Food Nourishes Language.

Thoreau, Henry Davia

English will have become an important tool for communication and discovery rather than just another class to attend. And we would like to look at the all-important topic, Food.

 

Food Celebrates Life.

Have you ever noticed how much of our life is centered on food? Look at all the meetings held, decisions made, and mergers consummated over a meal: power breakfast, power lunch, dinners, banquets, receptions, and those endless toasts. Consider all the celebrations where food is all-important: weddings, birthdays, religious feast days, national holidays, etc. Food is the great icebreaker when people meet for pleasure or business. Food is at the center of many of our important activities.

 

Food Nourishes Language.

Because of this importance, much of our language (regardless of the language) contains references to food. These references conjure up images worth a thousand words each. The idiom page contains several references to food and shows how these are used in a non-food-related discussion. Think about the idioms and expressions in your native language related to food and how and when you use them. Do you use food expressions to describe someone’s physical characteristics (e.g., He’s as skinny as a string bean; his belly shakes like a bowl full of jelly.); or, to describe someone’s personality (e.g., Harry is a cre3am puff; she’s as sweet as sugar.) or, to describe a situation or activity (e.g., Something is fishy here; That crossword puzzle is a piece of cake.). How we use food expressions depends on how we perceive the food, or the culture associated with the food.