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Part of
Studies in Figurative Thought and Language
Edited by Angeliki Athanasiadou
[Human Cognitive Processing 56] 2017
► pp. 152–175

Chapter 6
If-clauses and their figurative basis

| Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
The objective of the chapter is to demonstrate that the cognitive processes of metaphor and metonymy may determine the form of grammatical constructions and may be responsible for the elaboration of their meaning. The positions that constitute the framework in the chapter are: (a) both cognitive processes interact and pave the ground for the semantic organization and the communicative effect of grammatical constructions; (b) metonymy, being subliminal, seems to be more ubiquitous than metaphor, the latter process being most of the times based on preexisting metonymy; (c) each of the two processes operates differently encouraging the use of lexical items from the domain of conditionality. Both figurative processes, it will be claimed, contribute to broadening our understanding of grammar.
Keywords: conditional constructions, course of eventness, hypotheticality, metaphor, metonymy
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Figuration and grammar
    • 1.2Conditionality
  • 2.Hypothetical conditionals
    • 2.1Predictive hypothetical conditionals
    • 2.2Precondition hypothetical conditionals
    • 2.3Supposition hypothetical conditionals
  • 3.Course of events conditionals
  • 4.Concluding remarks
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 26 April 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/hcp.56.06ath
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