The term metaphor is derived from a Greek word which means "to transfer" or "to bear". This is because a metaphor transfers or bears one attribute to another. A metaphor is a figure of speech that is used to compare two ideas or things. Metaphors are means in which one concept is understood in the context of other words as it re-expresses words from one domain into another domain. They make speeches and writings more entertaining and interesting to read. Good metaphors give new information and provide a new insight. This paper is going to show how metaphors have an impact in our thinking, writing, language as well as our daily lives.
There are some common types of metaphors like the dead metaphors which are used if the sense of the transferred image is not there or is absent. For example "to grasp a concept" which literally means gathering what one has understood. Another common type of a metaphor an extended metaphor which forms a subject and subsidiary subjects for example take the earth as being a subject and the men and women being, the subsidiary subjects in the same context. A mixed metaphor changes from one identification to another without changing the first identification. An absolute metaphor is one which denotes a concept that cannot be replaced by a solely conceptual thought for example, the word light for truth. When writing a metaphor one should first of all know well the different available figures of speech then use their imagination to logically associate two unrelated objects. He or she should be creative enough to interestingly bring out a statement that does not use the word 'as' or 'like' as that would make the statement a sinmile.
Metaphors are powerful and commonly used figures of speech which play an important role in writing and language as they help in expressing ourselves. Metaphorical expressions are used in imagination and understanding. We can understand how "metaphorical expressions in everyday language icon give us insight into the metaphorical nature of the concepts that structure our everyday activities" (Johnson and Lakoff 3). In romantic relationships, people sometimes refer to an earlier girlfriend or boyfriend as an old flame. The flame implies a strong emotion of love or desire all summed up in the metaphor. Another example is burning love; the love that is very deep and is never going to end. This metaphor is used to show undying love whereby undying represents that love that the love is strong and might face all life challenges. People feelings of desire and love for another person might proclaim that they have the 'hots' for another person. The 'hots' describes a crush or desire. Metaphors shape our way of thinking as they come in conveying feelings and emotions. A person could say that the other has a stomach that is a bottomless pit meaning that he or she has an appetite that cannot be satisfied or that his stomach cannot be filled. Another example could be that the inside of a room is a refrigerator implying that inside the room is very cold. There is no clear method of determining metaphorical excellence but a strong effective metaphor has weighted values and attributes.
Even before we think, metaphors shape perceptions and for this reason that they are used to advertise products in advertisements. A lotion can be described to leave the skin silky and smooth. The image is complimented by a model with very smooth skin. A lotion is the word here used to communicate large quantities of information with jus a single word or phrase. If a person describes a situation where somebody's idea was difficult to be accepted, a writer says that this idea was difficult to swallow. In this case, difficult to swallow will be a metaphor that is used to describe large quantities of information with just one simple phrase. Moreover, metaphors can be used in work environments to communicate different messages. For example, someone can say that our manager has stolen the spotlight with his performance. This means that the manager's performance has taken the attention of all people in the work place. In academic writing in order to extend a discussion a writer can use metaphors. "Metaphor of writing as conversation has several strengths…It suggests that the goal of such writing is not to have the final word on a subject, to bring the discussion to a close, but to push it forward, to say something that seems to call for further talk and writing"(Harris 35). Metaphorical expressions are widely used to give more information using less word and show the similarity between two unlike things. "Time is money" is highly used in our society to express the importance of time in our lives. That emphasizes the value of time by suggesting that is equal to mosney. Metaphorical expression can be best way to describe the characters of one person and express our thinking as clearly as possible. For instance, one can say that all he wanted to see was the sunny face of another person. This leads to describe the warmth of the sun that can be transferred to the character of this person.
Metaphors can be used as an assessment tool in institutions whereby, a teacher asks the students to form a paragraph out of a certain metaphor to expose their understanding of that particular metaphor. A metaphor is ironical and has similarity between the concepts at the same time and that makes metaphors very useful in writing of literature. Metaphors are also used to make speaking and listening more interesting, they communicate in a big way with just a phrase or few words. Finally, metaphors can get readers and listeners to think of the context they hearing or reading about since they imply instead of directly stating the relationships however, it may be argued that the theories of metaphors tell about a specific relation.
Therefore, metaphors are powerful expression tools in both speeches and writings. Public opinion can be affected through the use of metaphors. They help us shape our thinking as well as our general outlook of the world. Metaphors are highly involved in changing the way we think about life. I agree that relations and thoughts are largely metaphorical. Even though, some people think that metaphors are only found in poems and songs. I believe that metaphors are figures if speech whereby a similarity is created between two unlike things. Overall they help us understand the meaning of concepts in a different way than they are. How do metaphors involve in your everyday realities?
