What Are Words For?
How do words enter the English language? It would seem, after only a brief review of some of the words in this language, that it is an anarchic hodgepodge of mispronunciations, half-rules, and outright theft of other languages words and phrases. That it would seem so, even at the most cursory inspection, argues favourably towards this being the ultimate truth of the English language; I assure you that this is only because, for the most part, it is completely correct.
As a young girl who was in love with the written word, and who only knew how to read it in one language, I became intrigued by the various exceptions to the rules of the English language, the similarity between English words and, say, German words at times; the realization that I knew far more French than someone who never once studied the language should. As I delved deeper into the history of the English language, it became clear to me that very little of the words are, in fact, English in origin. So bemused was I by this realization that I wrote an award winning (class award mind) tongue-in-cheek piece on the history of the English language and how it related to England’s history of domination and conquest in various lands.
The piece began with the English “cave”men sitting in their gardens – only they didn’t call them gardens yet as they hadn’t discovered that word. Oh no, nor were they horticultural gardens, because that word was also, to their English minds, non-existent.
The word garden came into the English language in the 14th century, from the French language, Old Northern French to be more precise: gardin. This word itself is a variation of the Old French jardin, which is a word still in common usage in France, at last report; and is believed to be of Germanic origin.
The word garden came into the English language in the 14th century, from the French language, Old Northern French to be more precise: gardin. This word itself is a variation of the Old French jardin, which is a word still in common usage in France, at last report; and is believed to be of Germanic origin.
So these poor “cave” men could not have possibly known they were in their gardens. They did know that they were dreadfully bored with life and seriously frustrated. For, as we all know, if there is one thing the English excel at it is verbosity. For those early English then, life was much the same as it would be for a man who had a triple dose of viagra in him and a chastity belt on him. Which is why, then, it was not surprising that they became so fiercely determined to do something about this, when first they were invaded by the Vikings. Hearing the Vikings call out to each other, the English said to themselves “Oh yes, that word could be used to describe what I just ate!” Only they didn’t say it in just that way, as they hadn’t found the word self, describe, ate, I, or even etc. yet.
I no longer have the tale I wrote, nor the capacity to quote it verbatim, but I do find myself just as bemused, enthralled, and sometimes confused by the English language first, and by the languages it both shelters and badly mimics secondly, as I was then.
The pen is mightier than the sword, and the tongue sharper than a dagger. Words express feelings, hopes, fears, dreams .. or they take them away .. or they alter them to suit the purposes of the men who use the words.
In regards to the Bible, it is said that all scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for reproving, for setting things straight, for equipping men for every good work. It is also said that the devil can twist scripture to suit his own purposes.
Therefore it behoves us not just to take in words, but to open our hearts and minds to their meaning, examine them and the persons who use them, and ask ourselves if these are the men who are so well equipped or the devils who would twist their meanings.
Hitler won a nation, and came very close to winning a planet, because he was a man who knew how to use words. You can debate the validity of this statement, but while you are debating it, keep in mind the feelings that were inspired by 23 rather small words.
Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will break your spirit, if you let them .
Jesus can save your soul, 2000 years or so after he stepped off the planet, because he left you, among other things, the Sermon On The Mount; which is, all other considerations aside, seen by many to be the highest form of word usage in existence. Compactly written, versatile, simplistic, poetic, life altering. Everything a good book can and should be and then some.
The Constitution of the United States of America has an interesting history to it. I do not speak of the men who created it, the battles fought and won, or anything that you generally read in regards to this document but rather to an anecdotal aside that persons will occasionally bring to light. For it says that all men are created equal, and by those words many wrongs to persons of non Caucasian origin have been redressed and many more are seen, by this light of constitutional reasoning, to be the horrific injustices that they were.
This is by dint of an obscure bit of revisionist history, however. For, as you will no doubt be informed at a party somewhere in your lifetime, those words were never meant for those who were slaves, or even just the common working class. They were meant for the male land owners.
It is the beauty of human nature, the subtle and divisive twists to the English language, and the reasoning of the hearts caused by the inspiration of the words themselves, despite the intentions of the men who wrote them, that have altered the meanings of the words written so that today when we hear that all men are created equal, we hear that ALL men are created equal. Some of us here than ALL MEN are created equal and we make our own asides in judgement as to just who men are, of course, but despite the views of those who would say you are the wrong colour, the wrong religion, etc. so you are not a man to me, the majority of our countrymen see the constitution as saying something, in this respect, vastly different than what it had said before. Which means that, in effect, we have changed history, not with sword, not even with pen, but just by listening and deciding what the wods should be for.
It has been my great good fortune to have read that we are a nation under God, and that all men are created equal. For if we are a nation under God, then the men who wrote the constitution must have also read the Bible. If they read the Bible, then the intentions of the Bible were in some part in their hearts when they penned the words “All men are created equal..”.
The Bible was written, in part, in the Hebrew language. The Hebrew language used in the Bible, when it spoke of men, had more than one way of describing them. Mankind is a species, men are the people that make up the species. There are male men and female men. So says the Bible. So thank you, to the men who wrote the constitution. Pity more people didn’t realize this sooner. Women never had to fight for the right to vote, because they are female men and they are equal, thusly, by constitutional law. They just needed to get their men to read the Bible and a really good language dictionary.
It is love of the word, especially the written word, that inspires me in the creation of this book of essays, poems, songs, and quotes. It is my hope that it will touch the lives and help to free the minds and hearts of those who read it and in turn those whom they themselves affect. It is my sincere belief that, if the right words could be found, you could touch and change the heart of either individual or nation and make this world a better place. It seems to me that one cannot help a man find his freedom, if he does not know the words either in the directions that you give or for the feelings that are written in his heart. That applies even if the man you are helping is yourself.
Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will break your spirit, if you let them .
Jesus can save your soul, 2000 years or so after he stepped off the planet, because he left you, among other things, the Sermon On The Mount; which is, all other considerations aside, seen by many to be the highest form of word usage in existence. Compactly written, versatile, simplistic, poetic, life altering. Everything a good book can and should be and then some.
The Constitution of the United States of America has an interesting history to it. I do not speak of the men who created it, the battles fought and won, or anything that you generally read in regards to this document but rather to an anecdotal aside that persons will occasionally bring to light. For it says that all men are created equal, and by those words many wrongs to persons of non Caucasian origin have been redressed and many more are seen, by this light of constitutional reasoning, to be the horrific injustices that they were.
This is by dint of an obscure bit of revisionist history, however. For, as you will no doubt be informed at a party somewhere in your lifetime, those words were never meant for those who were slaves, or even just the common working class. They were meant for the male land owners.
It is the beauty of human nature, the subtle and divisive twists to the English language, and the reasoning of the hearts caused by the inspiration of the words themselves, despite the intentions of the men who wrote them, that have altered the meanings of the words written so that today when we hear that all men are created equal, we hear that ALL men are created equal. Some of us here than ALL MEN are created equal and we make our own asides in judgement as to just who men are, of course, but despite the views of those who would say you are the wrong colour, the wrong religion, etc. so you are not a man to me, the majority of our countrymen see the constitution as saying something, in this respect, vastly different than what it had said before. Which means that, in effect, we have changed history, not with sword, not even with pen, but just by listening and deciding what the wods should be for.
It has been my great good fortune to have read that we are a nation under God, and that all men are created equal. For if we are a nation under God, then the men who wrote the constitution must have also read the Bible. If they read the Bible, then the intentions of the Bible were in some part in their hearts when they penned the words “All men are created equal..”.
The Bible was written, in part, in the Hebrew language. The Hebrew language used in the Bible, when it spoke of men, had more than one way of describing them. Mankind is a species, men are the people that make up the species. There are male men and female men. So says the Bible. So thank you, to the men who wrote the constitution. Pity more people didn’t realize this sooner. Women never had to fight for the right to vote, because they are female men and they are equal, thusly, by constitutional law. They just needed to get their men to read the Bible and a really good language dictionary.
It is love of the word, especially the written word, that inspires me in the creation of this book of essays, poems, songs, and quotes. It is my hope that it will touch the lives and help to free the minds and hearts of those who read it and in turn those whom they themselves affect. It is my sincere belief that, if the right words could be found, you could touch and change the heart of either individual or nation and make this world a better place. It seems to me that one cannot help a man find his freedom, if he does not know the words either in the directions that you give or for the feelings that are written in his heart. That applies even if the man you are helping is yourself.
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