Arguments are like war because in both, a person has an opponent that they must dominate to win. People plan attacks to gain ground, in a war. If the person’s first attack doesn’t work, then they must come at the opponent a different way. In life the wars people have, are called arguments because in the end someone has to win and another person has to lose. In the essay “Concepts We Live By” the authors Lankoff and Johnson discuss how “[t]he language of argument is not poetic, fanciful, or rhetorical; it is literal” (pg.15). An argument being compared to a war metaphorically shows that an argument isn’t the use of pleasant language strung together. It is an attack again and again on another person for dominance.
Language if used correctly, can not only dominate people …show more content…
Without even realizing it people start power struggles even in the most innocent conversations. Any time someone tries to get another person to see a viewpoint through their eyes it is an example of fighting over dominance in the conversation. Whoever can achieve this goal holds the power. A relationship is an example of this because the couple is always going back and forth trying to come to decision, but still end up being the one who holds the power over the other. In the essay “Everybody Is a Politician” Lakoff uses the example of fixing a Xerox machine to show how language can have control over another person. A woman asks her significant other to show her how to fix the Xerox machine, and his reply is to tell her to leave it to him. In the simple reply the man has given the woman, he has asserted dominance over her because he is reducing her self confidence. If he showed her how to fix the Xerox machine, then she would have an upper hand because she wouldn’t need his help next time. This example is a struggle for dominance between two individuals. The man is doing everything in his power to keep control over the
Language if used correctly, can not only dominate people …show more content…
Without even realizing it people start power struggles even in the most innocent conversations. Any time someone tries to get another person to see a viewpoint through their eyes it is an example of fighting over dominance in the conversation. Whoever can achieve this goal holds the power. A relationship is an example of this because the couple is always going back and forth trying to come to decision, but still end up being the one who holds the power over the other. In the essay “Everybody Is a Politician” Lakoff uses the example of fixing a Xerox machine to show how language can have control over another person. A woman asks her significant other to show her how to fix the Xerox machine, and his reply is to tell her to leave it to him. In the simple reply the man has given the woman, he has asserted dominance over her because he is reducing her self confidence. If he showed her how to fix the Xerox machine, then she would have an upper hand because she wouldn’t need his help next time. This example is a struggle for dominance between two individuals. The man is doing everything in his power to keep control over the