Monday, July 28, 2014

Gratitude: A Language That Speaks Volumes

Today, I am grateful for:

Our language. English seems to survive constant assaults from the uneducated, the lazy, the misinformed and those who would simply subvert it (Republicans come to mind).

It is a language that lives, breathes, assaults and soothes. Mark Twain once said the difference between the right word and the "almost right word" is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug, so it can be precise.

Politicians, sociologists and lawyers love that it is often vague and imprecise while novelists struggle for the exact construction to convey the passage. It is a language that is often frustratingly maleable. Some teachers teach the use of verbs as nouns and that slays me, but always English has life.

Exasperating, delightful and full. That's my language.

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