Figurative language is ubiquity in daily communication; however, the cognitive processing of figurative language is a neglected area. Hence, this paper aims to investigate the growth of studies on figurative language processing. Co-citation and co-occurring terms are analyzed by using CiteSpace software. Through visualizing the references obtained from web of science (WoS) core collection of Thomson Reuters, the main research patterns and the hot topics were identified. The research pattern includes exploring correlates of metaphor processing and the role of right hemisphere and the comparison between conventional metaphors and novel metaphors. The hot themes are: the role of the left and right hemispheres in metaphor processing and brain laterality; bilingual figurative language processing; the difference of processing different type of metaphors such as anaphoric metaphor and metaphor related to emotion; the relationship between processing figurative language and autism. The present study offers a new approach to visualizing relevant data to synthesize scientific research findings on figurative language processing. Suggestions for future work are provided.

Figurative language;Bibliometric analysis;Cognitive processing

[1] Faust, M. & S. Weisper. 2000. Understanding metaphoric sentences in the two cerebral hemispheres [J]. Brain and Cognition 43: 186-191. [2] Gagnon, L., P. Goulet & F. Giroux. 2003. Processing of metaphoric and non-metaphoric alternative meanings of words after right- and left-hemisphere lesion [J]. Brain and Language 87(2): 217-226. [3] Zaidela, E., A. Kasherb., N. Soroker & G. Batorid. 2002. Effects of right and left hemisphere damage on performance of the “Right Hemisphere Communication Battery” [J]. Brain and Language 80(3): 510-535. [4] Giora, R., E. Zaidel., N. Soroker., G. Batorid & A. Kasher. 2000. Differential effects of right- and left-hemisphere damage on understanding sarcasm and metaphor [J]. Metaphor and Symbol 15: 63-83. [5] Coulson, S. & C. V. Petten. 2002. Conceptual integration and metaphor: An event-related potential study [J]. Memory & Cognition 30(6): 958-968. [6] Bálint, F. & B. J. Baudewig. 2012. Neural correlates of combinatorial semantic processing of literal and figurative noun noun compound words [J]. NeuroImage 63(3): 1432-1442. [7] Bookheimer, S. 2002. Functional MRI of language: new approaches to understanding the cortical organization of semantic processing [J]. Annual Review of Neuroence 25(1): 151. [8] Mashal, N., M. Faust & T. Hendler. 2005. The role of the right hemisphere in processing nonsalient metaphorical meanings: application of principal components analysis to fMRI data. [J]. Neuropsychologia 43(14): 2048-2100. [9] Lee, S.S. & M. Dapretto. 2006. Metaphorical vs. literal word meanings: fMRI evidence against a selective role of the right hemisphere [J]. Neuroimage 25(1): 1312-1322. [10]Stringaris, A. K., N. C. Medford., V. Giampietro. , M. J. Brammer & A. S. David. 2007. Deriving meaning: distinct neural mechanisms for metaphoric, literal, and non-meaningful sentences [J]. Brain & Language 100(2): 150-162. [11]Mashal, N., M. Faust & T. Hendler. 2007. An fMRI investigation of the neural correlates underlying the processing of novel metaphoric expressions [J]. Brain & Language 100(2): 115-126. [12]Bambini, V., C, Gentili., E. Ricciardi., P. M. Bertinetto & P. Pietrini. 2011. Decomposing metaphor processing at the cognitive and neural level through functional magnetic resonance imaging [J]. Brain Res Bull 86(2): 203-216. [13]Bohrn, I., U. Altmann & A. Jacobs. 2012. Looking at the brains behind figurative language—A quantitative meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies on metaphor, idiom, and irony processing [J]. Neuropsychologia 50(11): 2669-2683.

DOI： https://doi.org/10.62639/sspjiss05.20250202

Published： 2025