Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, creativity, language, Thoughts, Writers, writing on August 22, 2025| Leave a Comment »
What are the most beautiful words in the English language? Here is one person’s list:
The 100 Most Beautiful Words in the English Language – Dr. Robert Beard
Not so sure about “moeity” but I like the first one:
Ailurophile A cat-lover.
* Thanks to Messy Nessy for spotlighting this!
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Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, dreams, fantasy, history, inspiration, J.R.R. Tolkien, language, Middle Earth, runes, Thoughts, Writers, writing on June 10, 2025| Leave a Comment »
You know how some days you wake up at 5:30 and lie there in the early morning sun wondering what brought your mind up from sleep? That was me this morning. And as I lay there, the answer bubbled up from my dreams, slow and obscure but clear: Elder Futhark.
Weird, I thought, but I’m sure I’ll get over it.
Nope. For the past few hours every time my mind is unoccupied for more than a moment, what pops into my mind? Elder Futhark.
Wondering what I’m going on about? Runes. Let me give you a brief (very brief!) introduction to this early Germanic writing system.
The Elder Futhark (or Fuþark, /ˈfuːðɑːrk/), also known as the Older Futhark, Old Futhark, or Germanic Futhark, is the oldest form of the runic alphabets. It was a writing system used by Germanic peoples for Northwest Germanic dialects in the Migration Period. Inscriptions are found on artifacts including jewelry, amulets, plateware, tools, and weapons, as well as runestones, from the 2nd to the 8th centuries…. knowledge of how to read the Elder Futhark was forgotten until 1865, when it was deciphered by Norwegian scholar Sophus Bugge.
Why would I have this stuck in my head? No idea. My mother studied it once upon a time, and of course, the runes of Middle Earth owe a lot to the old runic languages.
Here’s Gandalf’s mark, Certh rune no. 19:
And here’s the letter F in Elder Futhark: ᚠ
As for what it means? What can I say, the mind works in odd ways.
This wisp of a dream got me thinking about language, and how a characteristic of civilization that we think of as both ubiquitous and permanent, like an alphabet, can just… disappear.
What’s really interesting to me about this, aside from the historical progression of written language, is that what that language represents hasn’t changed all that much.
Writing systems transform, but the stories, the ideas we’re trying to communicate and pass on with that language, those haven’t changed much at all.
I mean, sure, a not insignificant part of language has always been about keeping track of death and taxes, but those aren’t the only things that are inevitable.
No matter the language, stories remind us that we are not alone, help us give structure to the problems we face, and provide an outlet for our experiences.
We’re still interested in heroes and villains, quests and homecomings, pain and joy, and the idea that no matter what challenges we face, there is always hope.
Always.
“Remember, language is fun! It is also magical, so use it well and use it wisely!”
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, #universalityandlyricism, language on November 29, 2024| Leave a Comment »
A lovely Icelandic term for pins and needles (tingling after your foot goes numb) is stjörnur i skónum, or “stars in your shoes.”
— Adam Sharp @adamcsharp.bsky.social
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, climate change, language, safety first!, Thoughts, weather on October 8, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Is there a word like interregnum (“between two reigns”) that means “between two storms”?
If there is, I don’t know it, so for now I’m going with “intertempestas.” I’m also hoping that as Hurricane Helene recedes into the past and Milton looms in the future, the good people of Florida stay safe and recovery across the Southeast goes well.
Milton: The latest local update from the NPR Network
Extreme weather 101: Your guide to staying prepared and informed
Hurricane Helene: Where to donate money for relief efforts
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, language, Thoughts on September 20, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Ever had one of those low-stakes issues that are like a tiny splinter, not a serious problem but still annoying? Of course you have. We all have triggers that bug us, some shared (fingernails on a chalkboard, anyone?) and some a little more niche.
For example, I hate the corporate buzzword “learnings.”
It’s not a real word! It is a solution to a non-existent problem, designed only to signal in-group status for aspiring wielders of upper-level business speak.
Note: The word was published in the 15th century by one Geoffrey de La Tour-Landry, but later fell out of fashion. It is now considered “an erroneous plural form of the colloquial term ‘learning’”.
That 15th century author said “the thre enseygnementes or lernynges whiche Cathon gaf to his sone.” Dear business buzzword types, will you also revert to other spellings from half a millennia ago? Giveth me a break.
Seriously, what is wrong with the word “lessons”?
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Ooh, this gives me an opportunity to use the internet for its highest and best purpose, looking up random weirdness and reveling in possibly correct but certainly entertaining results. Let’s translate a modern-day sentence into Shakespearean English.
English to Shakespearean Translator
If thee necessity to inventeth a new tongue to feeleth bett’r about thy occupation, art thee certes t’is the c’rrect occupation f’r thee?
While we’re having fun, here’s a version for Mr Man. He has a soft spot in his childhood heart for the cultural icon that is The Swedish Chef:
Iff yuou hefe-a tu infent a nuo luonguoege-a tu feel better ibuout yuour jub, ire-a yuou suore-a it is zee-a right jub fur yuou? Bork Bork Bork!
And finally, an article assuring me that I’m not the only one who finds bizspeak annoying, and also helps me find a bit of chill.
Why business speak is so irritating — and what we can do about it
It’s normal and useful for people within a company or field to have their own names for specific kinds of tasks or projects. But when overused, Sokolowski notes, buzzwords can become a code for a kind of professional language that is “substituting for authenticity.”
…
“We should be generous with others and recognize that maybe the words we hate aren’t the same words that other people hate, and that we should allow words to have their own power and to carry meaning,” he added.
Fine, fine. Like I said, it’s a pretty low-key issue for me.
It’s true that language is ever-evolving and that we all have fun shaping it to our current needs. (Please see my aforementioned use of the portmanteau word “bizspeak” above.) I’ll try to be reasonable about it.
And that concludes my language-related learning lesson* for the day!
* Nope, sorry, can’t do it!
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2024, language, linguistic shenanigans, politics, Thoughts on July 24, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Perhaps you keep up with the news or discuss issues with people who have different opinions than you? If so, good for you, but at the same time, it helps to be wary of bad arguments and language traps. How can you see these traps and sidestep them like the distractions they are?
This article highlights some of the most common reasoning flaws you’re likely to encounter, and how to get around them.
Once you know about logical fallacies, you’ll see them everywhere. Why does this matter? Because the more practised you become at spotting them, the better you can be at identifying flaws in people’s thinking, and refocusing dialogue back to an argument’s merit. You’ll also get better at thinking critically yourself.
Because forewarned is forearmed!
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J.R. Johnson 
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