How We Do Things With Words

Tag: conceptual metaphors

  • Conceptual Metaphor in Chinese

    Find three examples of conceptual metaphors in your first language.  In what ways do they reveal something about the societal values of your culture? 1. “Hit basketball”. When we go to play badminton or basketball or any kinds of ball, we will say go to “Do you want to go hit (basket)ball?” “Hit” is a…

  • Colorful Metaphors

    Conceptual metaphors are interesting because they reflect the human thought processes. Although it may seem obvious, people do not think serially; rather, humans think by making connections that expand across multiple thought domains.  They have an innate tendency to associate commonalities across distinct disciplines of ideas. Language reflects the associative human thought process. What is interesting…

  • Conceptual Metaphor in Daily Chinese

    I didn’t realize the prevalence of metaphor usage in daily life until once I read some excerpts from professor Lakeoff, who devoted himself to linguistic research, especially in conceptual metaphor. I felt so interested in this amazing field and I suddenly realized that conceptual metaphor does not only apply to English world, but it also…

  • An Insight Into Conceptual Metaphor

      A peak into common conceptual metaphor that every Chinese knows! 不要在一棵树上吊死  Don’t hang on one tree. The traditional Chinese saying “Don’t hang one one tree” is a common metaphor that describes the human nature of stubbornness and the act of limiting one-self. Therefore, the man hangs him-self, unwilling to change and disregards the landscape around him. It…

  • Exploring traditional Chinese culture through metaphors

    It’s very eye-opening to learn about conceptual metaphors that shape not only our languages but also our thoughts and actions. I find three very popular sayings in Chinese that reveal very traditional ideas of my home country. 1)  “Marriage is the grave of love”. Marriage was anything but an individual choice in the old society. Men and…

  • A Glimpse into an English Speaker’s World

    Some examples of conceptual metaphors in the English language are “sadness is blue”, “an awkward or controversial topic is an elephant in a room”, and “life is a game”. All three of these metaphors, according to Professor Lakoff, reflect how we view the world. The first metaphor could potentially reveal that the emotional reaction to…