Metaphor

Running Head: METAPHORICALLY THINKING AND LANGUAGE METAPHORICALLY THINKING AND LANGUAGE Student PHL/251 April 12, 2010 METAPHORICALLY THINKING AND LANGUAGE Metaphor is like a riddle requiring a challenge of clarification. It takes a logical approach to achieve the definition. According to Goodpaster & Kirby (2007), “Metaphor comes from Greek words: meta and phorein which mean an original word is carrying or blending an old meaning and producing a new meaning” (p. 97). Metaphor has similar formation as language because it blends with letters and sounds. It entails the work of art, the creative thinking of the writers and speakers who profoundly put together a sense of poetic expressions and unimaginable thought. The metaphor My husband and I love to travel and one of the most exciting activities we do when we travel is to scuba dive and snorkeling. One unforgettable moment was my experience of drowning in Puerto Aventura, Cancun in 2005. Early morning, we prepared to snorkel from a reef and swam back across to the breakwater then made our final rounds to the lagoon. Suddenly, I felt a surge of muscular pain in my right leg as if I had been bitten by rabid dog. I could hardly move. I tried cautiously to swim closer to the reef. However, danger still lurks from the wave rushing the strong current to the breakwater. I can only imagined the calm wave had become fast and rough. The rapids forced me to push forward up to the open water and I started to lose my ground and my panic attack began. I tried to muster my strength and push closer toward my ultimate goal. The violent rapids lead me to the hardest obstacle. I faced the great ordeal, I was determined not to fail and utilize my last energy but my body ached, cold and worn out. I cried in agony and forced my body to swim to the other side of the reef and finally everything seems so dark. Motionless, however, I felt the comfort and energy from the darkness as I lost my frantic desire to swim. My struggle was over and I felt a sudden release causing a supernatural sense of calm to wash over my body like the waves gently lapping against the shore at high tide. The strong forceful current hammering the rocks became a sound of music like a melody to my ears, singing a sacred song and lifting my very soul. I felt healed and my body was relaxing in the soft clouds. While my body longed for absolute peace, I saw the shadow of myself grieving with my dead father like I was a lost child returning home from the jungle. He held my hands and whispered to my ears, “go on my child”. His words brought me back to agony, as if I had been violently awoken from a wonderful dream and thrown back into the repeated process of swimming and fighting the strong current again, but his message guided me like a map to battle the dangerously treacherous waves. The journey had been hard but I knew I was very close to home. When I opened my eyes, I felt an overwhelming feeling of relief as if the surf, which I had only moments ago been fighting with all my might, were coaxing me back to life like a dutiful nurse. I laid flat on the bed of sand and the first thing I saw was the image of my husband, he was in tears. Obviously he was exhausted from lifting my body. He saved my life. The role of language and language diversity Language is the “software” that allows our brain to think the way it does (Goodpaster & Kirby, 2007, p. 92). When someone speak the words we develop a though process as it permit us to twist our thoughts into consequential or meaningful words. At an early age of four, the center on language transform from attaining and producing words, sentences to actually thinking about the very concept of the language itself. At this stage of “metalinguistic awareness”, we begin to recognize jokes and be curious in playing with language. We observed parents playfully uttering words for words like a long-playing phonograph record to their kids. Clearly, language expresses thought, but can language influence thought' Indeed, semantic slanting and name-calling are two concepts of language that have noticeable effects on individual thought and behavior (Nielsen, L, p. 9). Language empowerment or limit the expression of our thoughts In communicating, language diversity plays a major role in critical thinking and its processes because of other culture, colloquial speech, foreign dialects, and sign language. If we have understanding of these factors we can easily attain and adapt answer to the questions being asked. Philippines consisted of 93 different dialects and my parents speak only Tagalog. This dialect is considered the national dialect in the Philippines and used as the first instrument of learning in the country. I serve as the primary interpreter to my parents from translating English to Tagalog. The difficulty of understanding the English language from this example limits the expression of thoughts. Also, there is in fact evidence that changes in social practices, and even changes in temporary states of social orientation, can change the way people perceive and think (Nisbett, R. p. 226). Language can empower or thoughts if we comprehend the questions or information and apply critical thinking. Although words have different meanings based from the framework on the different contexts in which they are used or how they are being expressed, the important is the methodology of applying critical thinking. According to Elder and Paul (2002), “Many factors influence language as many ideas we hold come from personal experience, socialization, academic subjects we study and our native language’’(p. 34). Role of critical thinking in persuasion Critical thinking is the awareness of the individual in applying the right questions and positively supports its purpose. A person should be careful in applying the ethical thinking process, logical persuasive techniques and make a distinction between what a statement or problem he is trying to imply. In this unpredictable environment, everything we do and think influences our ability to perform regardless from the business standpoint or in application to our everyday lives because we are not robotic in the sense that we use critical thinking and carefully paying attention to what we ask to achieve a solid persuasion. A good critical thinker knows how to separate facts from opinions, how to examine an issue from all sides, how to make rational inferences and how to withhold personal judgment or biases (How, Inc. 2010). Conclusion The individual ought not to rely on the basis of just reading the statement but to clearly identify the meaning. The individual needs to test his ability to use critical thinking because it is not instantaneous to make a prediction, conclusion, and acceptance if no transparency of these elements can be obtained. In analyzing a metaphor, the individual should use critical thinking to expand the option in making a rational decision and to effectively draw the geography of thought. References Goodpaster J.R and Kirby Gar R, (2007. Thinking. (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson Prentice Hall. How Inc. (2010). What are the benefits of critical thinking skills' Retrieved on April 9, 2010 from: http://www.ehow.com/about_5079553_benefits-critical-thinking-skills Nielsen, L. (2002).Subtle, pervasive, harmful: Racist and sexist remarks in public as hate speech. Journal of Social Issues 58.2 : InfoTrac Expanded Academic ASAP. MCC at Red Mountain Library Nisbett, R. (2003). The geography of thought. New York, NY. Simon & Schuster Inc. Paul, R. & Elder, L. (2006). Critical thinking: Tools for taking charge of your learning and your life: (2nd ed.) Columbus, OH. Pearson Prentice Hall