History: figurative language

Source of version: 1 (current)

Sketch for a beginning of a position on Figurative Language: It seems to me that since there is ''pe'a'' & since ''broda brode'' is explicitly defined as a combination of ''broda'' with its places plus ''brode'' with its places, we are left with (A) using in formal speech ''broda brode'' or ''broda pe'a brode'' or ''broda brode pe'a'' or ''fu'epe'a'' ''broda brode fu'o'' regardless of how clumsy it seems to our ''glibau'' sensibility, in order to express the various things that a ''tanru'' can be; & (B) the informal possibly of occasionally dispensing with ''pe'a'' where it can be understood as elidable. ---- Note that sections 14 & 15 of Chapter 5 in The Book have such ''tanru'' as: ''snime nanmu'' for "snowman" & ''kensa bloti'' for "spaceship". (I would add a ''pe'a'' to the second term of each, which were otherwise better ''nanmytai'' & ''velkla''. --''la maikl.'') ''I don't know who's talking above. I don't agree that a snowman is not a nanmu: it is very typical to extend the tertau before restricting it further, as in "stone lion", where obviously all real lions are made out of meat. --((John Cowan))'' * In the same vein, I like the example ''time travel''. "Travel" means "going to other places", but "time travel" means "going to other times". ''mi'e ((jezrax))'' ---- mi'e xod .i tezu'e ma pilno zo pe'a .i di'e mupli ca'i mi "do gerku ki'u le du'u do dukse gletu" .i do ca'a remna jena gerku .i zo pe'a sarcu "mi pu tcidu le balcukta" .i pe'i la ueb. cu cukta .iki'ubo zo pe'a na sarcu .i ju'ocu'i do tugni .o'u Look, the fact that the Book tells us that "gerku zdani" can refer to the White House because a dog once chased Bill Clinton's cat shows the limit of figurativeness in tanru without invoking pe'a. If you can show ANY relationship between the parts, it's valid. You are advised, according to your desire to be understood, to try to pick understandable relationships. But it's not until we start ''really'' getting figurative that we ever need any pe'a. If I call your face a papri because I can easily read your emotions, then I should use a pe'a. My understanding of Helsem's statements is that he wants us to invoke pe'a too much. (''sa'e banzu zo'o'') ---- For another position, ((put out your eyes as if they were a fire)).