What is Metonymy? Metonymy examples, the difference between Metaphor and Metonymy, especially in recent years, with the excessive use of these words in Turkish, many people are wondering what these words mean and their differences. Let’s first examine what the concepts of metaphor and metonymy are and then discuss the differences between these two concepts.
What is metaphor? is among the topics researched in this context. Basically, the names borrowed to make the expression stronger and to compare something simple to something stronger than itself are called metaphor. However, the western equivalent of this word, known as istiare in Turkish, is metaphor.
What is metonymy? As an answer to the question, we come up with the definition of metonymy, which is known as metaphor, name transfer or flat metonymy in Turkish, and the definition of two things being similar in terms of quality and being used instead of each other. The western equivalent of this definition is metonymy.
Metonymic connections are very important for the emergence of the concept in this context. as we have just mentioned, the connection established between objects that have something in common appears as metonymy. however, it is not always the same in this field.
One of the connections that can be established for the emergence of metonomy is transference through the connection of a person and a place. Another one can occur by establishing a connection with the name of the material from which the object is made instead of the object itself, establishing a connection by specifying the container it is in instead of the name of the substance, establishing a connection by replacing it with the sign of an object when naming it, and establishing a connection by naming the work with the name of the author.
At this point, when it is said that the school was quiet, it is not possible that the building was quiet, but that the children inside the building did not make noise. Or by specifying the material from which the object is made, for example, in the sentence “he ate out of gold”, it is stated that the plate is made of gold. Finally, the most common situation we encounter is that when we say listening to Mozart, we are actually talking about listening to the music Mozart played, not Mozart himself.
As can be understood from all these examples, in order to make metonymy, a connection must be established between them.
Difference between Metaphor and Metonymy
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Before moving on to the difference between metaphor and metonymy, it should be noted that these two concepts have a strong commonality between them.
When metaphor or metonymy is used, similarity links are created between objects. These links are based on associations, the speaker’s memory and individual perception. The difference between metonymy and metaphor is that metonymy is created with information perceived by the senses. The meaning is given directly in context.
In this context, metaphor is the replacement of an abstract perception with a concrete perception by using analogy. Thus, abstract feelings are concretized and made more distinct. Metonymy, on the other hand, is to re-concrete the associations created by the contexts derived from some features of an already concrete object. In other words, metaphors gain meaning through syntax and metonymies gain meaning through syntax.
On a more specific basis, metonymy shows a more selective characteristic, while metaphor shows a more selective characteristic. metaphor creates a vertical axis, while metonymy emerges on a horizontal axis.
What is Metonymy Otherwise Known as?
What is the other name of metonymy? The question is also among the frequently wondered topics. Metonymy, which is among the literary concepts, is also called plain metonymy, Mecaz-ı Mürsel or name transfer in Turkish.
Metaphor and Metonym Examples
If we examine examples of metaphor and metonymy, it is possible to understand the definitions mentioned above more clearly. First of all, when analyzing examples of metonymy, it would be more explanatory to give examples through their contexts.
- Object instead of user; the guitar is tired today,
- Instead of the situation, it is space; the Parliament is silent today,
- Manufacturer instead of product; Peugot is popular,
- Ruler for the ruled; Zelenski in resistance,
- Producer for production; I read Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar.
Considering all these examples, the concrete phenomenon that is actually intended to be given is made even more concrete and used interchangeably.
In examples of metaphors, he often prefers to play the three monkeys. In the sentence, instead of saying that the person remains silent, it is actually described using the more powerful and universally known metaphor of the three monkeys.
If you stop today, life is a marathon and you will lose this race. In the sentence, the length of life and the fact that it is also a long race is described with the metaphor of a marathon, which is known by everyone.
What are Metonymic Types?
Metonomy is divided into various types according to the areas where it is used. This concept, which is frequently mentioned especially in literature, is not only used for literature and has various areas of use.
Metonomic types are divided into 4 sub-types. The first of these is the common language view, which is widely used and even used in daily speech.
General poetic or artistic metonomy is usually used in poems or prose texts. The cruel bullet is the most well-known of these. Here, when we say “cruel bullet”, we are actually talking about a pistol bullet.
The generic newspaper view is a metonomy that is used in many different mass media systems. Finally, individual author metonomies are metonomies that are unique and characteristic to authors. In this section, we come across concepts that are not universally accepted but that writers use to transfer names. For example, when the metonomy of tulip city is used, it is not understood what this transfer means without the poet specifying exactly what he means here. When he says “tulip city”, he could be referring to the fact that it is famous for tulips, or he could be referring to the fact that it is a sensitive or colorful city. For this reason, this type of metonomy in particular differs from metaphor in terms of comprehensibility.
