Showing posts with label way with words. Show all posts
Showing posts with label way with words. Show all posts

Monday, 20 June 2016

Talk not mere words

There are three levels of verbalisation.

One which is vocalised for all to hear. This would be the one that gives an impression of ourselves to the world. It is often used as a yardstick to gauge our levels of education, our politics, our upbringing, class and creed. The spoken words in this category are guarded and carefully worded so as not to jeopardise one's own image. It is our way to engage with the world which would compartmentalise us into our pigeon holes.

The second level of spoken words is the one uttered amongst immediate relatives and close ones. Here, the words are less guarded, but still, a certain amount of restraining is always exercised so as not hurt the sentiments of the people around us. We also take into consideration that the younger ones are watching (and listening). We have to be careful with his choice of words to a certain extent. Sometimes emotion takes charge to prove a point. The threshold to lose our composure is lower as we are in the comfort of familiar surroundings and we can exert our authority.

The final level of communication is the unabated one when one engages in a soliloquy with no-holds-barred. All the deep-seated personal disappointments and frustrations may be outpoured with no one to judge. It is an opportune time to re-evaluate, re-strategise and re-brand. This form of introspection can be cathartic.  This must be the significance of the signage at the entrance to the Temple of Apollo in Greece - Know Thyself.
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This similar level of sensory input can be appreciated in other senses as well. We look, see and perceive. We hear, listen and understand. We feel, empathise and quiver. We touch, feel and cringe. We taste, wink and puke.

N.B. Living in a society is an art of dodging and hypocrisy. People who say the right thing but mean the wrong thing is elevated but the individuals who say the wrong things but mean well get the boot. Everyone has to be politically correct all the time to protect the voiceless minority. We cannot call a spade a spade all the time. Sometimes we have to call it a shovel and on other occasions a scoop!



Tuesday, 27 October 2015

With a bit of wit and flare!

Thanks CG for contribution. A good one. Unfortunately, I did not laugh all the way to the bank! Speaker of any language, who can appreciate the subtleties and nuances of the language, if he had spoken it long enough and had spent time mixing with the cultures that use the language, will be able to come out with gems like these. All he needs is a crooked mind, wit and a good sense of humour. Coincidentally, a recent study showed that a person with a 'dirty mind' leads a healthier life.





























Wednesday, 21 January 2015

Paraprosdokian

A paraprosdokian /pærəprɒsˈdkiən/ is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence, phrase, or larger discourse is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to re-frame or reinterpret the first part. It is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect, sometimes producing an anticlimax. For this reason, it is extremely popular among comedians and satirists. Some paraprosdokians not only change the meaning of an early phrase, but they also play on the double meaning of a particular word, creating a form of syllepsis


Thanks CG.  

Monday, 6 May 2013

A way with words!

Pockets of civilizations started with confluences of humans sporadically in areas considered fertile, non hostile, hospitable and habitable.Over time, the inhabitants started developing sets of rules and governance to maintain law,order and sanity to the weaker one in the society. They developed the art of imparting knowledge to the progeny so the knowledge that their forefathers had acquired by trial and error would not be lost in translation or the annals of time! With the innate greed that was ingrained in the DNA, pretty soon, one civilization tried expand their land over the other. (Land = Crops = Produce = No hunger = Bargaining power = Respect = Primordial sexual needs satisfied)
One technique employed by the invaders was make subject of their conquest to look down upon their own achievements, even though advanced by light years, and to look upon the the visitors' feats awestruck whilst to discard their own. Awestruck, they were and discard, they did!
And so the whole world speaks English and its forms it is spoken. And not knowing to speak in the lingua franca of the world is cringed upon.
Like that, the product of the post-modern world like me seem to find greater joy in appreciating the finer points in English rather than my own mother tongue. One of the podcast that I enjoy listening to right now is 'A Way with Words'. It is a programme showcasing the use of the English for the people who use it as their native language. The presenters of the show make an interesting presentation of learning English in a very fun and imaginative way. Some of the information that one can pick up are quite mind boggling and sometimes plain simple. They also discuss some idioms and obscure expression, looking at it from a history perspective and origin.
For example, "I am going the cut the quick of you....". The word 'quick' in the phrase refers to life, just like quick-sand (sand appears alive), baby quickening (the baby is alive), the quick and death (living persons), nails bitten down to the quick (the tender, sensitive flesh of the living body)....
Some of the things may appear petty but to lovers of the language, it must be God-send. There is a difference between the usage if the word 'use' and 'utilize', if it really matters! If you use a stapler to staple, then you use a stapler. If you use a stapler to do something that it is not intended for, like to smack somebody on the head, then you utilize the stapler!

https://soundcloud.com/waywordradio/120922-awww-1349-good-juju-mp3

“Be afraid. Be very afraid.”*