Argots, métaphore et « effet de loupe »

Abstract

This paper attempts to answer the question “How are metaphors born?”, as far as lexical creation in slang is concerned. Quite a number of theorists (e.g. F. Rastier, U. Eco, M. Le Guern, G. Lakoff & M. Johnson) posit that sememes are thoroughly examined prior to the isolation of one seme for the creation of a metaphor, which appears not to be compatible with the characteristics of slang; this suggests another mechanism is at work here, one for which the name “magnifying-glass effect” is proposed. How this works is described in the “autopsy” of an almost live metaphor of French slang and in the analysis of a corpus of English slang words and expressions; these also stress the strong link between metonymy and metaphor, which are indeed the two essential semantic processes at work in slang.

Keywords

• metonymy
• metaphor
• slang
• word-formation processes
• magnifying-glass effect