I will kill you.
Sampalin mo!
These are strong words. They incite violence. They are known as Laws of the Jungle. Yet they emanate from the President of the Philippines.
The defense of the Apologists of the President is he does not mean it literally. They are supposed to be figures of speech. They are supposed to be hyperbole.
1. Hyperbole
What is hyperbole? It is used to overstate a concept. It is used to exaggerate sometimes to impossibility.
So when you say, she buried me in the debate it means she won so many points in the debate. He “murdered me” in the basketball. He scored 50 points to my 20 points.
“I will kill you” means I will make you irrelevant. “I will kill you” means I will make you negligible. “I will kill you” means you will be neutralized.
“Sampalin mo” is to shame him. “Sampalin mo” is to put slander in deeds. “Sampalin mo” is to scold.
Other examples are as follows:
I’ve told you a hundred times.
It cost a billion dollars.
I could do this forever.
She is older than dirt.
Everybody knows that.
2. Simile
A simile is used to compare two concepts or objects that are not alike. They demonstrate how even items that are unlike have some similarities. They also can be used to make a description particularly vivid and arresting. Similes typically use “like”, “as”, “than” or “resembles” to compare two items. An example of a simile is: “The boy grew like a weed.”
She is like a flower. A lady is in bloom like that of a flower. Love is like rain. It is refreshing.
Other examples are as follows:
As slippery as an eel.
Like peas in a pod.
As blind as a bat.
Eats like a pig.
As wise as an owl.
3. Personification
Personification treats animals and inanimate objects as if they were human with human characteristics. Commonly used in allegories, personification enables readers and listeners to relate to animals and objects as they imagine them reacting or feeling the way a human would. An example of personification is: “the angry sky.” Here, a human emotion, anger, is transferred to something nonliving.
Other examples are as follows:
The flowers nodded.
Snowflakes danced.
Thunder grumbled.
Fog crept in.
The wind howled.
4. Metaphor
Metaphors are used to state that one thing is another thing - - for instance, in the phrase “Jim is a chicken.” In metaphors the meaning is not literal, but the first thing, in this case “Jim” shares common characteristics with the second, the “chicken.” Commonly used in everyday language, metaphors are also common in poems and creative writing. Avoid using two metaphors in a sentence, however a mixed metaphor often creates confusion and an unclear image.
Other examples are as follows:
She has a heart of stone.
Time is money.
The world is a stage.
She is a night owl.
He is an ogre.
Writers and speakers embellish their articles and speeches with figures of speech. Let us hope that President Duterte intended to use his phrases as hyperbole.