In recent years I've developed a rather odd inclination: a liking for words.
I've always liked reading, however around the time I reached my thirties reading has become not anymore an act of hunger for a story but more like a yearning to excavate for gems that are tucked away in between the lines...
Like stumbling upon dabs and specks of poetry within a horror novel:
But mostly it's the unexpected word choices of the writer that cause microscopic mind-blowing moments,
That make you wonder about the thought-process behind the author that led to them.
I mean, I think many of us can come up with a story that has the same plot yet the choice of words (differentiator) is always going to be that of one in a hundred-thousand,
and taking it a bit further,
even if the same words were to be shuffled within the same scrabble bag, there are going to be at least a dozen possibilities to arrange those words, depending on: the author's mood, word/personal experience association, mental health, the weather, or whether he/she is writing on an empty stomach.
I never thought this (whatchamacall...) affection for words was a thing, didn't give it much thought really.
I just found myself...
Reading with pen-in-hand more frequently (to mark the excavation points);
Being excitedly looking forward to today's 'Word of the Day' on dictionary.com; and,
Taking pleasure in taking vocabulary tests with luring titles such as This French Culinary Terms Test Will Determine If You Have What It Takes To Be A Chef that you just happen to bump into on the Internet.
It was not until listening to the most recent Radiolab podcast featuring Dr. Oliver Sacks, that I realized that this genius of a human being was, in fact a fellow word aficionado, and not only that, it is through him that (I'm not sure if the word was coined by Oliver Sacks himself or by Bill Hayes) the term: Etymophilia (Love of Words) came to be.
In a New York Times article Bill Hayes remembers late Oliver Sacks as the"funny fellow who took giant dictionaries to bed for light reading (aided by a magnifying glass)", further into the article he writes, "I often referred to Oliver as a "walking OED" (Oxford English Dictionary) because he could recall spellings and definitions so accurately. And yet he remained modest, never flaunting his extraordinary vocabulary and always deferring to a dictionary for confirmation if in doubt".
The image of Oliver Sacks conveyed by Bill Hayes is remarkably comforting yet also good-naturedly humbling. It's sort of like the impression you get when you look up at the sky on a starry night and are amazed by the immensity of the Universe and what lies beyond it; yet... there's an inexplicable sense of closeness you feel towards that one blinking star, unpretentiously smiling down at you but whose name you ignore...
A connection.
A like-mindedness.
A je ne sais quoi.
I don't believe you have to be a lettered literarian, a Maester of the Citadel, to take an interest in words.
While trying to make sense of what I'm writing on this particular blog entry, I encountered a response made by Editor of the Merriam Webster Dictionary, Emily Brewster, where she indicated that someone who loves words is actually called a logofile (which comes from the Greek roots logos (speech, word, reason) and philos (dear, friendly). Logofile v. Etymophilia , it's debatable, but I'm sticking with the latter denomination, for it has a less rational and more empirical notion to it--
You see,
To denominate yourself as a "word lover",
I think,
More than being a white-wigged-learned-doctor-in-letters or such,
It's about
The Heart,
The Feel,
The Gut
Being in the right place to perceive the jazzy, savoury oomph of a word.
Now, other than Oliver Sacks- who doesn't count as someone I know because he's a celebrity,
IRL, I know of only one other human person who is a fella etymophile.
She is a French architect. Her name is Marthe. And if I were to describe her personality, I'd make a bouquet of freshly picked olive branches (with black olives still on them, of course), dust some gold glitter onto it and snap a picture with polaroid camera. Voilà: my friend, Marthe.
I befriended Marthe during a night of drinks with friends. I don't quite remember exactly how the conversation flowed but we ended up exchanging our favourite words and sharing thoughts on how some words are lost in translation; how some go so well with the culture from which they were originated; and how in Arabic there are so many ways to express I love you.
It's the type of conversation that makes you lose track of time...
It's the type of topic that makes your eyes sparkle...
I'm frankly having a hard time figuring out how to wrap up this blog entry, I started it without an end in mind, I just wanted to share how happy I was with the fact that there is a sort of little society of faceless Etymophilians around the world, and just the sole idea that I am not alone and that there are so many wonderful books to snuggle into and squirm around for gems and endless vocabulary words to dissect and understand... makes me forget how tense my shoulders were just an hour ago.
If by any chance you too are a word-lover, do not hesitate to reach out and say hi and share your favourite word with me.
I've always liked reading, however around the time I reached my thirties reading has become not anymore an act of hunger for a story but more like a yearning to excavate for gems that are tucked away in between the lines...
Like stumbling upon dabs and specks of poetry within a horror novel:
"Tonight's moon was so bright that it had embarrassed all but the brightest stars into invisibility." (The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, Stephen King)
But mostly it's the unexpected word choices of the writer that cause microscopic mind-blowing moments,
That make you wonder about the thought-process behind the author that led to them.
I mean, I think many of us can come up with a story that has the same plot yet the choice of words (differentiator) is always going to be that of one in a hundred-thousand,
and taking it a bit further,
even if the same words were to be shuffled within the same scrabble bag, there are going to be at least a dozen possibilities to arrange those words, depending on: the author's mood, word/personal experience association, mental health, the weather, or whether he/she is writing on an empty stomach.
I never thought this (whatchamacall...) affection for words was a thing, didn't give it much thought really.
I just found myself...
Reading with pen-in-hand more frequently (to mark the excavation points);
Being excitedly looking forward to today's 'Word of the Day' on dictionary.com; and,
Taking pleasure in taking vocabulary tests with luring titles such as This French Culinary Terms Test Will Determine If You Have What It Takes To Be A Chef that you just happen to bump into on the Internet.
It was not until listening to the most recent Radiolab podcast featuring Dr. Oliver Sacks, that I realized that this genius of a human being was, in fact a fellow word aficionado, and not only that, it is through him that (I'm not sure if the word was coined by Oliver Sacks himself or by Bill Hayes) the term: Etymophilia (Love of Words) came to be.
In a New York Times article Bill Hayes remembers late Oliver Sacks as the"funny fellow who took giant dictionaries to bed for light reading (aided by a magnifying glass)", further into the article he writes, "I often referred to Oliver as a "walking OED" (Oxford English Dictionary) because he could recall spellings and definitions so accurately. And yet he remained modest, never flaunting his extraordinary vocabulary and always deferring to a dictionary for confirmation if in doubt".
The image of Oliver Sacks conveyed by Bill Hayes is remarkably comforting yet also good-naturedly humbling. It's sort of like the impression you get when you look up at the sky on a starry night and are amazed by the immensity of the Universe and what lies beyond it; yet... there's an inexplicable sense of closeness you feel towards that one blinking star, unpretentiously smiling down at you but whose name you ignore...
A connection.
A like-mindedness.
A je ne sais quoi.
I don't believe you have to be a lettered literarian, a Maester of the Citadel, to take an interest in words.
While trying to make sense of what I'm writing on this particular blog entry, I encountered a response made by Editor of the Merriam Webster Dictionary, Emily Brewster, where she indicated that someone who loves words is actually called a logofile (which comes from the Greek roots logos (speech, word, reason) and philos (dear, friendly). Logofile v. Etymophilia , it's debatable, but I'm sticking with the latter denomination, for it has a less rational and more empirical notion to it--
You see,
To denominate yourself as a "word lover",
I think,
More than being a white-wigged-learned-doctor-in-letters or such,
It's about
The Heart,
The Feel,
The Gut
Being in the right place to perceive the jazzy, savoury oomph of a word.
Now, other than Oliver Sacks- who doesn't count as someone I know because he's a celebrity,
IRL, I know of only one other human person who is a fella etymophile.
She is a French architect. Her name is Marthe. And if I were to describe her personality, I'd make a bouquet of freshly picked olive branches (with black olives still on them, of course), dust some gold glitter onto it and snap a picture with polaroid camera. Voilà: my friend, Marthe.
I befriended Marthe during a night of drinks with friends. I don't quite remember exactly how the conversation flowed but we ended up exchanging our favourite words and sharing thoughts on how some words are lost in translation; how some go so well with the culture from which they were originated; and how in Arabic there are so many ways to express I love you.
It's the type of conversation that makes you lose track of time...
It's the type of topic that makes your eyes sparkle...
I'm frankly having a hard time figuring out how to wrap up this blog entry, I started it without an end in mind, I just wanted to share how happy I was with the fact that there is a sort of little society of faceless Etymophilians around the world, and just the sole idea that I am not alone and that there are so many wonderful books to snuggle into and squirm around for gems and endless vocabulary words to dissect and understand... makes me forget how tense my shoulders were just an hour ago.
If by any chance you too are a word-lover, do not hesitate to reach out and say hi and share your favourite word with me.