People understand hyperbole through intent of communication, Stanford researcher says

Stanford scholar Noah Goodman found that people understand nonliteral language - metaphor, hyperbole and exaggerated statements - when they focus on the intent behind the communication. L.A. Cicero - Noah Goodman, director of Stanford's Computation and Cognition Lab, explores the ways people communicate meaning through figurative language. People tend to understand nonliteral language - metaphor, hyperbole and exaggerated statements - when they realize the purpose of the communication, according to new Stanford research. Noah Goodman , an assistant professor of psychology at Stanford, believes that figurative language - the nuanced ways that people use language to communicate meanings different than the literal meaning of their words - is one of the deepest mysteries of human communication. "Human communication," he said, "is rife with nonliteral language that includes metaphor, irony and hyperbole. When we say 'Juliet is the sun' or 'That watch cost a million dollars,' listeners read through the direct meanings - which are often false if taken literally - to understand subtle connotations." 'Sharp' vs. 'round' numbers .