As is often the case, I'm unable to sleep through a combination of pain from a trapped nerve and an over-active mind which often kicks into gear under these circumstances.
On this occasion, the topic which is occupying my thoughts is 'words'.
Although my own schooling didn't extend to further education - and, as a consequence, I occasionally struggle with punctuation - I enjoy words; and sometimes wonder if becoming bilingual as a young child might have something to do with it.
For whatever reason, in much the same way that one might move a sweet from one side of the mouth to the other and enjoying the flavour as the sweet melts, I have often found myself subconsciously playing around with words in my mind. I can, for example, remember spending almost a whole day whilst climbing in The Lake District as a Boy Scout and being unable to decide whether I was relying on 'stamina' - or 'stanima' - in order to complete the ordeal.
More recently - especially when I used to drive up and down the highways and byways of The United Kingdom delivering buses - I would do mental exercises; such as trying to discover the longest word with only one vowel (strengths). I spent ages working that out and was somewhat miffed when, having boasted about the achievement to my daughter-in-law (herself a graduate in English Literature) she promptly resorted to Google and found the same answer within a few seconds.
Anyway; so far as my current thought process is concerned, I'm worried about the way one of my pet hates - the PC brigade - have influenced language for reasons which have absolutely nothing to do with grammar. Words which are deemed racist, for example, are being erased from the dictionary. My own opinion, BTW, is that the word itself is usually an innocent victim because the real problem arises from the manner in which it is presented. I believe, for example, that the word, 'nigger' is used frequently within ethnic minorities; however, if an Anglo-Saxon - or a South American footballer - utters it, there's all hell to pay.
Other examples - such as 'spastic colon' have been removed from daily use in order, apparently, to avoid offending people who suffer from spasms. However, speaking as someone who can quite often be irritable and suffers from occasional problems with my bowels, I suggest that the replacement, 'irritable bowel syndrome' is equally - if not more - offensive!
I do, however, agree with those who feel that there is no place for swear words within the public domain. Speaking of which, I doubt if there is anyone in British history to whom the 'C' word has been attributed more often than Mrs. Thatcher. Paradoxically, I suspect that those most likely to express these sentiments are probably members of the aforementioned, PC brigade. Accordingly, my message to those who proclaim they will 'dance on her grave when she dies', is that I hope she's buried at sea.
On this occasion, the topic which is occupying my thoughts is 'words'.
Although my own schooling didn't extend to further education - and, as a consequence, I occasionally struggle with punctuation - I enjoy words; and sometimes wonder if becoming bilingual as a young child might have something to do with it.
For whatever reason, in much the same way that one might move a sweet from one side of the mouth to the other and enjoying the flavour as the sweet melts, I have often found myself subconsciously playing around with words in my mind. I can, for example, remember spending almost a whole day whilst climbing in The Lake District as a Boy Scout and being unable to decide whether I was relying on 'stamina' - or 'stanima' - in order to complete the ordeal.
More recently - especially when I used to drive up and down the highways and byways of The United Kingdom delivering buses - I would do mental exercises; such as trying to discover the longest word with only one vowel (strengths). I spent ages working that out and was somewhat miffed when, having boasted about the achievement to my daughter-in-law (herself a graduate in English Literature) she promptly resorted to Google and found the same answer within a few seconds.
Anyway; so far as my current thought process is concerned, I'm worried about the way one of my pet hates - the PC brigade - have influenced language for reasons which have absolutely nothing to do with grammar. Words which are deemed racist, for example, are being erased from the dictionary. My own opinion, BTW, is that the word itself is usually an innocent victim because the real problem arises from the manner in which it is presented. I believe, for example, that the word, 'nigger' is used frequently within ethnic minorities; however, if an Anglo-Saxon - or a South American footballer - utters it, there's all hell to pay.
Other examples - such as 'spastic colon' have been removed from daily use in order, apparently, to avoid offending people who suffer from spasms. However, speaking as someone who can quite often be irritable and suffers from occasional problems with my bowels, I suggest that the replacement, 'irritable bowel syndrome' is equally - if not more - offensive!
I do, however, agree with those who feel that there is no place for swear words within the public domain. Speaking of which, I doubt if there is anyone in British history to whom the 'C' word has been attributed more often than Mrs. Thatcher. Paradoxically, I suspect that those most likely to express these sentiments are probably members of the aforementioned, PC brigade. Accordingly, my message to those who proclaim they will 'dance on her grave when she dies', is that I hope she's buried at sea.
