I have always believed that metaphors are used for effective communication. After reading this extremely persuasive piece, I still feel the same way, even more so. There’s a central reason for why the use of metaphors are so pervasive in our everyday life. And it’s not just because our “ordinary conceptual system is fundamentally metaphorical in nature”(3). It’s so that people can communicate with each other effectively. Metaphors do not always have to be in written form. they can be translated from words to actions, actions to words. Personally, I have seen this many times. Being an immigrant of, I have seen my parents enter supermarkets and communicate with the workers using gestures. Most of the times, the workers understood even though there was no oral communication. My parents communicated with the workers through use of “gestures”. They are metaphors in a sense that my parents say “I want to purchase that” by simply pointing. When people cry, they are saying “I am sad.” When people point, they are saying “I want that.” Of course, there are many different interpretations, but those are a few ways in which metaphors are translated from action into words. It highlights that metaphors allows people to communicate effectively.

In addition, I find that this piece sets a rather pacifying tone. This is prevalent when the authors say “It is important that we don’t just talk about argument in terms of war”(4). Like I previously mentioned, metaphors are primarily used for people to communicate with each other effectively. If we do not talk about arguments in terms of war, it sets a more friendly mood, and leads to cooperation and negotiations. What I did not clearly understand was when the author mentioned that “time isn’t really money”(13). Time is abstract. Was the author’s intention to show that metaphors can mask concepts and the role of conduit metaphor? Most likely, it was just an example to show how metaphorically structuring should be partial, and not total.