In Love With Language Words Plus Imagination Needed!

Words are beautiful. They communicate nuances of thought and assemble ideas into patterns of delight. Words as an art form include rap, verse, and poetry that can be presented live, in books and electronically. As explorers of words we enjoy word puzzles, play Scrabble, appreciate inspirational speakers, and enter spelling bees. We honor the great pronunciation of actors on the stage. We use words, yet they are meaningless without purposeful expression.

Crutches in the form of dictionaries, thesauruses, and encyclopedias are a great help to writers. It surprised me to discover how ancient the history of lexicography (compiling dictionary) was. Did you know that the first compilation of words dating back to 2300 BCE was found in what is now modern Syria? It would have been fun to be the one to find ancient tablets with bilingual Sumarian-Akkadian word lists. Of next importance were the Chinese who have been credited with the first monolingual dictionary written in about 3 BCE. Over the years there were many other early Arabic and European word compilations that set the stage for an English language version.

Since I use dictionaries often I appreciate those who put them together. An alphabetic English language dictionary was first written by a school teacher, Robert Cawdrey in 1604. If you jump in time to Samuel Johnson in 1755 you will learn that he compiled a more expansive “Dictionary of the English Language”, helping set a standard for future books. Then with another major leap forward, the Oxford English Dictionary was compiled. What an effort! Started by the Philological Society in London, it took over 50 years to complete the first edition in 1884 entitled A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles. Volunteers were called to help with this monumental task, and one of note was murderer Thomas Minor. Minor’s life was sustained by words as he contributed hours of work assembling definitions from his insane asylum in Crowthorn, Berksure, England. The Oxford English Dictionary with its 616,500 word-forms remains the most comprehensive and trusted dictionary of the English language and is constantly being updated. As a little aside…the Dutch dictionary Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal is the largest in the world and it took twice as long to complete.

Now, let us explore the thesaurus. Peter Mark Roget was a man of science, a physician, and a lexicographer who loved organization. He started early in childhood putting lists together that eventually led to his life’s work. In 1852 he published his major work “Thesaurus of Words and Phrases”, an invaluable book for helping writers of every ilk select just the right word to express their meaning. Roget, a man of many talents is also known to have invented the slide rule and for recognizing the concept of “persistence of vision”, a discovery that led to development of animation and films. Roget certainly was an inventive man.

Today, specialized dictionaries and glossaries in print and electronically make it easy to check spelling, meaning, and word roots. However, words themselves do not add up to their artful use. How does a truly great communicator use words? Are writers and orators born with a gift or do they learn to love words and their use by practice and study? Perhaps the answer is both.

Writing is a craft that involves creativity being applied to common standards and techniques. As in any art form, hours of practice are needed to be able to take words and craft them for understanding and inspiration. Writing involves vision without which there is no path for words to travel. It may involve hours of research in order to provide a depth of knowledge underlying the subject of the writing. Writing includes developing style, knowing how to present conversations, and of course, word use.

Dictionaries and thesaurus help the writer but in themselves can not be the muse. Time spent with imaginative play, creative and critical thinking processes and even silence give rise to an inner voice that is needed in speech and writing. Activities that promote creative expression are just as important as those focused on the accumulation of words.

At Museum Tour we suggest many ways to develop and practice creative language skills. Our early focus on language development helps children pronounce words correctly. It is difficult to read and write if your r sounds like a w. Books and games with factual content, workbooks as learning aids, and activities for performances are all part of our offerings to help young learners turn words into eloquent communication. A few examples include Speechersize (pronunciation), Origin of Expressions (creative language), Writers Companion (a how to book), Sensational Sentences (practice), Poem in Your Pocket (inspirational), Adventure Books (to embrace reading), Black Beauty (comprehension), Archiquest (creativity), Building Thinking Skills (reasoning and analytics) and Flipbook (sequencing).