Who is the Language Lover?
Just another logophile, looking to share my passion with the world, and hopefully discover a lot along the way.
I’ve always been fascinated by words and the power they hold over us. Something seemingly silly can completely change the meaning of a phrase: a misplaced comma, not knowing your audience’s favoured interpretation of a word, an unintended tone… The proverbial panda, who eats, shoots and leaves, will attest to the delightful subtleties of the English language, and language in general.
In this, the internet age, where such things as tone, body language, and often even context, can be utterly stripped, our naked words need succour if they are to survive, fully formed, and carry our meaning across the boundless space. We dress them in typefaces to portray our professionalism, our rebelliousness, our stern demeanour, or our jovial attitude. We agonise over the correct word to choose, praying that we might straddle that line between causing offence and hedging the issue, and all the while painfully aware of the permanence of every dream dreamed on-line, as we shirk archaic meanings, but fear the fickle nature of modernistic slang.
Our words have power, a power we all too often abuse, misuse, or simple do not appreciate. Consider them carefully.
