Language and Culture

Week 3 - Discussion 1

Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses.
 

Language   and Culture

Language is a symbolic mode of communication that pervades human culture and human thought. From the Saphir-Whorp hypothesis that language influences how we perceive and experience the world, to contemporary theories of metaphors underlying our thinking about different domains of life, language is central to understanding human culture. Prior to beginning this discussion, read Chapter 4: The Social and Cultural Construction of Reality, and watch this TED Talk Metaphorically Speaking by James Geary. Beginning on page 173, your textbook discusses work by linguist George Lakoff on metaphors used in political discourse. For this discussion, define what a conceptual metaphor is and the specific metaphors discussed by Lakoff. Then, discuss whether this makes you listen to political discourse differently and if so, how. Based on Geary’s discussion on the power of metaphors, in what way is there a potential pitfall of not recognizing the metaphors used in public discourse?

Guided Response: Respond to at least two peers. Discuss whether your reaction to how conceptual metaphors function in political discourse is similar or different. Do you agree on whether this information make you listen to political discourse differently and do you agree on the potential pitfalls? If you do not agree, why do you think that is? Try to reflect on experiences and assumptions that may make yourself prone to taking a specific point of view.