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== ranxi ==
A kenning is a special kind of metaphor often used in Old Norse poetry, which is based on the interrelation of four concepts.  For instance, if we say:


lo slabu nanmu pu binxo nanca li sobi
lo'e risna cu bu'a lo'e remna  .ije lo'e matra cu bu'a lo'e karce


.i le go'i pu jinga zo'e zo'e la bradinla'u gi'e pu morsi
(a heart is to a human what a motor is to a car), we get four metaphors:


=== Copyright ===
*remna matra (risna)
*karce risna (matra)


Original English-language lyrics (c) 1995 Alanis Morissette. Plastic Raven releases this translation into the public domain.
*matra remna (karce)
*risna karce (remna)
 
More thorough explanations can be found at [http://kennexions.ludism.org/old/kenning.html] and [http://kennexions.ludism.org/old/difrasismo.html].
 
----
 
Tanru are "binary compounds". Kennings are "compound metaphors", often of
 
two units & thus deceptively resembling the former. In tanru, the modifying
 
gismu limits the scope of the modified, or together they specify the area of
 
their overlap. A kenning paints a picture; one term sets the context, the
 
other makes a metaphorical substitution that suggests the referent WITHIN
 
this context (famous example: "tunafish is 'chicken of the sea'"). A kenning
 
is really a kind of naming (hence my ''me la''). "Rug rats" does not mean
 
''loltaxfu ratcu'' & it would be seriously misleading to turn this into a
 
lujvo...
 
Kennings: okay, then, there is one term which stands for--no, that's
 
a metaphor too--HAS AS ITS REFERENT the referent of another word we
 
have decided not to use, for poetic reasons. The choice of the substitute word depends (that means: 'hangs from' but REALLY--) upon either
 
phonic or associational considerations or both. It comes from,
 
in Old Norse usage, one well-defined semantic field such that the
 
choice of the second term creates a sense of paradox by coming from
 
a very different, or opposite, semantic field; & then there is the
 
(somewhat optional) additional requirement that these two terms are
 
unlike in a different way (usually, abstract/paticular) which creates
 
a second paradoxicalness. And there is an implied simile in the choice
 
of the first term but not the second, purely arbitrary one. (But it is
 
often more conventional a simile or even practically nonexistent in
 
resemblance to the untraditional mind.)--Anyway, those semantic & conceptual oppositions are not requirements in the expanded sense of
 
"kenning" i was using in order to include all the similar devices
 
across cultures. But most good ones have them to some degree. "Rug
 
Rats" for example combines something that a house is glad to have,
 
with something it isn't. "Skyscraper" is a good one (in english!)
 
for combining a solid with an ethereal, & alliterating.

Revision as of 16:56, 4 November 2013

A kenning is a special kind of metaphor often used in Old Norse poetry, which is based on the interrelation of four concepts. For instance, if we say:

lo'e risna cu bu'a lo'e remna .ije lo'e matra cu bu'a lo'e karce

(a heart is to a human what a motor is to a car), we get four metaphors:

  • remna matra (risna)
  • karce risna (matra)
  • matra remna (karce)
  • risna karce (remna)

More thorough explanations can be found at [1] and [2].


Tanru are "binary compounds". Kennings are "compound metaphors", often of

two units & thus deceptively resembling the former. In tanru, the modifying

gismu limits the scope of the modified, or together they specify the area of

their overlap. A kenning paints a picture; one term sets the context, the

other makes a metaphorical substitution that suggests the referent WITHIN

this context (famous example: "tunafish is 'chicken of the sea'"). A kenning

is really a kind of naming (hence my me la). "Rug rats" does not mean

loltaxfu ratcu & it would be seriously misleading to turn this into a

lujvo...

Kennings: okay, then, there is one term which stands for--no, that's

a metaphor too--HAS AS ITS REFERENT the referent of another word we

have decided not to use, for poetic reasons. The choice of the substitute word depends (that means: 'hangs from' but REALLY--) upon either

phonic or associational considerations or both. It comes from,

in Old Norse usage, one well-defined semantic field such that the

choice of the second term creates a sense of paradox by coming from

a very different, or opposite, semantic field; & then there is the

(somewhat optional) additional requirement that these two terms are

unlike in a different way (usually, abstract/paticular) which creates

a second paradoxicalness. And there is an implied simile in the choice

of the first term but not the second, purely arbitrary one. (But it is

often more conventional a simile or even practically nonexistent in

resemblance to the untraditional mind.)--Anyway, those semantic & conceptual oppositions are not requirements in the expanded sense of

"kenning" i was using in order to include all the similar devices

across cultures. But most good ones have them to some degree. "Rug

Rats" for example combines something that a house is glad to have,

with something it isn't. "Skyscraper" is a good one (in english!)

for combining a solid with an ethereal, & alliterating.