The difference between literal and figurative language is found in all natural languages. This idea is studied in specific areas like stylistics, rhetoric, and semantics.

Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle and later Roman rhetorician Quintilian were among the first recorded language analysts who explained the differences between literal and figurative language. A detailed study of metaphor in ancient times, and how its use was influenced by Homer's epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey, is provided by William Bedell Stanford.

In literary analysis, the terms "literal" and "figurative" are still used. However, in the fields of cognition and linguistics, the way to tell them apart is not used anymore.

The definition of literal language

Literal language gives words their basic, direct meaning, like the definitions found in a dictionary. It means the same thing no matter the situation, and the meaning of a phrase is exactly the same as the meanings of each word in it. Figurative language uses words or phrases in a way that does not mean exactly what they say. Instead, it helps you imagine ideas, feelings, or truths in a more creative or artistic way.

Figurative language

Figurative language, also known as figures of speech, includes various types such as simile, metaphor, hyperbole, and others. According to Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature, figurative language can be grouped into five categories: similarity or connection, emphasis or understatement, sound-related expressions, wordplay, and errors.

A simile compares two things using words like "like," "as," "than," or verbs such as "resembles" to show their similarities.

A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two things that are not alike by suggesting they share a similarity or create a new image. The comparison may not be stated directly. Literary expert I. A. Richards explains that a metaphor has two parts: the vehicle and the tenor.

An extended metaphor is a metaphor that continues for several sentences.

Onomatopoeia is a word that imitates a sound.

Personification gives human qualities or characteristics to non-living things or abstract ideas, often used in writing.

An oxymoron is a phrase that combines two opposite or contradictory words to create emphasis.

A paradox is a statement that seems to contradict itself or is illogical.

Hyperbole is a figure of speech that uses extreme exaggeration to express strong emotions.

An allusion is a reference to a well-known person, event, or idea.

An idiom is a phrase that means something different from its literal words.

A pun is a word or phrase used for humor or effect by playing on the different meanings of a word.

Some people have observed that the word "literally" is often used in a way that is not literal, such as in the sentence "I literally died of laughter," which clearly means the speaker did not die. This usage is not new; it dates back to the 19th century. The earliest example in the Oxford English Dictionary comes from Frances Brooke’s 1769 novel The History of Emily Montague, which includes the sentence: "It is literally to feed among the lilies." This example was also included in the 2011 edition of the dictionary.

Standard pragmatic model of comprehension

Before the 1980s, the "standard pragmatic" model of comprehension was commonly accepted. This model suggested that a listener would first try to understand a message as if it were literal. If no clear literal meaning could be found, the listener would then look for a figurative meaning to understand the message. However, research since the 1980s has questioned this model. Studies showed that people understand figurative language just as quickly as literal language. This finding challenges the idea that listeners first try to process a literal meaning and then switch to a figurative one.

Reddy and contemporary views

Starting with the research by Michael Reddy in his 1979 paper titled "The Conduit Metaphor," many linguists now believe there is no clear way to tell apart "literal" and "figurative" language. However, efforts to make this distinction continue.