Thursday, April 8, 2021

FASCINATION OF USAGE

 Language has a strange way of hooking one's interest. I really found it interesting how words gains emphasis when used in the right place. For example, yesterday's Hard Talk programme of Stephen with the economist Ken, where Ken pointed out the marked difference between " similarity of patterns of behaviour' and parallels in behaviour, as parallels never meet. So if one's behaviour is akin to other person, the apt usage would be similarity in the patterns of behaviour, which is fascinating. 

Similarly, the expressions, 'Middle East' and " Far east", were coined by the Brits for their convenience. The Egyptian author had explained this in  her interview, which I found very fascinating.  Egypt is located in the Middle East and India in the Far East as for someone who is in England.

Likewise, the book I am currently reading" Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway' has some expressions and anecdotes which stick to the readers mind, one of them being theme of  death in the opening stories. Death in various forms is spanning across various countries such as Cuba, France, Spain. The subsequent chapters are depressing in terms of theme, yet it is fascinating how pain is presented in an elevated sense with the words such as good and nice.  Especially the expression loosely as I remember  'death might have gone to other alleys and then switching saying that the character feels its presence' is a nice way of humanising death, which is actually so juxtaposed to its very nature. In contrast,  the in depth detailing about nature, landscapes. transports the reader to  the setting.

I am also reminded of the 80 year old Canadian author who made a comment in an interview about herself and her book, that  one need not be the centre of every conversation of others and that everyone has a right to say what they feel is right to them. It is easily said than done as accepting every comment  in today's age where everyone is keen to put themselves in the limelight through photos, pictures clicked of places, sceneries, food, dresses  etc. 


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