Introduction
“Of all forms of culture, it seems that language is that one which develops its fundamental patterns with relatively the most complete detachment from other types of cultural patterning.” (Sapir, 1929:211)
A curious characteristic of language is its “hidden” meaning of the message. Hidden meaning that makes it possible for one word, or phrase, to have different meanings and uses. That is the projection of our inner personal world to the outside social world. As Marcel Danesi says, “we come to understand the world through our imaginative use of language, especially as it manifests itself in the use of metaphor.” (2008:14). The various contexts of the language use can be political, religious, cultural, economic, social, etc.
Main Text
The nature of language can be approached by different perspectives and motivated by different worries. Many modern and post-modern authors (like Ferdinand de Sossyr, Michael Foucault, Noam Chomsky, etc.) do believe that language is the basis for the construction of power relations in our society. Chomsky argues that there are determinate semantic relations and analytic sentences if one thinks about certain sentences that have a relational structure and involve intentional and power-building activities. As an example we take the sentence: If John persuaded Bill to go to college, then Bill went to college (1988:4). The persuasive usage of language is based on the imaginative use of language. Noam Chomsky goes further in calling this form of language not imaginative but a “manipulative” usage of language (1988:5).
This relationship is expressed beautifully through the notion of the metaphor. This is the classic example of what happens when language is used to express something that has no direct connection with the outside reality of the world but makes an impact on the social reality of that world. In the case of direct relationship of the user of language with the outside reality we would have a description of that reality. So the next question to ask is what is a metaphor? As J. R. Searle puts it, the metaphor is a pervasive feature of language. We use metaphor to talk about the world in both familiar and innovative ways, and in contexts ranging from everyday conversation to literature and scientific theorizing (1979:6). In speaking metaphorically we exploit the conventional meaning of the words uttered in order to undertake a speech act with a distinct propositional content. Whether an utterance is metaphorical at all, and if so, what its metaphorical content is, depend more on the speaker’s intentions than on the conventional meaning of the words uttered.
An account of metaphor must therefore uncover the psychological principles on which metaphor operates: what patterns of thought enable hearers to recover the speaker’s intended content? It is the means by which speakers intend that their hearers recover their metaphorical, propositional content. It sounds like a game and in fact it is much like playing a game, the game of our social life. It is what is used by every one of us in our daily lives. It is the mode by which we try to “impose” our system of beliefs, values, and norms, to the others. Of course, they try to do the same with us too. And in this the metaphor is the “weapon” that we use. Since ancient times it has been used to persuade people about system of ideas. Ancient philosophers understood the power of language and tried to use it in their benefit.
Conclusion
The example I want to take is the “crusade on terror” metaphor expressed by President George W. Bush. This metaphor was used during President Bush speech before the Congress in his State of the Union address to the nation (www.whitehouse.gov). The interpretation of this speech is, more or less, like the previous made by the Iranian President. The word “crusade” is understood radically differently from different communities around the globe. In Western based societies it has a positive meaning. It shows that somebody is willing to work hard in resolving, or even fighting, some bad thing. You can “crusade against cancer or Aids”, for example. But in Arab-Islamic based societies it has a completely different meaning. For them this word represents aggression and injustice. And this is due to the historical tradition that the word has in these societies. It is related to the crusader aggression of the 10-11 centuries. This is why the metaphor used by President Bush was understood in two very different ways in the West and in the Islamic world, even though the word that was used is the same. This is another example of the power of language and especially of its imaginative use. Imaginative use that can shape the form of relationship we build with others.
References
Boas, Franz. 1940. Race, Language and Culture. New York: MacMillan Co.
Danesi, Marcel. 2008. Language, Society, and Culture: Introducing Anthropological Linguistics. Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press.
Sapir, Edward. 1949. Culture, Language and Personality. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Chomsky, Noam. 1988. Language and the problem of knowledge. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Searle, J. R. 1979. Metaphor. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Phaedo by Plato. 2008. Web.