The Wonder Of Our Words

A thought of curiosity about words

words

Words spoken and words written, where did they come from? The simple word cat for instance comes from the term Felis Catus. But who came up with those words? Have you ever wondered where and when all these words, especially in the English language came about? In 2009 there was a study done by researchers at Reading University. They found out that the words “I”, “we”, “who”, “two”, and “three” are the oldest words used. Dating them back tens of thousands of years. But still, what made them think that “I” should be used as a word referring to oneself? Or the word “who” meaning what or which person or people.

From wherever and whenever our words came from is interesting to think about. As a fairly new writer I still occasionally come across words that I have never heard of like the word “bastion”. Bastion means, a place that is well defended. It can be used when describing a place or person that has firm principles. For example; “The White house was a bastion full of security.” Now because I have never heard anyone use that word, I question my own use of it. Yes, I looked the word up and how it is used, but it’s interesting when we don’t hear words used on a regular basis that understanding their usage can be more difficult. Now, if you have a degree in English, your thinking on the subject might be different from mine.

It is said that the modern English language is known to be one of the most difficult to learn and I believe that to be true. Just think about it. There are words that sound the same but are spelled different and have a different meaning. For example; “Their” and “There”. If you know your English, you know that “their” means belonging to or associated with. Whereas “there” refers to a place. Now, picture back before our language was invented. One person is trying to explain to another that he wants to go over “there”. The one might tap his or her chest and then motion and point in the direction that he or she wanted to go. Having words for this action now does seem easier.

Just like when pictures and symbols where carved into stone. One might recognize what the picture is but how did they use it in a sentence? I guess that’s when sentences would have been shorter and simpler. For example; The bird flew. A picture of a flying bird may have been carved or etched. Or, the dog barked might have been a picture of a dog with it’s mouth open. Story telling back then must have been interesting. But if you think about it, pictures and symbolism are still being used today. In educating a young child, a picture might be introduced first and then accompanied with writing or saying the word of what’s in the picture. For example; a picture of a cat might be shown and then explained that it is a cat or a kitty.

Visualization does still make things simpler and interesting as long as there are still words to go with it. This article for example could have been written without a picture at the top but I think that it creates interest. The letter tiles in the picture show the interest of words which is basically what this article is about. Wondering where our words came from. Now, did you know that the English alphabet that we teach today wasn’t complete until the mid 16th century? I’m not sure why but they were having issues with the letters, U,V, W, and J. So then when that got straightened out, the first English dictionary was published in 1604 by Robert Cawdrey, on the fairly new invention of the printing press.

Conclusion

With some of the research that I did for this article, I really didn’t satisfy my curiosity as to how our words came about. But I will just enjoy the vast amount of words that there are and continue creating stories with them. I have an imagination full of ideas for stories so I will count my blessings and write. I hope that this article was somewhat fun and informative for you. It was just one of those thoughts that I had to put down in writing. Thanks for reading and don’t forget to hit the heart if you liked it.