May 10, 2021
Inspired by a comment on a recent post. Discuss:
It never fails to amaze me that ALL the books ever written are made up of just twenty six letters.
I first saw this statement as a response to a post on another author’s blog hop post, and a small piece of me died. A little more of me shriveled when shortly after, I saw the same statement on Facebook. I had to restrain myself from answering and starting a war on social media. Here, I can express myself.
Now, I understand what the folks who shared the sentiment were trying to say. Language is a marvelous thing. The way we can arrange shaped to have meaning is amazing. Even if the lines and shapes are sometimes incorrect, our minds can translate them to the correct meaning.
But here’s my problem. At its face, the statement is English-centric and ignores the differences between languages. The Russian alphabet has thirty-three letters, the Spanish one has thirty. Then you have Japanese, with different written languages and seventy-one or more characters. Are they any less important than English when it comes to writing?
But can the English language be used to translate every other language using those 26 letters? The answer is, not
really. Take Irish, for example. The word AMAINIRIS (“ARM-AN-ERISH”) means the second day after tomorrow. There isn’t an equivalent word in English. There is overmorrow, but that’s only one day after tomorrow.
Let’s throw in how the same word can have different meanings in different countries. In Nigeria, the word ‘hammers’ is the act of coming into big money. It has nothing to do with power tools.
The point being, words are more than twenty-six letters strung together. Language is words and context and color. Books are more than words.
What do you think? Let’s talk about it in the comments. Don’t forget to check out the other authors on this hop and see what they think. Just check out the links below.
And, until next time, please stay safe.
May 10, 2021
Inspired by a comment on a recent post. Discuss:
It never fails to amaze me that ALL the books ever written are made up of just twenty six letters.
Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.
So true, and one word can mean many different things, depending on its place in the whole.
We could always adopt the Brit-ism for day after tomorrow with the next day but one. But you’re right, there’s no such word. However, manufacturing slang is what we do best, so a word for that is no more than a day away. Fertomdoodle? Huvagurt? Baut.
“See ya baut, Leroy!”
So see, the Irish aren’t so clever after all. Do Irish surfers use global surf slang? “Aye, Fitzmichael, an you’ll be hangin’ an epic greener now.” An Irish Valley Girl? Hmmmm…
I like the idea of baut. I recently came across the musical group Seo Linn, which has sparked my interest in Gaeilge
I learned Arabic to read and understand the Quran. There are so many words that can’t be effectively translated into English, not only based on meaning (i.e., the word “deen” doesn’t translate as religion or faith but a way of life that integrates faith into every facet of how we live) but also articulation. Arabic is the only language with a certain letter that is translated as “daad,” which doesn’t really work. Don’t get me started on the other heavy letters.
What is a “heavy” letter?
It is interesting to read your post after I wrote my own response to this topic, Patricia. I have interpreted the prompt quite differently and never thought about it in the context of other languages. I would just assume that people would automatically adjust this statement for their own language rules and requirements.
Unfortunately, in the United States, there are too many people who wouldn’t consider that an option.
Wouldn’t we say ‘in three days’ time’ for amainiris? Okay the phrase is more than one word, but it means the same thing.
There are many concepts in different cultures that won’t have an equivalent in another language. Doesn’t mean we have to find one.
It does make translation an interesting skill (that I don’t have!)