required for each. The book not only draws on the author's own empirical studies but also offers a valuable synthesis of research in the area: it is the first account that spans the realm of figurative language. Winner writes clearly and engagingly and enlivens her account with many vivid examples from children's speech. The book will appeal to developmental psychologists, educators, psychologists of language, early-language specialists, students of literature, indeed, anyone who is delighted by the fanciful utterances of young children.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Ellen Winner is Professor of Psychology at Boston College and Senior Research Associate at Project Zero, Harvard University. She is also the author of Gifted Children: Myths and Realities.

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Harvard University Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0674681266
• ISBN 13: 9780674681262
• Einband: Tapa blanda
• Sprache: Englisch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 224
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar