[Lexicog] News time

Mon Jul 31 14:17:48 UTC 2006

A couple of people have written saying that they did not receive the
attachment containing my essay on 'Time'. So I have copied it into the text
below. One thing that is missing is a bibliography. I drew some of the
examples from one or both of George Lakoff's books. One is co-authored by
(somebody) Johnson and I believe is called 'Metaphors we live by'.
Unfortunately I'm currently on a trip to India and don't have the books with
me and can't find the reference anywhere on my computer. Other examples I
came up with myself. The Greek examples are taken from the New Testament. I
added a couple of examples two days ago, so this version of the essay is
slightly different than the one I sent before. I repeat here the caveat from
the original message:

Please understand that it was written for a Christian audience and presumes
that worldview. I don't have time right now to rewrite it for a more general
audience. I hope it will be of interest and help. I found the study to be
fascinating.

Ron Moe

Time

Ronald Moe

Words are fun. Idioms are fascinating. God created a universe of physical
objects and events. He also created a universe of intangible ideas. He made
a body for Adam and then breathed into it the breath of life. So we are a
union of the physical and the spiritual. Since we can touch and see the
physical universe, we can understand and talk about it easily. But it is
much harder for us to understand and talk about the spiritual universe. So
we tend to express abstract ideas in physical terms. Using metaphors helps
us conceptualize and talk about abstract ideas. Time is an abstract. What is
time? For us, Time is money. It isn't really, but conceiving of it as money
enables us to talk about spending time and wasting time and budgeting our
time.

Time is often expressed in terms of location: At one point we were all
talking at once. Sometimes an expression seems to view time as an object
with us somewhere nearby: It's just around the corner. He was on time. He
saw a vision of the distant future. Sometimes we view time as a space: It
went on throughout the day. All through the night we kept hearing noises. We
can move events around in time: Let's put it off till tomorrow. You need to
space things out.

Time can be seen as a path along which we travel: Throughout the course of
time civilizations have come and gone. The time stretched on ahead of me. It
lasted for a long time. I thought we would never come to the end of it.
Points in time are points on the path: We went past the time allotted.
Sometimes events follow one another along the path: Events followed one
another in quick succession. What comes next? Time periods follow each
other: We'll do it the week following next. We face the future: I'm not sure
I can face tomorrow. Time is a one-way street: Wouldn't it be nice if we
could travel back in time.

We often view time as a moving object: Time marches on. It's just a
transient state. Sometimes we are moving with time: He arrived ahead of
time. You are behind the times. Sometimes it moves toward us: The moment
approached. It's not quite here yet. We anticipate many changes in the years
to come. Sometimes it arrives: Our big day had finally arrived. Your moment
is here at last. And sometimes it moves past us: It seemed like no time had
passed at all. I was surprised that a whole hour had gone by. In years gone
by.

Time can get lost: I've lost a lot of time. The time got away from me. I
don't know where the time went. How do you ever find the time?

Sometimes time chases us: Time pursues us relentlessly. And sometimes we
chase it: I'm tired of chasing the clock.

Time can move quickly or slowly: Time flies when you're having fun. I wanted
so badly for the time to arrive, but it just seemed to crawl. This gives
rise to expressions for how fast we do things and how fast things happen:
He's working at a furious pace. The whole thing came and went so quickly.
And of course if time moves, it can also stop: Time stopped when we heard
her scream. In that moment time stood still. But sometimes it never stops:
It just went on forever. It just kept going and going.

You might say, "This is all very interesting, but what does it have to do
with Bible translation?" We have always believed that it is important to
study the meanings of words. But it is especially important to study an
entire semantic domain, including all the idiomatic and metaphorical
expressions in the domain. Only in this way do we begin to see how a
language and culture conceptualizes the world. English and Greek share some
of the same expressions. But they often mean something different.

Both we and the Greeks view time as a container that can be filled. We say:
How do you plan to fill the time? But when we say: My time is full, we mean
something entirely different from what Jesus meant when he said: My time has
not been filled (meaning: the time I have to wait is not over yet). (John
7:8) The time has been filled and the kingdom of God has approached
(meaning: we've been waiting a long time for the kingdom of God and that
period is complete) (Mark 1:15)

Both we and the Greeks view time as a moving object: My time has not yet
arrived, but your time is always ready. (John 7:6) In addition the Greek
word for time (kairos) has a secondary meaning 'time of the year, season'.
It was not the time of figs (meaning: the season for figs). (Mark 11:13)
When the time of the fruits approached (meaning: when the season when the
fruit was ripe approached). (Matt 21: 34)

Both we and the Greeks view time as a path that we travel down. When we say:
Down through the years people have always., we mean that something continued
to be true during a certain time period. But the equivalent expression in
Greek referred to an approximate time: Down that time (meaning: along about
that time) there was no little trouble about the way. (Acts 19:23) Down this
time (meaning: along about this time next year) I will come. (Rom 9:9) The
second example also uses the expression this time. For us it means 'an event
someone is about to repeat': This time I won't be so careless. But in Greek
it meant 'the same time next year'.

Both we and the Greeks view time periods as objects moving in order. In
English last time means 'the time before now': Last time we met at my place.
And every child knows what is meant by the last time: For the last time,
will you sit still? But in Greek it means 'the time before the end of time':
You are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is
ready to be revealed in last time (meaning: in the last time period (or) at
the end of time). (I Pet 1:5)

Both we and the Greeks view time as a space. If we do something in time, we
do it during the time period in question, meaning before the due date: I got
my assignment done in time. Greek is similar, but lacks the idea of before
the due date: The faithful servant gives them their food in time (meaning:
during the time when food is distributed). (Matt 24:45) The Greek expression
in its own time has the same meaning: We will reap in its own time (meaning:
we will reap during the season for reaping) if we do not give up. (Gal 6:9)
A Greek person can also stand in time: In the last days violent times will
be stood in (meaning: people will live during violent times). (II Tim 3:1)

Both we and the Greeks think of time as an object that can be counted. We
say: How many times do I have to tell you? The phrase every time means 'each
time/occasion I do something': This happens every time. But in Greek the
same phrase means 'each and every time period': Be vigilant in every time
(meaning: be vigilant at all times). (Luke 21:36)

The idiom have time means 'to have the time you need to do something'. The
activity fills up the time: Do you have enough time? I've got the time. But
when a Greek person had time, he had a time period during which he could do
something, that is, an opportunity: As we have time (meaning: as we have
opportunity), let us do good to all men. (Gal 6:10) Similarly in English we
can take the time we need to do something: Take your time. It takes time.
But taking time in Greek is the same as having time: When I take time
(meaning: when I have opportunity), I will send for you. (Acts 24:25) We can
buy the time we need: His sacrifice bought us the time we needed. But when
you buy time in Greek you appropriate an opportunity: In wisdom walk toward
those outside, buying out the time (meaning: Act wisely toward outsiders,
using every opportunity). (Col 4:5)

  _____  

From: lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com
[mailto:lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Ron Moe
Sent: Saturday, July 29, 2006 1:23 AM
To: lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [Lexicog] News time

Hi Fritz,

I've written a couple of things on "time". I'm wondering which one you've
seen. I wrote a short piece on conceptual metaphors of time in English and
Koine Greek and how it impacts the translation of the Biblical references to
time. Is this the article you were referring to? I've attached it. Please
understand that it was written for a Christian audience and presumes that
worldview. I don't have time right now to rewrite it for a more general
audience. I hope it will be of interest and help. I found the study to be
fascinating.

Ron

  _____  

From: lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com
[mailto:lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Fritz Goerling
Sent: Wednesday, July 26, 2006 6:05 AM
To: lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [Lexicog] News time

I wonder whether Ron Moe, member of this list, is willing to share with this
list

what he has written on "time." I think, Ron, what you have written is
profound

and eye-opening and of interest for lexicographers, lovers of words and
semanticists.

Fritz Goerling

--- In lexicographylist@ <mailto:lexicographylist%40yahoogroups.com>
yahoogroups.com, "John Roberts"
<dr_john_roberts at ...> wrote:
>
> It is not often that lexicographers feature on the BBC news website but 
> there is a posting there today where they do. The OUP have
researched what 
> are the most common nouns in the English language. The most common is 
> "time". This is partly because of the scores of expressions in English 
> featuring time. But it is mainly because English speakers like to
talk about 
> time a lot.
> 
> TOP 10 NOUNS
> 1 Time
> 2 Person
> 3 Year
> 4 Way
> 5 Day
> 6 Thing
> 7 Man
> 8 World
> 9 Life
> 10 Hand
> 
> But I found the most interesting comment was this:
> 
> "The thing that struck me when I put together this list was that 90%
of the 
> top 100 words were one syllable, and that a large proportion were
actually 
> from Old English, meaning the 

basic words we use all the time in basic 
> sentences are from before the Norman Conquest," he said. "We always
put the 
> focus on new words, changing language and words from other
countries, but in 
> reality the basic language we use has been the same for hundreds and 
> hundreds of years."
> 
> This means that at a fundamental level the English language hasn't
changed 
> much for over 2000 years.
> 
> John Roberts
>

It seems interesting to me that _time_ is also the first noun in The
American Heritage Word Frequency Book (1971) and in The Brown Count
(1967). 

Regards,
David K. Barnhart

Lexik at highlands. <mailto:Lexik%40highlands.com> com

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