War, What is it Good For?
Thank-you for your homework and comments! Apologies for letting in the somewhat depressing real world into blogland!! People do write and talk about these things though don’t they! What is interesting me at the moment is how they talk about them. Here are some of the verbs that you have “noticed” and some extra ones:
to fight
to head off
to tackle
to stand up to a/the crisis
to face
to survive
to overcome
the crisis hit - the crisis destroyed - the crisis is getting tougher
Now look again at these verbs. Do you notice anything about the style of the language? In what other situations would you use these words?
Yes, these are all verbs that we use in English to talk about conflict, about wars and fighting.
This is an example of how we use metaphors in everyday speech (not just in novels and poetry). We are talking about a financial problem as if it was our enemy that we must kill! A lot of language used in business is the language of war. You hear phrases like:
aggressive marketing
marketing campaigns
the cut-throat world of business or advertising (etc)
the company dominates…
Do you do the same in your own language? Do you think that we use this language in English because the world of business is a battlefield and can’t be another way? Or do we use these metaphors because that is how we want it to be? Could the way we think about and then the way we conduct business change if we used different metaphors?
Another example of an important metaphor that we use to think is that of TIME IS MONEY. In English we use the same language to talk about money that we do for time. Look at these phrases:
You're wasting my time.
He's living on borrowed time.
Is that worth your while?
You don't use your time, profitably.
The types of commonly used metaphors (in everyday speech) can tell us a lot about a culture can’t they. Do you use these types of words to talk about time in your language?
Metaphors are a very important part of the English language. People communicate everyday using metaphors and these can be one of the things that you can look out for to develop your fluency and also to understand Anglo/American culture. It can be one way in which you organize and record your vocabulary too. More importantly, remember that the language that you use may shape the way you are understood or the actual situation that you are in…
In a book called "Metaphors We Live By", George Lakoff and Mark Johnson have this to say:
In all aspects of life, ... we define our reality in terms of metaphors and then proceed to act on the basis of the metaphors. We draw inferences, set goals, make commitments, and execute plans, all on the basis of how we in part structure our experience, consciously and unconsciously, by means of metaphor.
Homework Challenge
Find at least 3 examples of how people use language of WATER metaphorically!
Good Luck!
Comments
Hello, Simon. I'm Michiko. How do you do? By the way, here is my homework."You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink".;"A fish out of water".;"Blood is thicker than water".(We Japanese also say this.);"Clear blue water".I refered to "Phrase Finder".That's all. Thank you. Bye for now.
Waters are breaking… The turbulent sea is a descriptive metaphor for self-control seizure… The biggest flood in the world… The water is the most powerful and runs straight and hard… I am haunted by waters… Various consciousnesses spring up, churning out like waves... Just as the sea agitates…
what is the meaning of -He's living on borrowed time. thank you.
Hello Simon, that was a very nice idea to ask us to look for metaphors related to water. After all water is such an important presence in our lives. without it we wouldn't exist. It's also one of the biggest concerns of the people who care for the planet nowadays. And another example of its importance is that the space programs that try to look for life in other planets, try to check wether there has been water at some point in time in the planet they're researching. But let's get down to business and try to do the homework. One metaphor that I remembered comes from a song "bridge over troubled water" refering to someone who helps another to go through difficult times and come to think of it, using the word bridge again there's: "water under the bridge" which we use to talk about something that belongs in the past and finally one that I got from the dictionary: "go through fire and water" that means experience some difficult and hard time. Thanks Simon for the opportunity to practice our English. See you later, Bye, bye.
I sometimes get into hot water because no matter what I do my boss always throw cold water on me. His wife is very angry with him for he spends money like water.
Hi Simon, "To be in hot water" means to be in troubles. Example: Banks are in hot waters nowadays. "To be in deep water" means to deal with difficult matters. Example: I hope to go out succesfully because lately I'm in deep water. We can use "hold water" when we think that a theory doesn't have solid arguments. The last explanations of the president didn't hold water. I hope don't make water with this examples. See you. Toni
Hi Simon, nice to see you. Yes I think the world of business is a battlefield and... maybe we could tell about business in another way but this kind of language describe this branch/area,field ( I'm not sure which word would be the most correct ) is the best. In Poland when we talk about time we use similar like in English, the same language that we do for money e.g."time is money". My homework: 1. " spend the money like water",2. "feel like a fish out of water"-All children in the classroom have rich parents, and she's beginning to feel like a fish out of water.3. "get into deep water" I think we would get into deep water talking to our boss about rise in such crises situation. That's all from me, thank you for the chance to practice English. Bye bye.
Hi, Simon. I wake up everyday being keen on looking at your explanations and tips and of course: our homework challenge. Well, about my homework here is: 1: Ohh! guy, you're in Hot Water or you got in hot water. That means to be in a difficult situation where you are likely to be punished. 2. He spends money like water. It means that he spends too much money, he doesn't save up any money. 3. I have forgotten him and all our problems are water under the bridge. That expresion is used to say that sth happened in the past and is now forgotten or no longer important. Well, about spend money like water, I felt sad, because, literally, humans spends too much water when washing their cars and so on. That really puts my back up. It is too much water we spend that EVEN in English has been made this idioms related to money, where. in the real life, we spend water like water. I think that what you wanted to mean when talked about war expressions in business or politics. Well!! Then, Bye Simon. I am eager to practice and learn more and more about your blog. Thanks
Hi Simon, in the past western people spent money like water, but nowadays they are in low waters and they hope keep the head above water. Also in my language there are a lot of metaphors with water. 1)Water in mouth=keep a secret; 2)make a hole in the water=to fail; 3)as easy as drinking a glass of water=very easy;4)to be like a fish out of water=to feel ill at ease. Bye
Hi Simon!We use in Portuguese this war language to describe the business world too. Have you ever seen the guys in the stock market? Gosh! It seems they are in a battlefield indeed. Moreover metaphors are frequently used in my language. Well, We´re planning to paint our house in the end of this year. As we can´t spend money like water, my mum has thrown cold water in my plans to redecorate the rooms. She told me that we´ll have to keep our heads above water while the house is painted. Anyway, I guess she´s right, so we have to decorate our house according to the budget :-). See you tomorrow, Ana Paula.
Hello Simon,I'm new to this blogging. This is something that my teacher introduced me to. I didn't comment on yesterday but here is some metaphors that I have used "You never missed your water until your well runs dry.", "My bowels was running like water." and "Still waters run deep."
Hi, Simon. I felt that your challenge is not easy. My country have some metaphors related to water : - father eat salt , son feel thirsty ( what the father do will make the effect on his son ). - Do not wait until your foot is submerged in water ( try to prepare and finish all of thing before the bad thing happen ). - Mother's love is water of river . Hope these metaphors are correct. Have fun.
Hi Simon, this is my first time that I write on this blog so.. first of all I would say you 'thanks'for your availability.I consider this blog, as well as the other sections of web, a great way to improve English's understanding. I like very much the metaphors it will be because i studied, during my high-school,the Greek Language from where provider the word('meta-fero' to bring - further). See you next time..Bye Bye
Hi Simon. I always try to have a positive feeling...except for wars that is something that even though being far from me, still depresses me. Well, apart from wars, in the battlefield of business I'm sure the things are changing for better. Fights and cut throat business in the future will be things of the past. I think business should be conducted by associations and partnerships. The financial crisis is something I've been expecting for a considerable time and preparing myself for that. Of course, I'm not happy with something that is hitting so many families but I try to get positive learning from that. As for the homework, I'll give one answer if you don't mind. My football team mates are calling me and although I've explained I have to write a comment for my virtual teacher, they are impatient ( for my annoyance!)and explaining the need to keep my studies..."it's like water off a duck's back!" Bye Simon and for sure I've read your last blog. I loved it!
Hi.. i'm new here...thats Blog is great...i'm estuding english in my country...and I want to improve my skills...so...greetting from El Salvador. about the homework , I can say: So clear like the water. water that shouldn't drink, lives run away. and I don't remember what else. God Bless you.
Hi,Simon, you are doing a really great job here, thank you. I wonder if i could ask you a question? i saw in one of your entries that you used the word 'advice' with the indefinite article, and the other day i heard the same thing from a native speaker. Is that a slip of the tongue or a new tendency of using an uncountable word? Thank u)
Hi, again) I reread the sentence in your blog “ I can give you a little advice” which makes sense now, because a little doesn’t come as an attribute to advice, but is used as a synonym of ‘some’. Am I right?
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