A criticism of the pragmatic theory of figurative language comprehension is that:
A) literal meanings always precede figurative meanings
B) figurative meanings are slower to comprehend than literal meanings
C) people can comprehend a figurative meaning even if the literal meaning is acceptable
D) literal meanings violate communicative convention

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The criticism of the pragmatic theory of figurative language comprehension is that it suggests that people always comprehend the literal meaning before they comprehend the figurative meaning. However, research has shown that people can quickly and easily comprehend a figurative meaning even if the literal meaning is also acceptable. Therefore, option C is the correct choice. Option A is incorrect because the pragmatic theory does not suggest that literal meanings always precede figurative meanings. Option B is incorrect because research has shown that people can comprehend figurative meanings just as quickly as they comprehend literal meanings. Option D is incorrect because literal meanings do not inherently violate communicative convention.

A Criticism of the Pragmatic Theory of Figurative Language Comprehension