Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Have Words Lost Their Power?

Living near the water is something I never dreamed would be on my husband’s and my horizon. Yet that is exactly what has happened. The reality is we spend quite a bit of time walking the beach.

 
 
 
 
Even on a grey morning around dawn, as it was when these photos were taken, I stand in awe and amazement. Not for creation itself, but in awe of the God who has made it all for us to enjoy. He is indeed an awesome creator God and that’s using awesome in the way it was meant to be used.
According to the dictionary awesome means ‘inspiring awe’ and awe, of course, has according to the dictionary again that element of ‘reverential fear or wonder.’  But that’s not the way I hear it used today. It seems to have passed into our common language and is used  a lot, but not exclusively, by young people, These days anything which is great or interesting is declared  'awesome.' The result is people end up describing anything from a pizza, a night out, a song, an artist, or a footballer as awesome. Every time I hear it I feel like cringing.

In Taking a Chance a novel  by Deborah Burrows, I am reading at present, one of characters says, ‘It’s words that can save the world Nellie, words that can make a real difference.’  I  agree.  But today is seems too often like words have lost that power and been devalued. Actually there seems to have been a lot of discussion lately in various places about the way words are being used.

I also started a book by an author I usually like, general fiction. The woman in the story asked what anniversary they were celebrating and the man replied. Not with, 'the first time we made love,' which would have sounded romantic and sensual.  He could even have said the first time they had sex but the author put the other crude f word in the character’s mouth.  I sounded crass and entirely unnecessary. It stopped me in my tracks. I eventually persisted for while longer but ended up not reading the book , not only for that reason but because it felt confused and I felt like I was wading my way through thick sludge.

Some words like that dreaded f word seem to be used these days prolifically. The words of Cole Porter’s song Anything Goes written well before I was born, around 1934 were prophetic saying,' ‘Authors that once knew better words now only use four letter words writing prose. Anything Goes.’ We are certainly seeing that these days.

On the other hand, I am currently reading a book God’s Panoply by Anne Hamilton and it deals a lot with words, not just English words but Hebrew and Greek words among others. I'm learning a lot. At times it even sends me looking up English words and one my dictionary didn’t even bother to include. I’d heard of subliminal but not liminal. Hands up any who can tell me the meaning of the word liminal?  Sad when the dictionary didn’t have it, though trusty Google came to the rescue and enlightened me.

It’s not always a bad thing to encounter unfamiliar words while reading. I would rather that than words which get used incorrectly are overused or that have lost their meaning.

As Christian writers, it is important that we think seriously about the words we use and how we use them. They have the power to change the world. Or they can just blend in so that we appear no different to the non Christian. It was something our guest speaker challenged us about at church this Sunday. Do our words reveal as us as children of the King? Are our words salt and light in a conversation? I might add, or on the page? Or do we just blend in with the world around us? It’s something for each of us to consider and with God’s help work through.

Dale writes fiction and poetry. Her latest novel Streets on a Map is currently available as an E book. She has also written children’s books, bible studies, Sunday school material, devotionals, and articles about marriage, home and Christian living. She is currently at work on a new novel, tentatively titled Sandstone Madonna.

 

15 comments:

  1. I was almost tempted to write 'awesome blog', Dale, but refrained! That certainly is a word that has lost its original meaning through overuse. It's a fine line, isn't it, choosing vocabulary to use that everyone will understand while at the same time not 'dumbing down' our writing, as one of my manuscript readers puts it!

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    1. It is indeed Jo-Anne. Someone recently shared elsewhere that the new 'in' word when something is really great is 'prime.' Changes almost as we speak.

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  2. Uh oh. Does this mean every single time that I've used the word 'awesome', you die a little inside? I do like the word awesome. Except I don't use it in my writing. I try to be more eloquent. Although I do cringe when people use the word 'epic'. To paraphrase Inigo Montoya, "I don't think that word means what you think it means".

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  3. I hope not Jenn. Another one that bugs me is 'ordinary' when people actually mean hopeless or no good. Footy commentators use it that way a lot.

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  4. Hi Dale,
    First of all, those sea photos of your area are breathtaking. What a wonderful place to live.
    Now, as I live under the same roof with people aged from 9 to 23, I find the word 'awesome' springs easily to my lips too, in normal conversation. The watering down of language is so contagious. I remember some other song lyrics which said that the word 'love' is not strong enough for the emotion the singer was feeling, and even that made me think, 'Hang on, it should be.'
    Thanks for challenging us to think about how our power tools (words) may so easily lose their edge.

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    1. It is indeed a beautiful place to live, Paula. We praise God each day for bringing us here. I had to chuckle. Amazing how we pick up use of words from our kids

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  5. Hi Dale,
    Thank you so much for you post. It is very thought provoking and challenging as I set out on the writing journey. I do find it so interesting the seasons that our language goes through.
    Thank you for sharing your wisdom.

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    1. Glad it was helpful Linsey. All the best on your writing journey.

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  7. Dale, great post! Our language, both verbal and written, is so important in regards to us being salt and light in the world. I have no idea what liminal means, either. I love the photos - you live in a beautiful part of the world :)

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    1. I'm sure you and I weren't the only ones Narelle. According to Google which told me when the dictionary didn't liminal means:
      1 of or relating to a sensory threshold.
      Yes we do live in a beautiful part of the world. I adore living here.


      2 : barely perceptible
      I do think it is a cool world. I'll have to look for a way to use it. Maybe in a poem?

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  8. Thanks for the thought provoking post, Dale. I am tempted to say it was 'awesome' but I confess to overusing it. :)

    I'm with you on the 'thick sludge,' though. Not a fan.

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    1. Maybe we will all stop and think before we use the word again, Dottie. Thanks for the comment.

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  9. good post Dale. I dont like the f word or any cussing in books.
    I tend to say something is awe inspiring when I see something spectacular. When I was in Canada and the top of Mount Whistler I was like "Oh Wow" I could not find a word that did it justice but awe inspiring was one I used.

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    1. I haven't been to Canada but often find that when I look at creation and then think of the God behind it. How anyone can ever look at creation and not see the Creator behind it is beyond me.

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