Mereology in the Flesh

Figurative language repositories typically encompass expressions that are coded manually in formal content analyses. This chapter proposes to discuss a number of theoretical and methodological issues related to mereology – the study of parts, wholes, and their relation – that are crucial for coding part–whole figurative expressions. This contribution draws the attention to the importance of: distinguishing language and experience of part whole relations; taking into account the existence of two different kinds of whole; and finding ways to implement these distinctions in coding schemes to be used to annotate figurative expressions in electronic repositories. Finally, based on cognitive scientific evidence, this chapter formulates a hypothesis on how part–whole relations are acquired through bodily experiences and therefore could indeed said to be “in the flesh”