What underlies a lot of these attitudes is the conceptual metaphor, language is a tool.
支撑很多这些态度的是概念隐喻，语言是一种工具。
TED演讲（音频版） 2019年10月合集
To use the very framework that he himself invented, let me refer back to this conceptual metaphor: language is a tool.
为了使用他自己发明的框架，让我回顾一下这个概念上的比喻：语言是一种工具。
英语百科
Conceptual metaphor
In cognitive linguistics, conceptual metaphor, or cognitive metaphor, refers to the understanding of one idea, or conceptual domain, in terms of another. An example of this is the understanding of quantity in terms of directionality (e.g. "the prices are rising").