Before you start writing, set up your page. Draw a line where the title will go and mark off some space for illustration. Then collect a half-dozen or so good words. A word is a good one when it jumps out at you for some reason. Maybe you think the spelling is odd. Maybe it reminds you of something. Maybe it's a word you don't know how to pronounce. Maybe it names something … [Read more...] about For Example
Language
Your Ground
Before you begin to write, allow your mind to wander over the many different ways the word ground can pop up in everyday conversation. The word ground appears in many expressions. One can break, give, or stand ground. Things can be ground in, ground out, or run into the ground. There are groundswells, ground rules, and shifting grounds. Let your mind relax and repeat the … [Read more...] about Your Ground
Talk on the Wild Side
Talk on the Wild Side Some linguists study the histories of words and the histories of languages. Others ask how children learn first or second languages and wonder why that learning seems so different for adults. Some ponder the language capabilities of non-humans. Some study language as it relates to gestures or brain activity, while others ask where language comes from in … [Read more...] about Talk on the Wild Side
One Syllable
Write a page using only one-syllable words. (Each word will land with a thump!) You can invent a story or describe an event. Or you might prefer to begin with your immediate surroundings and see where your imagination takes you. You could just write a series of unrelated sentences. The important thing is to use only one-syllable words. No exceptions. When you do this … [Read more...] about One Syllable
The First Word
The First Word: The Search for the Origins of Language Consider the internet and its potential to connect everyone. This is nothing new, says Christine Keneally. Language, she maintains, is the “first virtual world” where we are online all the time. It is unclear how we arrived. Language is in our minds, our conversations, and our perceptions. It can be preserved in … [Read more...] about The First Word