A thought ran through my head. The word dearth came to mind. I found myself thinking... that's probably another word, the word police believe shouldn't be used .
Because it's not familiar .
Because it sounds like something else.
Because we live in a time when people of little moment suggest a word similar to another should have its meaning stolen and substituted for something else. .
The behavior is a relic of the recent past, when ignorance of some members was such as to be totally ignorant of their own ignorance but being assembled in numbers, completely confident of their own erudition, had they even known what the word meant.
Anachronism is a word heard recently. I had been meaning to look it up in the dictionary. I use the book for accurate spelling. I acquired my vocabulary mainly from voluminous reading and from a pure love of the language I speak.
I hear music in the cadence of language. I cringe to a malapropism as with flat note in music. Or with a word ending with ng pronounced as nk. I cannot understand how a person reaches maturity without learning to pronounce something or anything properly. Is that a speech impediment..or what?
Anachronism means " a person or thing that is chronologically out of place: one from a former age that is incongruous in the present".
How can that be applied to a word in a living language How can language not be living.
Like great river is a moving body of water.
It starts with a gurgle, flows and twists and turns and gathers strength and roars and swirls and eddies and whirls into a pool, murmurs and rages and tumbles in a waterfall and races out to the sea.
Many words are not used in everyday language. Beautiful words. Words which perfectly suit their purpose. Words which convey a thought completely. Promote laughter. Prompt tears. Words which reduce excess verbiage tenfold. Words not used because of a lack of a sense of self. Or joy in life.
Time-worn words never fade in their meaning. Never fail to comfort or scourge.
Where did words come from. How were they formed . Like diamonds or pearls.
They are found treasure, free for the taking by anyone and everyone with the inclination or courage.
No license required. No permit needed. We live in a time and place and culture where the law guarantees our right to free use of our language.
Imagine a time when that was not true. There are those unwilling to accept it still
We also have among us unlikely self -important, self- appointed arbitrators of the use of words.
It is their right to portray themselves exactly as they are.
Tuesday, 5 April 2011
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10 comments:
Maybe the differences you're thinkinK of are cultural/dialectial, and not a case of mispronounciation. I say tomato, you say tomahto. Look at how different English speakers pronounce the word water. Wadder. WOHter. Watter.
Different strokes for different folks? I agree that language is very much a beautiful living, changing, breathing thing.
"I hear music in the cadence of language. I cringe with a malapropism as with flat note. Or with a word ending with a g pronounced as a k. I cannot understand how a person can reach maturity without learning to pronounce something or anything properly. Is that a speech impediment..or what?"
What a nasty thing to say!
You are talking about someone's dialect or accent. I cringe when I hear a Scot roll their "R"s. But that does not mean that they have a speech impediment!
I know that you are of course referring to the former Mayor with this post, very bad form Ms Buck!
I never even thought of the past Mayor when reading this post. I was just enjoying it until I read Anonymous' comment and then I thought of the "Clark" instead of the "Clerk". Might like to rethink your comment Anonymous since you were the one who made me think of the Past Mayor and Not Mrs. Buck's post.
To Anonymous
Actually the ex mayor had many language foibles that grated. Surely you remember "Miss King-uh."
I am so grateful that her term as town clerk was short-lived. I don't think I could have tolerated listening to that for months.
I think that is "Mrs." Buck...
or "Missus" Buck if you prefer ;)
Or is the use of Mrs. another anachronism that may offend people?
Would not likely offend Mrs. Buck!
Evelyn:
WTH - dearth?
Your Ode to the Power, Beauty and Complexity of language is apparently causing grievous linguistic and mental malaise to someone.
Where does this person pitch its camp?
People of shallow depth seem somehow incapable of drowning, even in the slightest puddle.
Perhaps we should all revert to Latin, where the rules are stricter, and the language itself, several thousands of years old, might be used with greater exactitude.
We have much in common with the ancient Romans, replete with that greatest of entertainments for the masses, the circus.
Aurora has seen much of this the past few years.
"I know that you are of course referring to the former Mayor with this post, very bad form Ms Buck"
the paranoia appears to have set in deep,
By the way, there's nothing sweeter than the sound of a Scot rolling their RRRRRRs
Just think. If there weren't any variations in how language sounds, impressionists would have nothing to mimic and make us laugh!
To Anon @ 12:45, 5 April 2011
I am pretty sure that Miss "King-uh" was the town "clark".
In the course of conducting my business today, I was waiting in an office for the person with whom I had an appointment. While gazing around, I noticed an office door with a name plate on it. The name on the plate was: Mr. D. Nigro.
Such horror! What outrage! Where are the language police when you need them?
Imagine posting a name that is similar to a word that should never be used (according to Mr. Ballard, Aurora's expert etymologist - tongue in cheek of course).
I could not believe that the man had the gall to live his whole life without changing his name! Lucky he does not live in Aurora, Ontario's unfriendly town! He would have been tweeted and condemned!
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