Category Archives: Letters

Letters

Linguistic ecology

Posted on September 30, 2017 by Gavin Ford

There are 6 900 languages spoken world-wide, grouped according to 26 independent families. Over 400 languages – of which English is one – descended from the Indo-European family, a proto-language dating back some 8 000 to 9 500 years. What’s … Continue reading →

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Truth be told…

Posted on March 7, 2017 by Gavin Ford

As a writer I’m interested in phonosemantics – the branch of linguistics that investigates how vocal sounds (phonemes) have archetypal meaning as well as emotional signatures that are perceived cross-culturally. Phonemes provide the building blocks of meaning for a word. … Continue reading →

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Acronym FAQ

Posted on June 21, 2013 by Gavin Ford

Acronyms are brief words formed from the initial letter of a bag of other closely associated words. The word “acronym” was coined in the forties, blending the Greek words “akron” (top, tip) and “onoma” (name). So the first letter of … Continue reading →

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On the economy of writing

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Gavin Ford

“It’s always just 26 letters of the alphabet and a handful of punctuation, and that is so staggeringly elegant… it’s just you and the page, and there is something very addictive about that.” – Alan Moore

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What’s in a name?

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Gavin Ford

Generating names for a product, brand or company is part of the copywriter’s repertoire.  With the dotcom explosion having monopolised nearly all names and permutations thereof, wordsmiths have resorted to semantic associations, creating hybridised names as a creative way out of this impasse. … Continue reading →

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