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The study of metaphor

2. Introduction
It is true that all of us speak in metaphors whether we realize it or not. In Metaphors We Live By by George Lakoff, a linguist, and Mark Johnson, a philosopher, suggest that metaphors not only make our thoughts more vivid and interesting but that they actually structure our perceptions and understanding. Thinking of marriage as a “contract agreement,” for example, leads to one set of expectations, while thinking of it as ‘team play”, “a negotiated settlement,” ‘Russian roulette,” “an indissoluble merger,” or “a religious sacrament” /mitsaqon gholidho/ikatan suci” will carry different sets of expectations. When a government thinks of its enemies as ‘turkeys” or “clowns” it does not take them as serious threats, but if they said that they are “pawns”(pion/bidak) in the hands of the communists, they will be taken seriously indeed.

3. What is metaphor?
The direct comparison of two unlike/different entities.
Usually it uses the concrete form to describe the abstract entity.
Concrete forms: tiger, sugar, car, bullet, lake, ocean, water, journey etc.
Abstract forms: life, love, happiness, creativity, spirituality etc.

4. The structure of metaphor
There are two parts: tenor and vehicle
Tenor is the subject matter, the point of discussion, the things that the communicator/the writer/speaker wants to discuss with the communicant/reader/listener.

5. Some Examples LIFE IS A JOURNEY.
Life is tenor, the subject matter whereas journey is the vehicle, the word used by the writer as the means to understand the concept of life.
“journey” is concrete visible thing. We can easily understand that journey has a starting point, obstacles,provision and final destination. Similarly “Life” has a baby born as the beginning of the “life journey” and death as the end of the journey.

6. Conceptual mapping
The conceptual mapping can been seen here: LIFE IS A JOURNEY. - The person leading a life is a traveler. - His purposes are destinations. - The means for achieving purposes are routes. - Difficulties in life are obstacles to travel - motivator/Counselors are guides. - Progress is the distance travelled Progress is the distance travelled - Things you passed on your progress are the landmarks/landscape. - Material resources and talents are provisions.

7. The conception of the metaphor LIFE IS A JOURNEY can be applied into other examples
like what have been said by (in Ortony 1993:206) like the metaphor of LOVE IS A JOURNEY - Our relationship has hit a dead-end street. - We can’t turn back now. - We’re at the crossroads. - The relationship isn’t going anywhere. - We’re spinning our wheels. - Our relationship is off the track.

8. Argument is war
In the very first chapter of their book, Lakoff and Johnson use the metaphor argument is war to illustrate how arguments are often viewed, practiced and experienced. Consider the following statements:
He attacked every weak point in my argument.
Your claims are indefensible.
His criticisms were right on target.
I demolished his argument.
I never won an argument with him.
You disagree? Okay, shoot!
If you use that strategy, he'll wipe you out.
He shot down all my arguments.

9. It should be understood that the above metaphorical conception is not the only form, but there are hundreds and thousands form and mental domain mapping which compared on mental domain to other mental domain like what had been elaborate by Lakoff in the metaphor of LIFE IS A JOURNEY, CHANGE IS MOTION, CAUSES ARE FORCES, SEEING IS KNOWING, THINKING AS BODY MOVEMENT, TIME PASSING IS A MOVEMENT OVER A LANDSCAPE etc.

10. Exercise for students
Try to find the tenor and vehicle and describe the context of each metaphorical expression:
1. poem is a bird
2. jealousy is a bullet/cemburu adl peluru.
3. life is a game
4.time is money
5. my father is the lion of the desert

27. Thank you
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