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| Listening to Bill Bryson's audio book 'The Mother Tongue' set me thinking - what does my culture absolutely need words to express? |
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Dear Reader,
Did you know the Eskimos have no word for 'snow'? I mean, not a general word, just to say 'snow'. They have dozens of words for various types of snow. I found this out while listening to Bill Bryson's 'The Mother Tongue'. It set me thinking (again) of language and its connection with culture.
For example, in my culture, I can't simply call someone my 'aunt'. We have no general word for 'aunt'. My 'aunt' would be my MASI (Mom's sister) or FUI (Dad's sister) or MAMI (Mom's brother's wife) or KAKI (Dad's brother's wife). Some cultures in India refer to all immediate aunts as 'mother' but with various prefixes - AMMA means 'mother' - DODAMMA means 'big mother' and CHIKAMMA means 'small mother' So a child's actual Mom would be simply 'AMMA', and aunts would be either 'big' or 'small' mother, depending on whether they're older to or younger than the child's own Mom.
This shows the expectation of the culture. The mother and the aunts are expected to care for the kid in a joint family. My friend said she grew up with her aunt helping her plait her hair and dress for school, while her Mom made breakfast for everyone in the kitchen. When duties are shared thus, all the women are 'mother'.
To give another example, we don't just say 'sister-in-law'. We say BHABHI (brother's wife), NANAND (husband's sister), JETHANI (husband's older brother's wife), DERANI (husband's younger brother's wife). In a patriarchal joint family, one is likely to spend the most time with one's Jethani and Derani, since brothers and their spouses and kids live in the same house. You need to get along with your sisters-in-law, because you share the kitchen, the upbringing of the kids and the care of elders with them.
So what words are important these days? Well, when I was in school, the word 'computer' was enough for us to know which machine it was. Now, we'd need to add various technical terms to that to specify. Similarly, 'phone' meant a dial-up instrument attached with wires. Now, even 'smartphone' isn't enough.
In those days, you needed a special connection to phone people outside your city. Otherwise, you went through the operator, and booked either an ordinary call, or an urgent call, or a person-to-person call or a fixed-time call. If you really wanted to speak to them now, you paid a lot of money for a lightning call.
The term 'Snail Mail' hadn't been invented yet. You had letters, aerogrammes, postcards, picture postcards and parcels, which you sent either ordinary or under certificate of posting or registered. The telegram, which used Morse Code, is now completely outdated.
So - the words we need depend on where we live, when we live and how we live. Language changes with place, evolves with time.
I wonder what we need more words for, to sensitise society to some things. Should there be more phrases akin to 'climate change' or 'global warming', to pinpoint the harm humans are doing to the planet?
Also, should there be a Dictionary of Feelings, to help kids and adults express their emotions, cope with them, and heal if needed? Like after my Dad died I'm not exactly 'missing' him actively on a daily basis any more but in some vague way I feel the void in my life. I shouldn't have needed so many words to express that, there should've been one that would tell people what I mean, since I'm sure many have gone through it.
So - if you had to create a new 'Dictionary' of something, what would it be for? Respond and let me know!
Thanks for listening!
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Thank you for the responses to "Backstory - Always rooted in Childhood?"
brom21  This was interesting-definitely something I can draw from. In regard to informing a character's past, there are at least three methods to show the past besides straight up narration/exposition-dreams flashbacks and dialog. Describing the past fleshes out a character and allows us to understand them on a deeper level. Book series really use the past to illustrate the plot. Great NL!
Lilli 🧿 ☕  Thanks for sharing this and giving us a way to apply it back to our writing. Well done and good insight, Sonali!
Dave Ryan I'm inclined to agree. When I was a student, my classmates found out I wore women's corsetry and assumed I was into crossdressing. In truth I hated it, and hated myself for doing it - I'd often be in tears as I dressed each morning. It all stemmed back to my adolescence and being forced against my will to wear a panty girdle as I was a bit overweight. Such was my fear of the punishment I'd been threatened with if I was ever caught without my girdle on, I was taken with severe panic attacks when I eventually did try to stop. So, eaten up by self-loathing, I went down the reinforcement path you mentioned, wearing a bra and girdle all day every day and enduring the humiliation. Childhood experiences, particularly bad ones, can most definitely shape you as an adult. No-one would ever be able to understand me as an adult without this crucial backstory.
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For Authors: October 02, 2024 Issue [#12763]
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