RaAm 11 “Metaphor in the Arts, in Media and Communication”, Freie Universität Berlin and RaAM – the Association for Researching and Applying Metaphor, Berlin 1-4.07 2016.

1. Synamet under
construction
Some problematic issues with annotation
of synesthetic metaphors in Polish
discourse Magdalena Zawisławska
University of Warsaw

2. Overview of the presentation
1. What is a synesthetic metaphor – definition.
2. Sources of the corpus.
3. Methodology.
4.Tool.
5. Procedure of annotation.
6. Main problems with annotation (so far).

3. What is a synestehtic
metaphor?
A metaphor is synesthetic only
when its source domain pertains
to perception (visual, auditory,
olfactory, tactile, or gustatory). If
the target domain does not evoke
perception, we can talk of a weak
synesthetic metaphor. If both the
the source and the target domain
evoke perception, we deal with a
strong synesthetic metaphor.
(Werning, Fleischhauer, Beşeoğlu 2006)

4. Sources of the corpus
Texts excerpted from blogs devoted
to perfume (SMELL), wine, beer,
cigars, Yerba Mate, tea, or coffee
(TASTE, SMELL, VISION), as well as
culinary blogs (TASTE, VISION),
music blogs (HEARING), art blogs
(VISION), massage and wellness
blogs (TOUCH).

5. The methodology—frame semantics
Meaning of lexical units, phrases, grammatical and
syntactic constructions resides in frames – schematic
phenomena, such as our beliefs, experiences or typical
actions. (cf. Fillmore 1982).
Metaphorization process is seen as frame shifting. i.e. a
„semantic reanalysis process that reorganizes existing
information into a new frame.” (Coulson, 2001).

6. The tool
ATOS

8. Procedure of
metaphor
annotation
ATOS

9. Topic of a metaphor
Annotator has to
choose a topic of the
metaphor, that is a
referent (e.g. wine).

10. Frame activators
Annotator chooses a word
which activates one of the
frames in the analyzed
metaphor.

11. Metaphorical unit
An annotator
describes
metaphorical units
in a dedicated
editor.
When the annotator
isolates a MU, a
separate window

12. Attributes of the MU
•Text phrase: tannin smooth.
• Full phrase (non-elliptical):
tannin is smooth.
•Topic: *taste.
• Phrase type: nominal
predicate.
• Strength: strong MU.
•Category: simple synesthesia.
• Semantic head of the phrase:
tannin.

13. Frames descritpion
The source frame
• Phrase element: smooth.
• Frame: TOUCH.
• Frame element: texture.
• Activator: smooth
• Part of speech: adjective.
The target frame
• Phrase element: tannin.
• Frame: TASTE.
• Frame element: taste type.
• Activator: tannin.
• Part of speech: noun.

14. Main problems
with annotation
So far (but that’s just a
beginning).

15. Construction of frames

16. SMELL
PARTICIPANTS
SUBJECT OF
PERCEPTION
QUASI_INSTUMENT TARGET
OBJECT OF
PERCEPTION
NEUTRAL
JUDGEMENT
POSITIVE
JUDGEMENT
NEGATIVE
JUDGEMENT
ACTIVE OBJECT OF
PERCEPTION
NEUTRAL
JUDGEMENT
NEGATIVE
JUDGEMENT
PASSIVE OBJECT OF
PERCEPTION
RELATIONS
SENSATION
NEUTRAL
JUDGEMENT
POSITIVE
JUDGEMENT
NEGATIVE
JUDGEMENT
First attempt—
frames too deep, too
abstract, and not
enough elaborated.

17. SUBJECT OF PERCEPTION AGENT (perfume maker) NOSE
OBJECT OF PERCEPTION
(perfumes)
MAIN OLFACTORY
SENSATION
•NEUTRAL JUDGEMENT
(scentless)
•POSITIVE JUDGEMENT (aroma)
•NEGATIVE JUDGEMENT (stink)
SECONDARY OLFACTORY
SENSATION
TYPE OF SENSATION
(flower)
SENSATION COMPONENT
(essential oil)
LOCATION AGENT ACTION (to create)
SUBJECT ACTIONS
•Looking for smell (to scent)
•Checking smell (to smell)
STATE OF OBJECT
•Giving off smell
•Permeating a place with smell
•Changing smell (to be
pervaded with a stench)

18. amber chord (of perfumes)
amber
FRAME SMELL
Element: component
of a sensation
chord
FRAME
Element: a
combination of tones

19. Frames in Synamet
FRAME TYPE NUMBER
PERCEPTUAL 6 (VISION, HEARING, TOUCH, SMELL, TASTE,
COMPLEX PERCEPTION)
NON-PERCEPTUAL 48 (e.g. MAN, ANIMAL, PLANT, ELEMENTS,
MACHINE, WEATHER, UNIVERSE, SPORT,
INDUSTRY, ART, LANGUAGE, ARMY ect.)

20. Atypical metaphors
Or maybe very typicall?

21. Layered, coalesced metaphors
[…] neroli brzmi tak jak zazwyczaj, czyli głównie zielono i
kwiatowo, z lekką nuta octanową (to jaśmin), która wydaje mi
się nie na miejscu. Składniki oud — toczone grzybem drewno,
pewna smolistość — na chwilę ustępują świergotowi neroli, ale
potem łagodnie obejmują przewodnictwo, a neroli dziwnie
zaokrągla całość.
[…] neroli [SMELL] sounds [HEARING] as
that is mainly greenly [VISION] and flowery
[SMELL] with a light [COMPLEX
acetate [SMELL] note [HEARING] (it is
[SMELL]) which seems to be out of place.
[SMELL] components —wood eaten by
[VISION], some of pitch-blackness
moment give in for a chirping [HEARING] of
[SMELL], but later gently take the
[PERSONIFICATION], while neroli [SMELL]
strangely rounds off [VISION] the whole.
http://nosthrills.blox.pl/html

22. Elaborated metaphors that need
a very broad context.
Jaka szkoda, że ta przecudnej urody aria jest tak lakoniczna,
dyskretna, ulotna i delikatna – bo aż by się chciało zatracić i
przepaść z kretesem w tym zniewalającym brzmieniu…
It’s too bad that this aria of such
beauty is so laconic, discreet, light,
delicate—because one would like
become completely engrossed and
disappear in this captivating sound.
https://perfumomania.wordpress.com/2015/10/26/acqua-di-
intensa-czyli-kwintesencja-ulotnej-doskonalosci/

23. Roundabout metaphors
Ta płyta to mroczna podróż przez 20
utworów.
This record is a dark
journey through 20 pieces.

24. Ta płyta to mroczna podróż przez 20 utworów.
This record is a dark journey through 20 pieces.
płyta
to
mroczna
podróż
płyta
to
mroczna
podróż
SYNTAX SEMANTICS

25. JOURNEY
RECORD DARK
SOURCE FRAME 1
THE „MEDIATOR”
TARGET FRAME SOURCE FRAME 2

26. References
• Coulson, S. (2001). Semantic leaps: Frame-shifting and conceptual blending in
meaning construction. Cambridge, NewYork: Cambridge University Press.
• Fillmore, C. J. (1982). Frame semantics. In Linguistics in the Morning Calm (pp. 111–
137). Seoul, South Korea: Hanshin Publishing Co.
• Judycka, I. (1963). Synestezja w rozwoju znaczeniowym wyrazów. Prace
Filologiczne, XVIII, 59–78.
• Sullivan, K. (2014). Frames and Constructions in Metaphoric Language.
Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
• Werning, M., Fleischhauer, J., & Beseoglu, H. (2006).The Cognitive Accessibility of
Synaesthetic Metaphors. In R. Sun & N. Miyake (Ed.), Proceedings of theTwenty-
eighth Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society (pp. 2365–2370). London:

27. THANK
YOU!
zawisla@uw.edu.pl