I work in a tutoring center on Wednesdays, and with no patrons at my station today I was able to listen in on the other study sessions. It was amazing. I heard words like "ionic bonding" and "differentials" spoken in the same way I would speak of my laundry; that is, familiar and personal. I was so impressed--and I wanted more than anything to be "on the inside", fluent in the languages they were speaking.
I suppose my line of work has its own jargon, the use of which puts me "on the inside". Words like "communicative approach", "competencies" and "voiceless alveolar stop" are a few that come to mind. I guess what I'm saying is it's a beautiful thing to know what you're talking about.
So I started wondering about areas of my life where I have inadequate vocabulary. There are feelings I experience but have no name for. There are attributes of God I can't describe in a single word. Actually, for an English teacher and a student of linguistics I have a pitifully small lexicon.
Maybe I will get the Merriam-Webster app on my phone so I can learn one new word everyday. Until then, I hope I can stay thirsty for language as a way to both express and experience beauty.
Ok... you said six phrases or words in these few paragraphs that I either don't know the meaning of, or at least would never think to use in a sentence. I think it's beautiful how much I can learn from my big sis. :)
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