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Category Archives: Words
Truth be told…
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
Tautologies & superfluities
The “keep it simple” (KISS) approach to writing is not all that new. Two thousand years ago, the Roman philosopher Seneca advised that in expressing oneself, “We do not need many words, only effective ones”. Thomas Jefferson, principal author of … Continue reading
Posted in Language Use, Words
Tagged crisp communication, oxymorons, quotes, superfluities, tautologies
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How intoxicating is verbosity in prose?
Do you like to slash your way through dense verbiage with your intellectual machete, marvelling at the lush lexical landscape, or do you find it heavy going being snagged by either the rich profusion of words or accosted by mysterious … Continue reading
To spin or not to spin?
Spin-doctoring was first used by Reagan’s 80’s advisors during the ‘Star Wars’ Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI) which manipulated opinion in a desired direction. The origin of the term is to be found in baseball where the spin put on the … Continue reading
Mandela on writing
While reflecting on the remarkable life and legacy of Mandela, I perused some of the many letters he wrote, mainly to family, during his 27-year incarceration. I chanced upon the following apt words of encouragement he wrote to his daughter, Zindzi, on … Continue reading
Posted in Language Use, Words
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It’s actually quite good…
The nuances of the meaning of words, according to culture and standards of politeness, makes for fascinating study. Duncan Green provides a decoding table for British expressions on his blog at http://www.oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/?p=5672 The British are masters of understatement (which is … Continue reading
Acronym FAQ
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
Posted in Language Use, Letters, Words
Tagged abbreviations, acronyms, initialism, neologisms
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Homophones visited upon me lately
Lightning recap. Homophones are words that have a similar pronounciation but different spelling and different meanings. They continue to be the bane of literate society. The following homophones brought some levity to my dismal week of copy chopping: An email from a client, with a … Continue reading
The dragon’s secret
The Chinese Year of the Dragon (2012) has sunk its talons into the collective psyche of the western world. So I grabbed my trusty SKEAT’s Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language (revised edition, 1885) to cast light upon the origin of the word. Dragon is derived … Continue reading
Resonating with Byron
“Words are things; and a small drop of ink falling like dew upon a thought, produces that which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think.” – Lord Byron (1788-1824)
