A brief word on words

The English language is extremely variable, one of the main reasons it is said to be very difficult to learn. New words enter the English lexicon every other week and are widely used by the end of the month. The flexibility of English makes it the global language in the math, engineering and science fields, as new techniques, technology, and terminology can be created and used on the spot with instantaneous understanding. The fax (facsimile) machine entered the international dictionary (minus the French), as well as DNA (deoxyribose nucleic acid) and other scientific and technical jargon. English is spoken by more than one billion people and considered lingua franca since the end of WWII. The one area English is often said to be lacking in, however, is literature.

Many people insist that much is lost in translation (see The Bible) and the true experience of a great literary work is found in the author's native language. The flaw in this argument is that the novel was written via its original language, and by that I mean the author used his or her words as understood in that particular frame. Words do more than translate experiences, as found in a scientific journal or medical text. They carry weight and meaning, have implications outside of the book and at the same time are affected by subtle relationships within a sentence. Every word carries its own traits and background, and by extrapolation every language operates from its own distinct vantage point and is completely unique from any other. So of course reading a translated novel may not have the same effect as reading the original. But a good translation will carry over the intention of the original and rebroadcast it through another antenna.

With that out of the way, let me introduce my two favorite sentences in the English language:

He'd get up on the couch and just fall off onto the floor again and nothing is sadder than a turtle falling. - from a website discussing the cons of owning a set of "Pet Stairs"

But even when they make soft forays into Latin-brushed balladry, the inevitable and often insufferable wankery leaps from the shadows by the end. - from All Music Guide's review of the newest Mars Volta album (applicable to all of them, however)

These sentences both run on just slightly, which I have a weakness for in my own writing but enjoy because that sense of stretching out the sentence implies a rushed and excited telling. That undercurrent of excitement can lend a feeling of importance to the sentence, as if the information must be passed on immediately in a single breath. This is found in the first sentence by the lack of commas. The second sentence combines alliteration with multi-syllabic words to create a feeling of weight and extra length. Each sentence is also formally composed, but around a silly idea. The Mars Volta review contains enough points to win a Scrabble game as long as you convince your opponent that "wankery" counts on a triple word score. And the first sentence maintains an almost tragic, futile air of someone helpless person or creature struggling up onto a couch and then it hits you that yes, there is nothing sadder than a turtle falling. Provided a turtle ever found its way into a position it could conceivably fall from, let alone even stumble or trip over, I imagine it would be a rather sad sight.

So there you go. What I thought would be just an excuse to put those two sentences out for public viewing turned into a run-on essay. I'm going to go study a lot today, shower, and then class from 5-8. Whoopee! And yes, I predicted that Brady Quinn wouldn't throw for 200 yards. And that Tech would lose.