Wonderful metaphors

Break's over. Back to the grind.

So where did we leave off? If memory serves, in the C1.1 classes we were describing people while discussing the effect that others may have on us. Remember? We touched on interesting adjectives like life-changing, eye-opening, awe-inspiring... We have also studied expressions such as "to impact somebody" (which I don't like but you can use, of course), "to have an impact on somebody", "to have a profound effect on somebody", "to be a major influence in somebody's life" and so on and so forth. As you see, this course (C1) is all about having options. But since we are going to focus on metaphors (for a couple of days at least) allow me to say something about this fascinating topic.

Languages describe specific realities and, therefore, metaphors mirror cultures. That’s the obvious reason why there are probably no expressions in classical Arabic related to kangaroos. Likewise there might be no references to horses in ancient Nahuatl. However it doesn't take an expert to realize that the Spanish language offers an enormous wealth of phrases connected with horses and horse-riding (ser un caballero, perder los estribos, dar rienda suelta a tus pensamientos, poner a alguien a los pies de los caballos, ser ligero de cascos, atar a alguien en corto, calentársele a alguien la boca, etc.). English just like any other language shows its own preferences. For instance there are lots of metaphors which have to do with the world of Physics. Yes. You read right: the world of Physics. You want a taste of it? Check this out: to reach critical mass, to gather momentum, to resonate with people, to be on the same wavelength, chain reaction, meltdown, quantum leap, etc. Get the picture?

English is wonderfully colorful indeed. Just think about the classical panacea. In present day English that term sounds quite formal. People would rather mention a silver bullet (you know, the kind of tiny missile which is customarily used to kill werewolves and other types of monsters) to describe a universal remedy. And how about the Shakespearean salad days? And the reference to a person’s moral compass? And what should we say about the famous baseball metaphors for sex? I guess they are all examples of what makes English interesting and fun to learn. So remember, as of today, you are going to have to face a red-pill-blue-pill sort of dilemma: do you want to incorporate all these idiomatic expressions which will make you sound natural or do you prefer to remain blissfully oblivious to the complexities of the language you decided to learn? The choice is yours.

Reminders for stragglers and nefelibatas:

C1.1 students. You are expected to write a 300-word essay describing a person you know well. The description should include a passage explaining the kind of influence s/he has had in you.

C1.2 students. Your task is exercise 7B on page 17 of the textbook. Remember my email address: rdelapena@eoilaredo.org

N.B. Okay. Granted. The word "nefelibata" is waaaaaaaaay too cultured (i.e. virtually unusable). I guess I couldn't help myself. Still... isn't it absolutely beautiful?