 For Authors: January 31, 2024 Issue [#12390] |
This week: Pondering on Language Edited by: Fyn  
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Words are important, no matter what the language--they are perhaps one of the most powerful things we have. Words can preserve life or invoke death and should be handled with the same care as any deadly weapon.~~ Craig Johnson. Walt Longmire in Hell and Back.
Political language... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.~~ George Orwell
Poetry has never been the language of barriers, it's always been the language of bridges. ~~Amanda Gorman
Language exerts hidden power, like the moon on the tides. ~~Rita Mae Brown
When I wrote 'The Giver,' it contained no so-called 'bad words.' It was set, after all, in a mythical, futuristic, and Utopian society. Not only was there no poverty, divorce, racism, sexism, pollution, or violence in the world of 'The Giver'; there was also careful attention paid to language: to its fluency, precision, and power. ~~Lois Lowry
It's a strange world of language in which skating on thin ice can get you into hot water. ~~Franklin P. Jones
War is what happens when language fails. ~~Margaret Atwood
Now THAT'S a scary thought!
The most powerful words in English are 'Tell me a story,' words that are intimately related to the complexity of history, the origins of language, the continuity of the species, the taproot of our humanity, our singularity, and art itself. ~~Pat Conroy
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Any language is a structured system of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, whether it is spoken, written or signed. It is our primary form of communication. Language may aided or hindered by the use of body language. Many people don't care for texting because it lacks the visual aids of body language, smiles or eye movement. It doesn't have the surrounding nuances that one once relied upon. The digital world often takes away or misrepresents our language, making how we communicate all the more important.
Language is shifting all around us. The connotative and denotative meanings of words shift and sway. Words that once meant one thing, now mean another. Once upon a (long ago) time, the word 'gay' meant in a bright and cheery mood. It still does, but it is now the fourth definition listed. One would need to be careful describing someone as gay to be sure the correct meaning of the word (in context) was understood. Of course, it doesn't help any that, in English, at least, we have words that mean opposite things, or contronyms. For example the word, cleave. It means to stay together and cut apart. Custom may mean especially made or a revered tradition. You can dust something with powder, or dust to remove said dust. Other examples are bolt, clip, fast, bound and garnish.
The English language has over a hundred words for deception. Each has a slightly different shade of meaning. And each can be used to either make a statement clearer or more cloudy.
Some words have (more or less) fallen out of use due to their connotative ideas. Other words have had the same thing happen due to their origins. And still other words fall to the wayside because people simply don't care for them. Check out the current 'Scrabble Players' book of accepted words. Many once 'acceptable' words no longer are.
All of this just means that language is more important than ever before. Words have more power than ever before. Both for good and for bad. Children today grow up with an entirely different 'language' than they did when I was little. It evolved when I had kids. It evolved more when my kids had kids. And, it is still evolving now that the grandkids have kids. Language cycles.
It is interesting when you scroll down through social media. Body-shaming is bad. Ads for make-up still lean towards the 'if you use this, you'll be beautiful.' When I was growing up, some girls were drop-dead knockout gorgeous. The rest of us were normal. We weren't as pretty. We had glasses, were chunky, or had braces. Today everyone is 'beautiful.' Oh, except for the articles about what 'so and so' wore to the awards ceremony or what 'somebody or other' wore that was too see-through, too tight or too loose. Somedays one can't win for losing. Me? I believe in being kind, if I haven't something nice to say, I keep my mouth shut, and that just because I might disagree, I don't have to let the world know it.
Criticism is all around us. Seems like people are far more likely to criticize than praise. Me? I'll tell a total stranger they look amazing or that they've got the greatest smile. Been shot back at for it, but most times, I'll get a huge smile in return. The other day, I saw an elderly lady in the looong line at the deli. She did not look happy. But, then, she didn't exactly look angry either. Her cell dinged and she read a text and smiled a little. I said something about her smile lighting up her face and how nice it was. It made me feel less impatient and I told her so. Then I got a full out smile. We chatted through the following ten minutes until she was finally waited on. We ran into each other a couple of aisles later. She smiled and we started talking again. Turned out she lost her husband a few months ago and had been feeling very lonely. She said she really hadn't talked to anyone in weeks. We exchanged numbers and I have a new friend!
I saw a post last week where someone posted a picture of a pebble saying merely, 'This is a pebble.' Comments included, 'no, it's a rock,' 'no, it's a photo-shopped boulder,' and 'it's clearly a stone.' In a world where people hop on whatever bus is going by, if we choose to do so, what we say/write and how we say/write it becomes important. Especially when it is written as the surrounding body language isn't available.
What is your favorite word? Why? Not one of those words that are just fun to say. But a normal, regular everyday word? Mine is 'and.' Me and you. Us and them. Him and her. It is a connecting word. A pull together word. Like 'we' and 'us,' and 'ours.'
Whether it is writing in general or responding in a review here on WDC, what we say and how we say it can either be encouraging, helpful and appreciative or it could be discouraging and negative. Nothing worse than getting a review from someone saying, "I didn't like this. It made no sense to me." And one star. How much nicer to be told someone 'didn't get it' and why. The why would help to perhaps let one edit to be clearer. Not everyone likes what we write. That's okay. I was telling an author the other day who was truly upset about a bad review that not everyone will like everything we write. One bad review amidst bunches of good reviews just makes that person, not the author, look bad!
As writers, our job is to communicate effectively. Today, more than ever before, it is incredibly important. We don't and won't always agree with the rest of the world. That is perfectly okay. How we communicate that can go a long way in keeping interactions going in a positive way.
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PrincessThai  writes: Someone asked me if I had a New Year's resolution. I can honestly say that I have not even thought about it. I will write. I will love. And I will learn. For all the years to come.
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