I posted this on September 29, 2014, and I feel the same way today.
I have been speaking English for the better part of my life. In fact, I have been speaking it for as long as I can remember. Some might think I speak it too much, but that doesn’t stop me. I love ENGLISH. This may or may not be the oft-heard rallying cry of someone who loves their birth language. Possibly, it is the scream of someone who regularly watches the bastardization of a magnificent language, that offers you the promise of sounding smarter than you are. I am not an expert in languages nor a true grammarian. What I am is someone who is baffled at the laziness of a person who, when presented with the opportunity to use the word ‘adorable’, for example—instead goes with ‘adorbs’? Something akin to this happens so often that these types of shortcuts are considered acceptable (not by me, of course). I am not here—necessarily—to criticize the sometimes unrecognizable words that make up conversation and text today. That would take far greater time than I have and likely more patience. So, why do I love English—you ask? Oh… because I think it’s better than other languages. There, I said it. This is not a challenge to every language on Earth, it is merely the humble musings of an English lover.
English is packed with nuances not found in other languages. You can conjure a perfect picture from words on a page. You can convey empathy or anger or excitement using countless words so as to flesh out the precise connotation you are pursuing.
We have compact and concise words, where other languages require an entire sentence to convey the meaning of a well-wielded, solitary word. We have seemingly incalculable amounts of words that create context. English wins—hands down—if there were a contest or competition of just how many words we have. For example—depending on your source—an unabridged English dictionary could have between 300,000 and 600,000 or more English words compared to—again, an example—the French vocabulary of 70,000 to 100,000 and Italian around 250,000. These are staggering numbers if you consider the average English-speaking person—with a moderate lexicon—knows somewhere in the mid-range of 30,000 words. And, from conversations I have endured, that number is dwindling at an alarming rate. This is just one comparison. The truth is, one need not compare anything, just read and listen. The words are out there; they are just covered in dust in a long-abandoned steamer trunk of unused vocabulary. We don’t need to make more or different words. Don’t get me wrong, occasionally the addition of a fun word such as ‘ginormous’—added to Webster’s Dictionary in 2007—is intriguing. However, we make these additions of new words to the dictionary a momentous occasion. I admit, I don’t quite get it. I find this to be like adding new laws when all we need to do is enforce the ones we have. (A conversation for another time.) But there is a time and place for more formal language, and there’s a reason great works of literature have an abundance of poetic prose to whisk you off into a strikingly real, imaginary world.
I am not even in the top 10 of my circle of “smarter than me” friends. But given the opportunity to speak and make a point, paint a picture, construct a landscape, or exact empathy, I think I hold my own. I can only surmise that good writers promote good readers. Good readers become good communicators. Good communicators… they can do anything. It is empowering the myriad of words we can and should use. It can be a great strength or the principal attribute that can transcend you from where you’re from. You can remodel yourself with the words you use. It is an amazing tool that is being neglected in an apathetic world.
I said I would not criticize the horrific misuse of the English language today–I merely wanted to praise the English language for all its distinction and grandeur, but I lied. I am saddened by having spent my life learning and embracing my birth language only to feel the pressure to somehow assimilate and adhere to a barrage of slang. I will not go down without a fight. So in quiet protest, I ask that you choose a word a day, or a week, that is likely to stump someone you know and make it a part of conversation. As a somewhat sapient woman, I only wish to enhance people’s lives with words so that they might see the artistry they can hold in their arsenal.
What you learned as a child holds true today: USE YOUR WORDS.
Xoxo DDJ
Dealing With Fools 