● Back Numbers 001〜004
No. 001〜002では、英語の「文法比喩」について解説して頂きます。 |
![]() ----文法比喩とは何か |
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Is, "I think it is going to rain" about "thinking" or about "raining"? In fact, it is about "raining", as the tag shows us: "I think it is going to rain, isn't it [ "A flood of emotion" is an example of a metaphor -- in which "a flood" is used in an extended, non-literal, sense to mean "a lot". In the same way, "I think it is going to rain" is an example of a metaphor, but a metaphor within the grammar of the language. It really means: "It is probably going to rain." Such metaphors are called "grammatical metaphors", and play a very important role in language. I will take up this idea in my next Column. |
● Words & Phrases ●
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(帝京大学教授 Christopher Barnard) |
次回掲載、2月14日 |
![]() ----"Please"は失礼な表現 |
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In the last Column, I introduced the idea of grammatical metaphor. Here is another example of grammatical metaphor: "Can you open the door?" This is certainly not about asking someone if he has the ability to open a door. In this sentence, the grammar of "ability" and the grammar of the question-form are used to tell someone to do something. The fact that we can make jokes by pretending not to recognize the grammatical metaphor is in itself a hint that it is a metaphor. For example, the following are all kinds of jokes: Can you open the door? -- Yes. [followed by silence and no action] In these cases, the difference between the "real meaning" ("can" = ability) and the grammatical metaphor allows us to make a joke. We could not make such jokes if these sentences had been used: Please open the door. Of course, Japanese also has grammatical metaphors, but not in this kind of case. If you want someone to open the door, you do not say 「ドアを開けられますか(??)」. You perhaps say 「ドアを開けてください」-- which is not a grammatical metaphor. If you learn at school that 「ください」= "please", you are likely to say, "Please open the door". In English this usually sounds rather rude. Therefore use the grammatical metaphor instead. |
● Words & Phrases ●
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(帝京大学教授 Christopher Barnard) |
次回掲載、2月21日 |
今日から2回にわたり、英語の語法における最新トレンドから気になる点を2つ取り上げます。英語でも日本語でも「ことばは生き物」であることには変わりありません。特に最近のめまぐるしい社会情勢の中でどんなことが起こっているのでしょう?英語教師の方は生徒にこの2項、特に004は見せない方がいいかもしれませんね。 |
![]() ----"There"の後は"is"か"are"か |
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One trend which seems to be spreading at great speed in modern English is to say things like: "There is two apples on the table." Readers, if they keep their ears and eyes open will perhaps hear this pattern. You will hear and read this usage especially with "a lot of", as in: There's a lot of apples on the table. Also, "there's a few...", instead of "there are a few..." is very common. |
● Words & Phrases ●
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(帝京大学教授 Christopher Barnard) |
次回掲載予定、2月28日 |
![]() ----"happier"か"more happy"か |
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Short adjectives make their comparative forms with "-er" (big > bigger). Long adjectives use "more" (difficult > more difficult). A trend that is spreading very fast is to use "more" with those adjectives which are traditionally "-er". I have not noticed this with very basic adjectives of one syllable (e.g., big, small, deep, low, high). But less basic adjectives, especially of more than one syllable, are these days often seen and heard with the "more" comparative. Among examples I have noticed recently are the following: more clever, more shallow, more high, more happy, more strong, more smooth. With the English language (and of course the Japanese language) changing so quickly, I cannot help wondering if the people who set school and university entrance exams should not be very careful about the kinds of questions they ask in these exams. In school, "happier" should be taught, since this is the traditional "correct form". However, it is difficult to say that "more happy" is incorrect, given that many native speakers say it. |
● Words & Phrases ●
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(帝京大学教授 Christopher Barnard) |
次回掲載予定、3月7日 |