| A Word to the Wise
Verbum satis sapientibus: A word to the wise is sufficient
by Gerald Waite
Verbum satis sapientibus:
A word to the wise is sufficient
Setting aside the absurdity of its spelling, our language has the reputation of ease and utility, in comparison with other Indo-European languages. English has a simple grammar and a forceful, rich vocabulary, and no other western language can make its point so directly.
In a study of translations of St. Mark’s Gospel, among forty Indo-European tongues from German to Persian, the English text was found to be the shortest, at 29,000 words.
French, for instance, took 36,000 words to tell the same story. The famed nineteenth century German philologist (and collector of tales), Jakob Grimm, wrote of English, “In riches, good sense and terse convenience, no other of the living languages may be put beside it.”
And yet…from time to time, I’ll come across amazing lists, often sent by faithful readers, suggesting our tongue had to have been concocted by malicious madmen. You probably have come across some of these offerings. For the fun of it this summery month, we’ll have a look at samples from a few of those.
Several readers contributed extensive illustrations of perverse and varied uses of “up,” of which I offer just a few examples:
People stir up trouble, line up for tickets, work up an appetite and think up excuses.
And why would a drain be opened up when it is plugged up ? How is it that we open up the store in the morning and close up at night?
When rain threatens, we say it’s clouding up . When the sun comes out, oddly enough, it’s clearing up .
So if you’re up to it, you might try building up a list of many other ways “up” is used, and if you don’t give up, you may wind up with a hundred or more.
And there is plenty more evidence of such linguistic comedy, as in collections of conflicting idioms and figures of speech. Again, a few choice instances:
How can a “slim chance” and a “fat chance” be the same, while a “wise man” and a “wise guy” are opposites? And when your house “burns up,” it “burns down.”
When stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.
In what other language would performers recite at a play and play at a recital?
It does seem contrary that you can make amends, but never only one amend. And if you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one, what would you call it?
If any more evidence of silliness is needed, there’s the collection of words spelled alike, but with different sounds and different meanings, like these gems:
The bandage was wound around the wound.
The farm was able to produce abundant produce.
The soldier decided to desert in the desert.
The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
They were too close to the door to close it.
Upon seeing the tear in the painting, I shed a tear.
And since there is no time like the present, he has decided to present the present.
That probably is more than enough nonsense to imbibe for one sitting. Given all of the above, however, we might wonder why English has become unquestionably the dominant worldwide language.
And consider this fact: years ago, publishers of nonEnglish European periodicals were asked what language, including dead or artificial languages like Esperanto, they would prefer for international communications. Of the fifty-nine who responded, thirty, a little more than half, chose English. This included all six Swedes, four of five Dutch, and five of seven Norwegians.
What do they know that we don’t?
Word for the month
Argot (AHR-get), a noun describing the vocabulary and idiom peculiar to a particular group. While in use for several hundred years, its origin is clouded in the mists of time. It originally referred to the lingo of the underworld, of thieves and rogues.
For example, “Her role in Guys and Dolls meant learning the argot of the New York streets in her grandmother’s day.” Today, argot is used more broadly to refer to the specialized phraseology or even slang or jargon of just about any group, even of a profession or a sport, as in this instance: “A score of 1-0 becomes 15-love in the argot of tennis.”
—Gerald Waite
Editor’s Note: Questions or comments are welcome by writing MM or at marquette monthly@chartermi.net
|
