by Lynn Mandaville
My parents fostered a deep love of language in my sisters and me from our earliest years. There was always a dictionary at the dinner table where the five of us ate together every night.
Though bedtime stories were largely age-appropriate Golden Books or Dr. Seuss, Pop like to change things up with readings from the King James Bible (he so loved the beautiful language) or classics like Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. Ma favored song lyrics (Cole Porter and Irving Berlin and Frank Sinatra), singing along with the radio all day every day.
And they both shared a love of comedy, collecting 33 1/3 LPs (remember them?) of the funniest showmen alive, which we kids listened to ad nauseum. It’s not surprising that some of my early heroes were men like Tom Lehrer (a satiric lyricist/MIT mathematician), William Safire and Edwin Newman, and comedians like Abbott and Costello, George Carlin, Stan Freberg and the Firesign Theater. All these people could “turn a phrase.” They used the English language like the fine surgical instrument it can be. Boy, do I love that precision!
Of late, the English language has been, in my opinion, horribly misused. It is wielded like a club rather than a scalpel. I am most distressed by its use by our president. The most powerful man in the world speaks almost monosyllabically. He overuses the word thing rather than more precisely using specific nouns to communicate his messages. He purposely limits his communications to 140 characters at a time, which certainly doesn’t help him express what he really wants or intends to say.
Thus, his handlers are continually having to parse his missives to undo the damage of his limited vocabulary and imprecise language. You may say what you will about Trump’s predecessor regarding legislation and policy. But you cannot say that Obama didn’t have a mighty command of our native tongue.
We live in an age where words matter. Like technology, language requires a tightness, a deliberateness, a narrow degree of tolerance (to use an industry term). We know this by the rise of political correctness. We know this by the power of certain words like the N-word, or the C-word. And don’t forget the mighty strength of a well-placed F-bomb.
Language can be our doing or our undoing, and it would behoove us all to be so mindful when we vent our spleen on Facebook, or shout our rage in football stadiums or in the streets. Our elected officials, our leaders, our so-called gurus should be particularly mindful of the power they wield with the written and spoken word.
When I was a teen we used a colorful expression to describe people who blathered on about things with little or no regard to content or context. We said they had diarrhea of the mouth. This is what we are hearing daily out of Washington, and what a s**tstorm it has become.
I know I sound like the old lady I have become, but I pine for the days when a person’s command of language spoke to his character, his intelligence, his compassion and his grace. Those were people to listen to, not only because of the beauty of the prose, but because of the clear meaning and soul they projected.
Then evidently you loved Winston Churchill, a fine writer and weaver of the English language. He was known to also use salty language as circumstances warranted. And he spoke as if he were talking to you, not everyone listening on radio.
Or is the Marxist President Obama your only example of proper language usage? He certainly used the spoken word like a scalpel – more full of hot air with no substance. His words flowed like wine, as his spine was linguine. A poor excuse for a “leader”, but as you say, he did have a command of the BS language. Do you know why he never looked right at the camera (like Reagan always did) when giving a speech? Because the audience would see there was no soul behind the lying eyes.
He reminded me more of presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy, you remember, the guy that could speak for an hour and not describe a memorable idea. Why did McCarthy lose, because most “cretins” couldn’t understand him. He didn’t understand most people want a person of action, not words. Congress needs to start talking less and working more. President Obama should enjoy his life and forget politics… and stop talking, he’s no longer the president.
Language is important, and can be beautiful. I feel fortunate that both my parents were readers, and set that tone in our family. It’s not hard to find examples of language use that enhances the message – or the opposite. Thank you for your contribution, Lynn.