Habit of Thought and the Use of Figurative Expressions in Communication

Abstract

This paper examines the habit of thought and the use of figurative expressions in both written and spoken communication for active human involvement. Using Chomsky’s theory of linguistic competence for this study, Chomsky (1965) maintains that “Linguistic theory is concerned primarily with an ideal speaker-listener, in a complete homogenous speech community, who knows its language perfectly and is unaffected by such grammatically irrelevant conditions as memory limitations, distractions, shifts of attention and interest, and errors (random or characteristics) in applying his knowledge of the language in actual performance. What we speak reflects our habit of thought to the listener. The proper use of a language with literary flair equips the speaker with genuine wit, and the use of language as a means of communication in integrity and self-worth.  The use of puns shows brilliance, and this is very possible. It is through figurative expression that one shows wit and overwhelms the audience with “finery.  In this case, the English language mixes and mingles with literature in the production of thoughts, and it is the most effective, if not the only, muted medium in which knowledge is transmitted in higher institutions.