January 26, 2007
Steven Pinker on thought and metaphor
Peter Calamai in the Toronto Star:
"We have to do two things with language. We've got to convey a message and we've got to negotiate what kind of social relationship we have with someone," Pinker says in a telephone interview from his home in Cambridge, Mass.
Even something as seemingly straightforward as asking for the salt involves thinking and communicating at two levels, which is why we utter such convoluted requests as, "If you think you could pass the salt, that would be great."
Says Pinker: "It's become so common that we don't even notice that it is a philosophical rumination rather than a direct imperative. It's a bit of a social dilemma. On the one hand, you do want the salt. On the other hand, you don't want to boss people around lightly.
"So you split the difference by saying something that literally makes no sense while also conveying the message that you're not treating them like some kind of flunky."
The Harvard psychologist classes the salt request as an example of indirect speech, a category that also includes euphemisms and innuendo. Two other key themes for Wednesday's talk are the ubiquity of metaphor in everyday language and swearing and what it says about human emotion.
More here.
Posted by S. Abbas Raza at 03:08 PM | Permalink
Comments
>>If you think you could pass the salt, that would be great.
Seriously, who says that? I thought they only spoke like that in "Office Space":
"It's just we're putting new coversheets on all the TPS reports before they go out now. So if you could go ahead and try to remember to do that from now on, that'd be great."
Posted by: bahaar | Jan 26, 2007 4:20:24 PM
Huh? "If you think you could pass the salt, that would be great." Sounds definitely about conveying a message and social relationship--. But doesn't sound to me like its this self effacing way of asking for the salt but not wanting to sound bossy. It sounds more like "Listen moron do you think you have the motar skills, the cognitive thinking required to pick up the salt shaker and pass it to me? Because I don't think you do--cuz if you do--I'll be stunned, I'll think it'll be, like, Great-- if you could pull that off!"
Posted by: maniza | Jan 26, 2007 4:22:59 PM
If you wouldn't mind re-examining your wording, mightn't you want to revise? By telling me how great it would be, perhaps, if I could conveniently pass the salt. Except, that may short-sheet the cook, who may be within hearing. So you want to dial down your request -- don't you? -- to something quick, clear, non-committal and inoffensive. Something that appears to cater to the salt-passer by placing him in power over the salt-grinder, when he may only be in proximity to it, when you have in fact issued him a command. "Please pass the salt" does nicely.
Posted by: Elatia Harris | Jan 26, 2007 6:44:19 PM
"It could be that 95 per cent of our speech is metaphorical, if you go back far enough in language."
And if you go back farther, it's 100 percent.
Posted by: Crispus | Jan 26, 2007 7:20:06 PM
"If you think you could pass the salt, that would be great."
Were someone to utter such nonsense in an attempt to get me to pass them the salt, I would be tempted to reply as follows: "I do think I could pass the salt, but only under certain conditions, all of which involve the person who wants the salt passed using both the adverb 'please' and a pleasant tone of voice. If you think you could ask to have the salt passed to you under these conditions, that would be great."
I think people use these "indirect" requests of others because they don't want to use: (a) an "I" statement, e.g., "I would like the salt." because it seems too personal or too egocentric; (b) a verb in the unmodified imperative mood, e.g. "Pass the salt." because it is a command, and sounds too "bossy"; or (3) an imperative mood verb with "please" because it sounds too "wimpy" or, more likely, because they haven't the habit of using "please," a word that seem destined for an obs. designation in the OED.
In order to avoid seeming "one up" with a command, or "one down" with a polite request, people resort to these oblique and seemingly neutral ways of getting someone else to do something they want.
I enjoy subverting the convention of a person's requesting that I do something by their asking if I have the ability to do it, e.g. "Can you tell me what time it is?" I simply answer their question "Yes, I can." and say nothing more. It is particularly fun with strangers; my friends have all heard it too many times.
Posted by: Neal Deesit | Jan 27, 2007 7:05:34 AM
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