- Lakoff + Johnson give several examples throughout the text of linguistic metaphorical systems. Are there any you found odd, outdated, or different from metaphorical systems that you use, either personally or in your language, culture, or social sphere? For instance, do you speak about conversation as battle, or use orientational metaphors the same way the authors describe?
“He’s living on borrowed time.” – Although understandable, “borrowed” means not his own time, means he’s dying. But I had not heard that metaphor in my language.
“He’s in top shape.” – Putting the words “top” and “shape” together makes me feel weird. Though I can guess it means he is in a good condition.
“He is my social inferior.” – I think it is outdated. Sounds like a rude statement…
- Can you identify a metaphorical system that you commonly use? What do you think is the motivating rationale (“experiential basis”) behind that system – or is there one? Have you ever intentionally (or unintentionally) changed the metaphorical system that you use to speak about a certain subject, to reflect a different experience or worldview?
The central-peripheral and up-down system. When I want to talk about some complex concepts, a picture will appear in my mind and list the points. So important things are on the center of the picture. Or think about an onion rings structure, if we cut it in half, it’s a up-down structure.
About the change. Think about the half onion again, we can also say a core is at the bottom. So the change happens here: usually the important thing is on the top. But the foundation is also important. I can build a phrase “basic science is top science” to show the change or conflict here: both down and up mean the same thing. But from different angles.
- What metaphors/systems of metaphor are commonly used when discussing your topic? If “the essence of a metaphor is understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another” (5), what other kinds of metaphors might be useful for discussing your topic, or an aspect of your topic?
My topic is “border – salt”. I think the metaphor for salt here is a link. Other metaphors may be money (need it and seek for it), lubricant in the machine (not a main part of a machine but essential).