words

Investigating a new Bromide

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One of the oldest bromides is the saying “you learn something new every day”.

First, before the reveal, do you know what a “bromide” is, and where the phrase came from?

Potassium Bromide is a salt used as an anticonvulsant and sedative in the late 19th and early 20th century. It is rumored that during World War I, British soldiers were given Bromide to curb sexual desires. The salts were then later used as “sedative hypnotics”, a treatment characterized by lazy complacence and calmness. It was that practice which spawned the term “bromide” and gave it it’s colloquial meaning of “boring, comforting cliche”. PS It is okay to think of a “bromide” in a more negative sense. Everyone has a right to their own opinion. (See?)

I rushed through bromide stuff to get to the “new thing” learned today. As a father of two, grandfather to five, and friend to many other parents, the term “tongue tied” has always meant one thing: “someone is unable to speak clearly or freely, often due to shyness, embarrassment, or surprise”, per Merriam Webster.

But (drum roll for the new thing) tongue tied really comes from a form of tongue development noted in new borns where the “flap” under the tongue is too short. Go ahead, take a minute to feel under your tongue and find the stringy thing (the “lingual frenulum”) holding your tongue in your mouth. Got it? Babies are often born with a lingual frenulum too short or too tight, and it leads to a condition called “Tongue Tie, otherwise known as ankyloglossia”. If you’re a parent or soon to be parent, google this condition, if you don’t know about it already. Tongue Tie occurs in 5-10 percent of new born babies and appears to be hard to diagnose and treat, from some doctors perspectives. Tongue Tie’s main medical issue is it inhibits babies attempts to “latch on” to the breast for feeding.

The problem is it is not life threatening, so doctors are free to have their own opinions about diagnosing and treatment, or not. And they do, if you read internet stuff from reputable places. Some say it will cure itself and some say it needs to be fixed immediately, using a procedure know by two names: Frenotomy of Frenulotomy, tongue tiers in their own right.

I never knew a lick (get it?) about Tongue Tie until 9:37AM EST today, and rushed right here to share.

So. In my opinion, you do learn something new every day. From traffic lights to traffic circles, rotary phones to cell phones, we just roll with our new stuff and move on, as we have since the dawn of time.

Second Silly New Thing: baby boys are twice as likely to be born with Tongue Tie, no doubt as preparation for heart-to-heart conversations and marriage proposals.

BTW, my frenulum is perfect.

Words, but different ones…

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When you view life as a certain state of being and allow its eccentricities to be the fabric of your existence, beginnings and endings fade away. The nature of eternity, endless space, and a higher power greater, even, than the sum of all in this known world, yields an understanding maybe not quite right but inherently capable of satisfying human inquisitiveness.

So it is when you enter the world of The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, written by John Koening, and published in 2021. My internet friend, Wikipedia, says it is an “English word-construction project seeking to coin and define neologisms (new words) for emotions not yet described in language.” The author apparently started the project when he could not find the right words to use in his poetry. American ingenuity at its finest, yes?

You should do your own research, trust me, but here are some of my favorites, including “sonder”, the original word which tickled my fancy so much a rush to the bathroom was required to avoid dampening my boxers. I’ve paraphrased definitions to fit more in, but take a look at the book and website of the same name for more mental exercise and amusement.

SONDER: “noun, the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own–populated with their own ambitions, friends, worries and as much inherited craziness as your own.”

EISCE: noun, “the awareness of the infinitesimal role you play in shaping your own society.”

KENAWAY: noun, “the longing to see how other people live their lives when they’re not in public”.

Hm. These three words, alone, distill years and paragraphs of college dorm room discussions into three nouns. At least for a private, Liberal Arts school. It’s fun to imagine, too, how new words describe things new to humankind. Imagine a caveman feeling any of these words, and wondering “is it just me?”

As modern life exponentially grows in complexity, it makes sense we need new words to describe the mental, emotional, and physical realities humans encounter as they grow with it, but is it socially efficient to simply make up or own words? Fick, (sic) if I know.

I do know that if everyone sondered* more the world would be a better place. If everyone was aware of their eisce we’d be a humbler, intelligent society instead of one full of minor, local dictators trying to change reality. And if kenaway becomes a legal defense for peeping,…”Your honor, I was simply kenawaying*.”

The best part of the whole word discussion is…the discussion, the dialogue. New words, old words, it matters only if we understand them, use them, and share them in thoughtful, humane conversations, sog sam it.

The only true fear is for grammar and punctuation. A world with new words, misplaced commas, no periods, and an epidemic of dangling participles will be the end of us all.

*I’ve always hated turning a noun into a verb, but it’s so much fun…

Language…Words…Tools?

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The last post got me interested in the origins of words and languages. The usual suspects were consulted: The internet and Wikipedia.

The only true thing I learned is: nobody knows. In fact, according to Wikipedia, the evolution of language is such a difficult subject, its research was banned by The Linguistic Society of Paris in 1866 as a subject “unsuitable for serious study”. Study has not stopped, however, but why would it when the best theories cannot be unproven, and even the dumbest among us can have a go at it.

There is a consensus among us serious thinkers (I am now among them) that language took a long time to develop and will not reveal its secrets…ever. A theory which makes sense (as most do), is the appearance of stone tools. The existence of these tools meant the someone who invented the tools was sharing intelligence with others on how to make those tools. Makes sense. But then the theory fails to be taken seriously when we consider apes have–and use–tools of all kinds yet they can’t conjugate a verb. Or can they? For that matter, can we? And when the original tool maker pointed, grunted, and nodded approval to his apprentices, could they ever have imagined the concept of conjugation might find its way into the process?

A theory which is neat and tidy is the Alien Theory. Let me elucidate and explicate. Well-dressed and educated aliens were driving by eons ago and saw an empty-looking, green and blue ball.They stopped to take a leak and were surprised to find early humans hiding behind the bushes, watching. At that very moment, the aliens responded with something similar to our modern “WTF?”, and followed that up with an “LOL” when the the humans threw stone tools at the titanium spaceship. After washing their hands completely, the Aliens proceeded to set up tents for classroom instruction of the Native Earthians, who were forced to attend, unless they were sick. Masks were not invented, yet. Subjects were English 101 and Precalculas math. Pop quizzes were scored and failing humans were put on the spaceship for specimens to be examined on the ride home. The “smart humans” were set loose into the world to propagate their learning and population. And thus math and language were given to our world by somebody who couldn’t hold it in, any longer.

There’s no speculation on how the Aliens were treated when they got home, but Earth proceeded on its course to development, especially after the humans realized the apes “weren’t getting it” and all attention was then focused on the least hairy members of the clan/tribe/society. Shaving was invented around then, as well, using a really sharp stone. Smart, right?

Does any of this sound like a “subject unsuitable for study”?

Final thought? Language and words (and math, science, et. al.) are wonders we all should take part in, and enjoy. We will never get all the answers to all the questions, especially in our lifetimes, but enjoy the journey. Be more inquisitive about where “decimate” comes, from (deck a mate?)and less about who will win “Survivor”. Please.