Under "L", in the new Fowler, there is an entry for 'literally', which it
is, to use a phrase by McEvoy, now 'used to mean': "figuratively".
The Fowler concurs with the Oxford English Dictionary to recognise the
figurative use of "literally" to mean "figuratively".
This is what I call the Quintilian Implicature.
Quintilian noted that while 'figure' is used to mean (to use a phrase that
McEvoy uses) 'figure of speech', 'literality' IS just another figure, or
'schema', if you must use the Greek.
'literally', fig. figuratively -- The Quintilian paradox.
The Quintilian paradox arises from the phenomenon of implicature
(recognised by Sidonius), and it's a paradox that falls under a more general
category: if you EXPLICITLY communicate what you are implicating, you kill the
effect.
The Fowler cautions: "Knowing that your [addressee] may have the screaming
abdabs (dated British slang for ‘have a fit’) if they [encounter]
"literally" prefacing a metaphor [...] you might want to avoid using it
altogether."
Grice's only example of metaphor is
i. You're the cream in my coffee.
Metaphor, like Irony, is a figure of speech. Grice's example of irony
ii. He is a fine friend (+> He is a scoundrel).
After discussion with Albritton (following the second William James lecture
at Harvard) Grice notes that
iii. Ironically, he is a fine friend.
is VERY otiose.
Similarly,
iv. Metaphorically, you're the cream in my coffee.
Or more technically,
v. Figuratively, you're the cream in my coffee.
What the Fowler criticises is an exchange like
vi. A: Literally, you're the cream in my coffee.
B: Absolutely.
Cheers,
Speranza
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