Metonymy and Metaphor
The other day I went to a teahouse near Taksim with the promising young novelist/ journalist Kaya Genç. As we sat down, Genç asked which size tea glass I wanted: a small one, or an Ajda one.
“You know Ajda, right?” he asked.
I did know Ajda (a big favorite with me and my mom), but not her tea glasses. “Does she drink a lot of tea?” I asked.
Genç explained that Ajda glasses are named for their shape – i.e., because they resemble Ajda, and not because she loves tea so much.
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So, Turkey continues to be the place where I receive valuable lessons in metonymy versus metaphor.1
I got another lesson when my recent interview for the Turkish tabloid Radikal was published with the following, classily understated photo spread, which I guess they might have rethought had they known that for the past six years I’ve had a complex that my hair looks like Gogol’s, whenever I try to wear it chin-length. (“The Gogolian bob,” my dear advisor used to call it.)
The yellow text identifies me as “Anna Karenina’s Turkish rival”: a designation which initially struck me as somewhat ominous since (spoiler alert) nothing super-great happens to Anna at the end of the book of that title. But it turned out they were referring not to my similarity to Tolstoy’s heroine, but, rather, to our contiguity on the Amazon Russian literature bestsellers list.
Optimistic readers! I leave you today with links to two short pieces I recently wrote for the New York Times: one about prognostication, the other about literary criticism. I wish you all a wonderful 2011!
- This particular lesson is kind of confusing because when you look online there are like 7 competing explanations for why “large narrow-waisted tea glasses” are called Ajda, one explanation relying, in fact, upon Ajda’s insatiable thirst for tea (plus her dislike of Western-style teacups), such that she had to be supplied with extra-large glasses. Another explanation is even graphemic: apparently there used to be glasses called Aida, only because of the typeface at some point they were misread as Ajda. ↩
Tags: author photos, beards, Elif's mom, Gogol, music, Russian literature, THE POSSESSED, Tolstoy
January 4th, 2011 at 12:38 pm
a note on the ajda glasses:
I find it nicer to think of it that way but that is probably not correct. Traditionally we only had the small tea glasses and as one famous glass company introduced this new product; these larger than regular glasses with thicker bottoms, the series were named “Aida”. It is still possible to buy these in stores under this name. I find it plausible that the Turkish just found it easier and catchier to call them Ajda instead of Aida or possibly it was plain mispronunciation.
January 4th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
hah, I just saw the note at the end of the page… I was too quick to oppose!
January 4th, 2011 at 12:48 pm
It seems like a glass tea cup with no handle would be too hot to touch, but perhaps this is also part of the (metonymic? metaphoric?) relationship to Ajda’s body.
BTW, I am blocked from commenting on your entries because I am behind a proxy. I can only comment from my iPhone if I turn off wi-fi. I understand this is to prevent robo-comments from spam marketers, but I so often elect not to comment because of the difficulties involved. Perhaps this point is also metaphoric re: the obstacles inherent to all human communication.
January 5th, 2011 at 4:40 am
Dear Ajda, it is an honor to hear from you! Yes, that note was supposed to be a footnote, but I had messed up the footnote plugin. I think it’s fixed now, though. Dear Aaron, you are not the first to have problems with the comment section (and the font, and the margins…) – but I fear these are beyond my existing technical powers. Readers with technical suggestions/ issues may try addressing my esteemed Web Man, although I know he is very busy too. Otherwise I will just try to figure it out myself when I have a few spare hours. Sorry in the meantime!
January 5th, 2011 at 9:15 am
Dear Elif, on my last visit I found that my çay-loving female relatives had recently ditched their ajdas for a new style dubbed the “şakira,” check it (her?) out: http://www.pasabahcemagazalari.com/store/productDetails.aspx?productID=8410&categoryID=422&s=1
I was so delighted with these that I was given a set of them, each with a miniature belly-dancing sash clipped around the “waist” (sold separately).
I anxiously await the next innovation in çay gadgetry.
January 5th, 2011 at 9:53 am
Turku: hilarious!! After careful consideration of the market I think I would go for “Büyük Banu”… until Pasabahce starts putting out a Marie Antoinette…
January 8th, 2011 at 1:44 pm
Dear Elif,
This really has nothing to do with Turkish women/tea glasses, but I was wondering if you had heard about Michael Steele’s response when asked what is his favorite book at the RNC chair debate. He said “War and Peace” but then added, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Maybe we should send these Republicans links to the ABE Books depressing Russian lit section…