Wednesday, April 17, 2013

My Affair with Language


I am an amateur editor and communicator disguised as an accountant for an insurance company.  While I'm not bad at the accounting business, it is not what I love.  What I love are words.  Words in other languages, words in English, interplay between words in different languages.  I love the harmony and order and beauty and feeling and madness that words can convey when used properly.  


And oh how I desire that all words would always be used properly!  For words used to the height of their potential are among the most powerful things in the universe! Consider that without language society could not exist as a complex, cooperative whole.  Or that words are used to declare war, make peace; they are used to describe the fabric of the universe and to debate matters of life or death.  Words are used to profess undying love and devotion, yet can break hearts and destroy another's trust.  


Words are so important.  Should we not always strive to use them most appropriately and carefully? (That extends to knowing when not to use them!)  So I want to share what I have learned about words with you.  Communication in relationship is one of the most essential pieces of being human.  I do not pretend to be an expert, but I know words and how they affect people better than I know anything else.  Please read what I have to say, and I will be happy to read what you have to say.