“What if this is an embodied metaphor? For instance, in English, there’s a metaphorization between ‘up’ and ‘good,’ such that when you’re feeling ‘up’ or ‘elevated’ or ‘high’ or ‘lifted’ it means you’re feeling good. There’s a theory that more embodied experiences, like that of something being up, are more tangible than the abstract and always-arguable ‘good’. So, these more embodied concepts come to play in the language to help people understand the more disembodied notion like ‘good.’ Maybe it’s the same with sok- in Blackfoot, but embodied in the experience of retaining or keeping rather than lifting or being erect. This wouldn’t necessarily imply the absence of a polemic like good/bad or sok/mak. See what I’m saying?”

— an anonymous informant (RFD)