ABSTRACT
The functional viewpoint would inquire into the purposes of the metaphoric use and would accept as figurative utterances that did indeed communicate meaningfully. In the middle to upper socioeconomic schools, total figurative usage decreased significantly over grades, while in the lower socioeconomic schools usage was variable although, in general, it increased over grades. Figurative meanings, therefore, are becoming more and more firmly established and easier to select from among alternatives, and for the reason, comprehension increases. Children may understand and prefer frozen figures, but they are better able to explain novel figurative language. Qualitative examination of explication transcripts by the experimenters suggests that many children found explaining frozen figures almost impossible. Younger children responded to the tests as if both frozen and novel figures were functionally equivalent, i.e., were “strange” language. Younger school age children seem to have, as present results indicate, an overall figurative factor, with small separate factors for novel and frozen diction.
