Metaphors We Live By Response
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 Are there any you found odd, outdated, or different from metaphorical systems that you use, either personally or in your language, culture, or social sphere?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 a battle, or use orientational metaphors the same way the authors describe?
From my personal experience, there are many metaphorical in my culture. And Chinese poems are just perfectly made metaphorical in the most extreme way. Now is autumn, it reminds me of one of the poems from Shi Su, there is one sentence is:一年好景君须记,最是橙黄橘绿时间。(explanation is: the best time for the whole year you have to remember, the best time is about having the yellow-orange, and orange color tangerines.) the author use the color to metaphor the season which is Autumn. it makes people have more impression about this poem. I think this is also the function why does metaphorically being excited.
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
A metaphorical system that I usually use are orientational metaphors. For instance, I used to describe no more shopping, I usually like to day cut off my hands. When I speak in these metaphors, I envision my life and behavior to display in one picture, what truly delivery my ambition of “no more shopping”, it bring out my emotional status. Furthermore to use cut off hand refer to quit of shopaholic is very common in China.
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 topicFor?
For my topic, I used “symbiotic bacteria”, metaphors refer to Migratory birds. because, symbiotic bacteria can survive as the same time with people, both of symbiotic bacteria and human being are act well. I just want t show people migratory birds can survive as symbiotic bacteria, can work smooth with the whole society.