High-level metonymy and linguistic structure

Abstract

Francisco J. Ruiz de Mendoza and Olga I. Diez de Velasco take as a starting point a distinction between low-level metonymies (which make use of non-generic idealised cognitive models for their activation) and high level metonymies (which make direct use of generic idealised cognitive models) for the analysis of the different ways in which the second group of metonymies (high-level) have an influence on linguistic structure. They first study the influence of propositional high-level metonymies on stative predicates, nominal and verbal predicates, valency extension and reduction, argument structure, predication and modality ; and then they go on to describe the influence of situational high-level metonymies on indirect speech acts and what is called the 'What's X doing Y?' construction.