March 3, 2014

Words are a feast for the tongue.

Have you ever stopped to think about the words that abound in the English language.  It's a veritable feast for the senses and endless, challenging entertainment.  Truth of the matter, most of the words we have were derived from many other tongues. We've borrowed so many words that it is difficult to determine just which ones are genuinely ours.

I thought about that the other day after a nice discussion with local spelling aficionado Alyssa Boynton, whose vocabulary most certainly far exceeds many of ours indeed. Just ask her and she'll tell you about word roots, origins, and other wordly trivia. And she knows her way around a dictionary, that's for sure.

Words have always been a big part of my life.  i love the way some of them feel deliciously sliding over the tongue and out of the mouth.  Others can be ugly and avoidable.  I prefer to stick with the words that are just enjoyable to think and to say.

Like "lugubrious".  Though its definition is rather gloomy, dismal and mournful, I think it's just wonderful to utter.  Or "eloquent".  It just feels good forming that word and spitting it out. Or "luscious".  It's like a veritable feast in my opinion.

Most frustrating to me is when I know what I want to say but cannot find the exactly perfect word to express my feelings. Lyricists, on the other hand, know just how to tug at our strings by fitting just the right words into their compositions.  I, on the other hand, am often tongue tied when it comes to my word selection.

I once made a list of my favorite words - the ones that feel so good to say.   I have since lost that list so I guess I'll have to start over.  But no worries as there is an endless supply of words to consider. All you have to do is crack open a dictionary and start browsing. (Hint - the good old thesaurus always comes in handy when you are at a loss for words).  

So next time you feel the need to describe something, why not try challenging yourself and popping in a few lesser known words.  You may even reach a euphoric state of being with your choices.  You never can tell!