Literal and Non-Literal Meaning

By: Dalya Qays

Language is not always a straightforward, and words often convey meanings that go beyond their literal definitions. Understanding both literal and non-literal meanings is crucial for effective communication, as it helps speakers interpret and use language flexibly in different contexts. 

Literal meaning refers to the meaning that is found in the dictionary, that is, it is the meaning a speaker says and means in a clear, accurate, direct way (Saeed, 2016). The speaker use this type of meaning to say directly what he means, accordingly, he means what he says and says what he means in a direct way, there are no other possible explanations to what he says. While non-literal meaning is when the speaker speaks in indirect way or he describes something in untrue or impossible terms (Saeed, 2006) and here the speaker does not say what exactly he means, for what he means is hidden behind the used expressions. 

Here are few examples that stay the difference between literal and non-literal meaning: 

Suppose that you want to go out for a picnic and you have found out that it is raining hard; now you want to tell your family. There are two ways to do so, either you can use literal meaning by saying “it is raining hard” or you can use non-literal meaning by saying “It is raining cats and dogs”, it doesn’t mean that animals are falling from the sky; that is impossible but it is just an example of non-literal meaning to say that ‘it is raining heavily”. 

Another example: your friend John has passed the driving license test and he was so happy, you want to tell how happy he was, then, you can say “John was so happy” or “John was over the moon” and by this example you don’t really mean that John is on the top of the moon, but to mean that he is extremely happy. 

Non-literal meaning is also called figurative meaning, as non-literal expressions often include metaphor, simile, metonymy …etc. (Glucksberg, 2001).

• Time is money (it is an example of metaphor that means time is very precious, time is as important as money).
• Rose couldn’t carry the box up the stairs, so John gave her a hand (it is an example of metonymy that stands for assistance or help).
• In addition to that, idiomatic expressions are non-literal uses of language, namely, they are multi-word phrases whose overall meaning is hidden, which is not often easy to work out from the words themselves (Hurford et al., 2007).

• You have lost the game but don’t cry over the spilled milk.

‘Don’t cry over the spilled milk’ it is an idiomatic expression that means don’t regret what has happened, it is gone, nothing can be done to change the situation or the like.

• Mr. Jones demands of all of his employees always to be dead on time.

‘To be dead on time’ another idiomatic expression that means to be precisely on the exact expected time, neither early nor late.   

It is worth mentioning that the context is critical in distinguishing between literal and non-literal meaning, consequently, the same phrase can have different interpretations depending on its context (Hurford et al., 2007).

• Before giving his speech, Elliot has got cold feet (‘cold feet’ in the given sentence refers to hesitation or confusion especially before an important event).
• After walking barefoot in the snow, my feet were freezing, and I got cold feet (in this case, ‘cold feet’ refers literally to the physical sensation of coldness in the feet due to exposure to cold temperatures).
• We are planning a surprise party for Jane, so don’t spill the beans (don’t spill the beans here means don’t tell anyone, it is a secret)
• Be careful with the bag of beans, don’t spill the beans on the floor (in this case, ‘don’t spill the beans’ refers literally to not accidently dropping the beans from the bag).

Conclusions

• Literal meaning is the actual meaning of words.
• Non-literal meaning is the symbolic meaning of words.
• Non-literal meaning can be described by a host of figurative devices.
• Idiomatic expressions are non-literal uses of language.
• The context is very important to identify whether a certain expression is used literally or non-literally.  

Sources

Glucksberg, S. (2001). Understanding Figurative Language: from Metaphors to Idioms. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 

Hurdford, J., Heasley, B., and Smith, M. (2007). Semantics: A Course Book. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Saeed, J. (2006). Semantics. UK: Blackwell Publishers, Ltd.