My posts about how we use words to reach out to each other, to connect with each other, got me to thinking about words. Words are strange, magical little creatures. They have meaning. They are powerful.
If I type the word ‘can’t’, no one is going to be offended. But if I remove the apostrophe and switch the ‘a’ with a different vowel, you can bet some people will become upset. It would still just be four typed letters, but now it would have the power of what that new word represents. Strangely, because it would now be a somewhat vulgar representation, some people would become even more upset. And yet it is still just a representation of part of the human body, a part which very few people have any negative feelings towards. I hope you have no negative feelings about that… those… because that would be sad. Perhaps I should have used the word ‘Virginia’ as my example, but we would, of course, have had to switch and remove more letters.
I hope you followed along with that last bit. And I hope no one is offended. I was going to suggest at this point that we play a little game where I type common, everyday words that can be changed into dirty words by just switching a letter or two, but I am going to let you play that game on your own. I have been doing it in my head all day, and it is sort of fun.
But this is the power and mystery of the written and spoken word. Take the “N word’, for example. It has so much power that I can’t type the word itself. I have to type ‘N word’ instead. African Americans can use this word without offending anyone. That Krammer guy from Sienfeld said it, and started a firestorm of controversy. He was on stage at the time, and you could make the argument that he should have been protected by that whole ‘freedom of speech’ thing. On the other hand, he shouted it at someone in the audience… someone who was African American… so it wasn’t really part of his act.
Don’t misunderstand me. This word is not a word that I use or approve of. My kids have been raised to never judge a person based on race. They have to decide individually if people are jerks or not. In fact, as I said in an earlier post, I kicked the boyfriend of one of my wife’s friends out of our house permanently for using the ‘N word’ in front of Jessica when she was little, and I wasn’t polite about the way I kicked him out either.
Words label objects, but they also express ideas. If a space alien came down to visit you, it might not be difficult to explain that ‘rock’ is the verbal equivalent of an actual substance. Four letters that make a sound that represents many similar forms of matter. Now try to explain love to your new friend. It is still a small word. But you could talk for a week using millions of words, and still not be able to convey all that that word means to human beings.
They say that sticks and stones can break your bones, but words can never hurt you. But emotional and mental cruelty are very real. You can either tear down the people around you, or build them up. So in a way, you get to decide if you are going to be surrounded by either rubble and ruins or tall, strong, flourishing redwoods.
Choose your words with care…
Who’s Sienfeld? Looks German.
It’s Seinfeld you dumb can’t.
Oh, that hurts, you cork soaking, bitt forker…
Row me tag-it.
We need to knock this off before we don’t say something we almost might regret…
I hear ya. Truce.
It would be fun to talk like that for a day.
Is it over?
Does this mean we are NOT going to talk about Virginia’s Vagina?
No, because then the Republicans would kick us off the floor and not let us play any reindeer games…. or something. We can talk about tucking, or sax, or caulk, or cork soaking… but not about Virginia.
Ok, fine. Can we just talk about vagina’s, then? I never liked Virginia anyway.
That is always an option. Not the most kid friendly option, but nevertheless. Go ahead. I personally do not have one, but if you feel the need to… ummmm… open up, as it were, please do a 3,000 word post on the subject. I bet you get a lot of hits. Millions of hits. And one of them will, no doubt, be mine.
Wait, are you saying MY vagina will be hit millions of times or my blog post about vaginas will be hit millions of times?
I would have to say that that would be up to you…
We need to get you on that show LINGO, you might kick some serious butt or……get kicked in the butt by the words you’d form
I don’t know of the show called lingo, so no, I can’t go, not even for dough, or to go with the flow… I would grow to feel low and eat crow… my brain is too slow, yo.
oh! so it’s a No? rut ro! doh!!!
Whoa…
I think some of my words need a time out.
I had to wash out my inner child’s mouth with soap.
(:
Indeed…
Funny. I saw a sign today. I believe it was a fund raiser for breast cancer awareness. It was entitled Breast Fest. Now why is the ‘ea’ in breast sounding like ‘eh’ and you don’t need the ‘a’ added to Fest. If you spelled them both with just the ‘e’ it would still be Brest Fest. But if you use the ‘ea’ in both, it would be Breast Feast. As much as some might find that appealing, it’s very confusing to me, this language we call English. My Italian mom is always asking me “why do you americans spellah deese wordsah so funny.”
I no gotta no answer, ma!
Thought provoking post, pmao.
Or language is a mass of indecipherable rules and contradictions. But it is evolving and growing. It is just the best way we have come up with to exchange ideas and information. So far. Some day we will just beam thoughts into each other’s skulls to the memory unit surgically implanted there. Can’t hardly wait.
I’ll pass on that surgery, thanks.
Can’t say as I blame you.
A briliant reminder of how terrific words can be, and oh so much fun!!
That is so nice of you to type. I feel like I am reading one of those blurbs on the back of a book.
LOL…no, if I was writing a blurb on the back of your book I’d probably add a few expletive deletives just to draw attention to myself. Then I would add a plug to my blog. Then, I would pick my nose.
Totally different.
And I would, of course, insist that the publisher put that picture of you picking your nose right there on the back cover…
And I would make it worth the $25K he would pay me for said picture.
It would be worth at least that much…
maybe more now that I think about it.
You might have to pick more than just your nose…
I have two nostrils for $50K
Well, let’s see your best nose job!
LOL…done.
Is that a nose? No, its snot.
Gawd, you are such a dork.
I never claimed otherwise.
Yeah, whatever happened to showing us your art? ALL THE ART FROM THE BEGINNING, ART?!
😛
❤
Well, I am doing that too, but some people like the writing, and some people like the Cheney and ninja pictures, and… I can’t make everyone happy. I have no focus. But it is all my life, so there is that…
LOVE this! You are a writer; oh you’re a visual artist too, but really, you’re a W-R-I-T-E-R.
I can’t do the art stuff while I am at my mom’s… although I am doing some watercolor painting…
Good, you can take a photo of your watercolors and post them on the blog with some more words. Never mind about the chair I bought something ergonomically engineered from Norway. It is ugly but most comfortable and it’s cool that it is made by Norwegians.
Good, because I couldn’t find a label on the chair. It is quite old. I didn’t forget. I will scan the painting when I get home.
It is a lovely chair. Yes, scan the painting, you techno-wizard, you!
Yeah, that’s what they call me.
I get you. Great. Words, I love them. Playing with words is grand!
And I also have legs!