Search results for "litote"
showing 3 items of 3 documents
Four Potential Meanings of Double Negation
2016
The figurative use of double negations (not uninteresting, not unhappy) has been described by linguists and rhetoricians with regards to the rhetorical figure litotes. Both mitigation and strengthening have been proposed as aims of litotes (Horn, 1989; Krifka, 2007; van der Wouden, 1996). An analysis of the construction nicht un-adjective (not un-adj.) on the basis of German corpora leads to a coherent system of pragmatic functions for this sort of double negations. The construction can function as denial, potential presumption denial, mitigation or understatement. Nevertheless, litotes exemplifies the “indeterminate nature of figurative meaning” as suggested by Colston/Gibbs (2012: 259) in…
On the relation of irony, understatement, and litotes
2016
The aim of this paper is to clarify the distinctive and the shared features of the three phenomena: irony, understatement, and litotes. These rhetorical figures have been defined as synonymous, distinct or overlapping in various accounts. This indicates an interrelation but also a need for clearer definitions. Here, each of these rhetorical figures is defined via two jointly necessary conditions. This approach sharpens the categories, enables clear-cut distinctions and helps to explain cases of overlap. German corpus data and examples from the literature as a basis, allow differentiating between cases of understatement as a means of irony, and cases of litotes as a means of understatement. …
Analysis and review of the role of sarcasm and litote: A proposal from the perspective of the Theory of Relevance
2009
En general, el sarcasmo y la lítote han sido consideradas tradicionalmente como figuras retóricas y, por tanto, como usos dislocados del lenguaje. Desde la tradición clásica, se ha aceptado que existen dos tipos de lenguaje: el literal y el figurado. En tal sentido, este artículo pretende hacer un repaso a algunas consideraciones realizadas desde la Teoría de la Relevancia y, por tanto, concluir que existe un único lenguaje que depende de la relevancia comunicativa perseguida. Overall, sarcasm and litote have been considered rhetorical figures and, therefore, dislocated uses of language. Classical studies accept the existence of two different languages: the literal one and the figurative on…