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

by Ellen Winner

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674681262
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	03/25/1997
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

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.

Table of Contents

Metaphor and Irony in Communication

Philosophical and Linguistic Approaches to Metaphor and Irony

Measures of Metaphor

Constraints on Metaphor Comprehension

Early Metaphors in Spontaneous Speech

Metaphor and Cognition

How Children Misunderstand Irony

Constraints on Irony Comprehension

Why Children Understand Metaphor before Irony

References

Index

What People are Saying About This

Ellen Winner's insights into the development of metaphor and irony add immensely to our understanding of children and provide a richer appreciation of language's richest forms.

Jerome Kagan

Ellen Winner's insights into the development of metaphor and irony add immensely to our understanding of children and provide a richer appreciation of language's richest forms.

Roger Brown

This is a deep and beautiful book about the developmental roots of irony and metaphor.

David R. Olson

Through a judicious blend of sound theory, anecdotal report and experimental evidence, Winner manages to turn soft cognition into hard science.

Editorial Reviews

A rich book that addresses important issues. Winner is right that nonliteral language reflects a pervasive human ability, and revealing the bases and development of metaphor and irony displays fundamental aspects of human cognition.

Contemporary Psychology

A cogently argued book and one that also provides an accessible...introduction to what is likely to become an increasingly important topic in developmental psycholinguistics.

Child Language Teaching and Therapy - Alan Garnham

Through a judicious blend of sound theory, anecdotal report and experimental evidence, Winner manages to turn soft cognition into hard science.

David R. Olson

This is a deep and beautiful book about the developmental roots of irony and metaphor.

Roger Brown

A wonderful overview of the important issues and empirical findings on children's understanding of metaphor and irony...The Point of Words should most certainly pique the interest of many child language researchers, and I recommend it to all students of figurative language.

Child Language - Raymond W. Gibbs

This is a comprehensive and closely argued examination of two features of children's language acquisition; metaphor and irony...Accessible to the lay reader, the well-referenced text, with an extensive bibliography, makes the book a useful introduction to the development of language in children.

1997 Bibliography [UK] National Literacy Trust

Ellen Winner's insights into the development of metaphor and irony add immensely to our understanding of children and provide a richer appreciation of language's richest forms.

Jerome Kagan

A cogently argued book and one that also provides an accessible...introduction to what is likely to become an increasingly important topic in developmental psycholinguistics.
— Alan Garnham

Child Language Teaching and Therapy

A wonderful overview of the important issues and empirical findings on children's understanding of metaphor and irony...The Point of Words should most certainly pique the interest of many child language researchers, and I recommend it to all students of figurative language.
— Raymond W. Gibbs, Jr.

Child Language