Discourse Relations and Default Inferences in Metaphor Interpretation

Abstract

This paper focuses on the interpretation of metaphor in discourse. We build on previous work (Agerri, Barnden, Lee, & Wallington, 2007) to offer a formalization in a computationally-oriented formal semantic framework of a set of mappings that we claim are required for the interpretation of map-transcending metaphor. Such mappings are domain-independent and are identified as invariant adjuncts to any conceptual metaphor. In this paper we claim that the invariant adjunct mappings allow us to account for metaphors where inferring discourse structure is not sufficient. Moreover, these mappings interact with rhetorical relations in order to explain cases in which recognizing their structure is not sufficient to provide an interpretation of a metaphorical discourse.