Description
Non-literal language is ubiquitous in everyday life, and while hyperbole is a major part of this, it has so far remained relatively unexplored. This volume provides the first investigation of hyperbole in English, drawing on data from genres such as spoken conversation, TV, newspapers, and literary works from Chaucer to Monty Python. Combining quantitative and qualitative analyses, it uses approaches from semantics, pragmatics, discourse analysis and classical rhetoric to investigate in detail both speaker-centered and emotive aspects of hyperbole, and also addressee-related aspects, such as interpretation and interactional uptake. Illustrated with a range of diachronic case studies, hyperbole is also shown to be a main means of linguistic creativity, and an important contributor to language change. The book concludes with an exploration of the role of hyperbole in political speaking, humour, and literature. Original and in-depth, it will be invaluable to all those working on meaning, discourse, and historical linguistics.
The first investigation of hyperbole in English, drawing on authentic data from spoken conversation, TV, newspapers, and literary works.
About the Author
Claudia Claridge is Chair in English Linguistics at the Universitat Duisburg-Essen, Germany. She is one of the compilers of the Lampeter Corpus of Early Modern English Tracts and is the author of Multi-word Verbs in Early Modern English (2000), based on the above corpus. Her main research interests lie in the fields of historical linguistics, pragmatics, discourse studies, and corpus linguistics. Within these fields, she has published articles on such diverse topics as irony, similes/comparison, superlatives, questions, conditionals, and discourse deixis. She has also contributed articles to various recent handbooks, such as the Handbook of Corpus Linguistics (2008) and the Handbook of Historical Pragmatics (2010).
Book Information
ISBN 9780521766357
Author Claudia Claridge
Format Hardback
Page Count 316
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 640g
Dimensions(mm) 233mm * 160mm * 20mm
The first investigation of hyperbole in English, drawing on authentic data from spoken conversation, TV, newspapers, and literary works.
About the Author
Claudia Claridge is Chair in English Linguistics at the Universitat Duisburg-Essen, Germany. She is one of the compilers of the Lampeter Corpus of Early Modern English Tracts and is the author of Multi-word Verbs in Early Modern English (2000), based on the above corpus. Her main research interests lie in the fields of historical linguistics, pragmatics, discourse studies, and corpus linguistics. Within these fields, she has published articles on such diverse topics as irony, similes/comparison, superlatives, questions, conditionals, and discourse deixis. She has also contributed articles to various recent handbooks, such as the Handbook of Corpus Linguistics (2008) and the Handbook of Historical Pragmatics (2010).
Book Information
ISBN 9780521766357
Author Claudia Claridge
Format Hardback
Page Count 316
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 640g
Dimensions(mm) 233mm * 160mm * 20mm
