What Did You Really Mean?
At evening church services, a Yankee friend of mine constructively commented on my previous blog The Haunting Of Reilly. His real concern was a word choice I printed in the story; "whorehouse". I agreed as I felt the choice of words were a bit harsh coming from me though political correctness was not and is not on my writing agenda. I explained that I carefully edited the word to a phrase; "house of prostitution", but after four attempts trying to post the story with the photos, the original word choice was instead printed. Nonetheless, I took no offense whatsoever. Rather, I was glad he spoke up. Our discussion got me in deep thought as to how we treat words especially over a period of time. Geography of course has much play on words as well. Most importantly is HOW we mean what we say. I have learned to read the human heart by exactly what and how people say the things they say.
Since I began to ponder this subject while sitting in church, allow me to begin from a biblical perspective. There are a host of biblical words that have now become derogatory. The King James Bible has been unchanged since 1611. Yet, there are Christians out there that claim they cannot understand the inspired Word of God. Perhaps their heart is in the wrong place that they resort to watered down versions of the bible that have ripped out valuable scriptures. Or perhaps derogatory meanings have replaced true definitions of biblical words. Or maybe they just don't read the Bible regularly. Who knows the reasons? Bible versions are now becoming gender friendly that the diety of God is being profoundly lost. May I say to you darlings that a standard MLA format has broken down the English language into three eras: Old English; Middle English; Modern English. Modern English began in the 1500's to our present day. Darlings you and I are still in that time frame. We have drastically altered our manner of speaking. Let's look at what we have done with the language in the bible.
Though a best seller, the Bible has bore the brunt of slander by those who are not familiar with it. The most common and ugliest use of slang is the use of the Lord's name in vain even though Exodus 20:7 tells us not to do just this. How can you expect the God of the universe to bless you while you curse His very name at the same time? How would you like it if I dragged your family name through the gutter?
Other words such as "ass", "pisseth", "whoremonger", "fornacation" are common throughout the Bible. Yet, today these words have very derogatory connotations today. "Fornacation" has lost it's true meaning that it has become a way of life in this country. While God may not change the way He speaks, unfortunately the human race has destroyed the way He says what He says.
It is interesting to note that the English language is considered the hardest language to learn because of the slang we use and our language is derived from other languages. Don't take my word for it, look at a standard English dictionary and examine the derivatives for yourself. We change the defination of words so often that it is obvious as to why a standard English dictionary is updated every ten years when the U.S. takes a census. English is considered so sloppy that the French Academie refuses to allow any English word within it's relms. Because the French language is so guarded by the Academie, it is little wonder that there are only 17,000 words in French.
Geography has a vital role on our play with words. I can personally attest to that. Where I come from, it is common that we know everyone by the first name, "Darlin". We may be the only people that know the exact location of "yonder" and I personally have taken people yonder many times. I love to have fun with all my Yankee friends with regard to the Appalachian language. I enjoy dialects and linguistics from all over the world. While I and relatives have taken life long stabs from the rest of the world, may I submit to you that the dialect of southeastern Kentucky is closest to Elizabethan England than any other dialect in the world. I have only encountered four other people that are aware of this fact.
Let us consider how people say what they really mean. For example, I have a family member that constantly uses very strong language. His goal is to humiliate the person to whom he is talking. I have seen many a person feel like they could slide under a closed door as a sheet of paper when he is done talking to them. The end result is a sad one as it alienates him from just about everyone. Grant it I feel for those to whom he belittles as it is hard to recover from humiliation. Do I correct him? No. I have no right to go into anyone's home and tell them how to speak. Years ago, I learned a valuable lesson from using the same vile choice of words. I had worked in a factory where one is liable to hear anything. Worse still is to hear women speak like men in this kind of work environment. I was no exception. Finally, a male worker came to me and said "you are one heck of a little worker and very likable but you have a filthy mouth!" Best lesson I ever learned! I learned not only to get along with the guys without the foul language but I gained their respect. Today, it would be strange for me to use vulgar language because of what that man said to me that day. Looking back on my former tongue, I am shocked that I ever uttered one foul word.
Have you noticed how strangers are choosing to be offended if they are addressed as "sir" or "mam"? These are usually the ones that do not use respect when speaking to others so it is little wonder they choose to be offended. Darlings, let me just stop and say that until I know who you are, you will continue to be "sir" or "mam" and I expect the same courtesy in return. I do not apologize for this. Furthermore, if you are gender confused and I do the best I can to address you as "sir" or "mam", don't bite my head off because of your gender-want-to-be. Maybe you choose to throw common courtesy out the door but I refuse to go out with it. I am not going to reduce myself to common paganism when I speak to anyone.
Next, there are the gossips. These are the most destructive people with any language in their mouth. I have seen good people run into the ground because of someone else's tongue. We are all guilty! What turned me away from this is watching a family member constantly be in someone else's business but her own. She is known to slander her own kids and grandkids. As a result, this family member has lost the respect and trust of everyone with whom she comes in contact. I learned many years ago that the hardest business that one could ever be in is their own business. If you want to live in absolute destitution, just live in someone else's personal life while ignoring your own affairs. I promise you will get a life of total misery
I learned to avoid those who like to talk just to hear their brain rattle. These are people who are constantly angry because the world refuses to bend down and kiss their feet. I encountered one such person several years ago in all places, a church. This man, in his piety was taking prayer requests. Finally, as he stood in front of everyone and requested prayer because he had a run in with a school principal regarding an incident at his daughter's school. Even uglier was the fact that this man stood in God's house and proceeding a childish name calling episode. Then the man claimed that "he was arrested for his religion". All of this bore the typical blame game scenario. Something just did not sound right. I asked in front of everyone the name of the principal. When he stated the man's name, I blurted out "He's my cousin". I then stood and watched the pious pitiful soul turn my favorite color-red. I spoke with my cousin about the matter. He stated that the "saintly" man has repeatedly burst into that school that the staff are fed up with him. The poor soul was arrested for bursting in the school again and shooting his mouth off that the resource officer arrested him on the spot. The end result is the poor soul lied, seriously hurt his testimony, was fined and then banned permanantly from the school. This pitiful soul is angry at me because I am related to said principal and I found the truth regarding this matter. He is bitter in that he has failed to gain any sympathy from anyone. All the while this poor soul has missed the point; he has a free choice to put his child in a private Christian school. If he cannot afford to do this, I would suggest the obvious; speak softly and use what little resources you have sparingly and wisely. May I say, that the average person could approach a public school staff member in a civil manner and gain an audience if not a friend. I personally experienced this in May. Rather than burst into the school like a bull in a china shop, I opted to write a friendly letter. After I received a two hour long distance phone call from a certain teacher regarding the use of a family graveyard for her class field trips, not only did I gain a friend, the teacher has invited me to teach her class on how to trace family roots and proper graveyard etiquette by using a graveyard as a textbook (please note the geographic use of "graveyard" after Appalachian traditon). My point is that I can take the same words commonly used by this angry soul and use those words to gain an audience if not a friend. It is the tone of the human voice behind words that can make or break your listener.
Though I am not perfect in how I always speak, I always try to respect my listener. My accent may not be as yours and my definition of words may not be the same as yours. I can only hope to adjust that as you and I communicate along the way. I invite friendly criticism but not correction to the point you want me to say things that please you. I am not a politcally correct woman nor to I plan on becoming one in the future. If you do not like what others say then excercise your freedom to walk away rather than report them to the dern Thawt Police. If you enjoy the people with whom you communicate then be willing to learn from them keeping in mind you may not always agree with them. If you fail to agree with them remember, you don't have to use this as a means to kill a friendship. As a friend in church taught me recently; learn to be a big ear. Finally, I want to thank my anonymous Yankee friend for the manner in which he shared his observation. It is his presentation that got me to listen and learn.
Until the next dive bomb my darlings-meow.
At evening church services, a Yankee friend of mine constructively commented on my previous blog The Haunting Of Reilly. His real concern was a word choice I printed in the story; "whorehouse". I agreed as I felt the choice of words were a bit harsh coming from me though political correctness was not and is not on my writing agenda. I explained that I carefully edited the word to a phrase; "house of prostitution", but after four attempts trying to post the story with the photos, the original word choice was instead printed. Nonetheless, I took no offense whatsoever. Rather, I was glad he spoke up. Our discussion got me in deep thought as to how we treat words especially over a period of time. Geography of course has much play on words as well. Most importantly is HOW we mean what we say. I have learned to read the human heart by exactly what and how people say the things they say.
Since I began to ponder this subject while sitting in church, allow me to begin from a biblical perspective. There are a host of biblical words that have now become derogatory. The King James Bible has been unchanged since 1611. Yet, there are Christians out there that claim they cannot understand the inspired Word of God. Perhaps their heart is in the wrong place that they resort to watered down versions of the bible that have ripped out valuable scriptures. Or perhaps derogatory meanings have replaced true definitions of biblical words. Or maybe they just don't read the Bible regularly. Who knows the reasons? Bible versions are now becoming gender friendly that the diety of God is being profoundly lost. May I say to you darlings that a standard MLA format has broken down the English language into three eras: Old English; Middle English; Modern English. Modern English began in the 1500's to our present day. Darlings you and I are still in that time frame. We have drastically altered our manner of speaking. Let's look at what we have done with the language in the bible.
Though a best seller, the Bible has bore the brunt of slander by those who are not familiar with it. The most common and ugliest use of slang is the use of the Lord's name in vain even though Exodus 20:7 tells us not to do just this. How can you expect the God of the universe to bless you while you curse His very name at the same time? How would you like it if I dragged your family name through the gutter?
Other words such as "ass", "pisseth", "whoremonger", "fornacation" are common throughout the Bible. Yet, today these words have very derogatory connotations today. "Fornacation" has lost it's true meaning that it has become a way of life in this country. While God may not change the way He speaks, unfortunately the human race has destroyed the way He says what He says.
It is interesting to note that the English language is considered the hardest language to learn because of the slang we use and our language is derived from other languages. Don't take my word for it, look at a standard English dictionary and examine the derivatives for yourself. We change the defination of words so often that it is obvious as to why a standard English dictionary is updated every ten years when the U.S. takes a census. English is considered so sloppy that the French Academie refuses to allow any English word within it's relms. Because the French language is so guarded by the Academie, it is little wonder that there are only 17,000 words in French.
Geography has a vital role on our play with words. I can personally attest to that. Where I come from, it is common that we know everyone by the first name, "Darlin". We may be the only people that know the exact location of "yonder" and I personally have taken people yonder many times. I love to have fun with all my Yankee friends with regard to the Appalachian language. I enjoy dialects and linguistics from all over the world. While I and relatives have taken life long stabs from the rest of the world, may I submit to you that the dialect of southeastern Kentucky is closest to Elizabethan England than any other dialect in the world. I have only encountered four other people that are aware of this fact.
Let us consider how people say what they really mean. For example, I have a family member that constantly uses very strong language. His goal is to humiliate the person to whom he is talking. I have seen many a person feel like they could slide under a closed door as a sheet of paper when he is done talking to them. The end result is a sad one as it alienates him from just about everyone. Grant it I feel for those to whom he belittles as it is hard to recover from humiliation. Do I correct him? No. I have no right to go into anyone's home and tell them how to speak. Years ago, I learned a valuable lesson from using the same vile choice of words. I had worked in a factory where one is liable to hear anything. Worse still is to hear women speak like men in this kind of work environment. I was no exception. Finally, a male worker came to me and said "you are one heck of a little worker and very likable but you have a filthy mouth!" Best lesson I ever learned! I learned not only to get along with the guys without the foul language but I gained their respect. Today, it would be strange for me to use vulgar language because of what that man said to me that day. Looking back on my former tongue, I am shocked that I ever uttered one foul word.
Have you noticed how strangers are choosing to be offended if they are addressed as "sir" or "mam"? These are usually the ones that do not use respect when speaking to others so it is little wonder they choose to be offended. Darlings, let me just stop and say that until I know who you are, you will continue to be "sir" or "mam" and I expect the same courtesy in return. I do not apologize for this. Furthermore, if you are gender confused and I do the best I can to address you as "sir" or "mam", don't bite my head off because of your gender-want-to-be. Maybe you choose to throw common courtesy out the door but I refuse to go out with it. I am not going to reduce myself to common paganism when I speak to anyone.
Next, there are the gossips. These are the most destructive people with any language in their mouth. I have seen good people run into the ground because of someone else's tongue. We are all guilty! What turned me away from this is watching a family member constantly be in someone else's business but her own. She is known to slander her own kids and grandkids. As a result, this family member has lost the respect and trust of everyone with whom she comes in contact. I learned many years ago that the hardest business that one could ever be in is their own business. If you want to live in absolute destitution, just live in someone else's personal life while ignoring your own affairs. I promise you will get a life of total misery
I learned to avoid those who like to talk just to hear their brain rattle. These are people who are constantly angry because the world refuses to bend down and kiss their feet. I encountered one such person several years ago in all places, a church. This man, in his piety was taking prayer requests. Finally, as he stood in front of everyone and requested prayer because he had a run in with a school principal regarding an incident at his daughter's school. Even uglier was the fact that this man stood in God's house and proceeding a childish name calling episode. Then the man claimed that "he was arrested for his religion". All of this bore the typical blame game scenario. Something just did not sound right. I asked in front of everyone the name of the principal. When he stated the man's name, I blurted out "He's my cousin". I then stood and watched the pious pitiful soul turn my favorite color-red. I spoke with my cousin about the matter. He stated that the "saintly" man has repeatedly burst into that school that the staff are fed up with him. The poor soul was arrested for bursting in the school again and shooting his mouth off that the resource officer arrested him on the spot. The end result is the poor soul lied, seriously hurt his testimony, was fined and then banned permanantly from the school. This pitiful soul is angry at me because I am related to said principal and I found the truth regarding this matter. He is bitter in that he has failed to gain any sympathy from anyone. All the while this poor soul has missed the point; he has a free choice to put his child in a private Christian school. If he cannot afford to do this, I would suggest the obvious; speak softly and use what little resources you have sparingly and wisely. May I say, that the average person could approach a public school staff member in a civil manner and gain an audience if not a friend. I personally experienced this in May. Rather than burst into the school like a bull in a china shop, I opted to write a friendly letter. After I received a two hour long distance phone call from a certain teacher regarding the use of a family graveyard for her class field trips, not only did I gain a friend, the teacher has invited me to teach her class on how to trace family roots and proper graveyard etiquette by using a graveyard as a textbook (please note the geographic use of "graveyard" after Appalachian traditon). My point is that I can take the same words commonly used by this angry soul and use those words to gain an audience if not a friend. It is the tone of the human voice behind words that can make or break your listener.
Though I am not perfect in how I always speak, I always try to respect my listener. My accent may not be as yours and my definition of words may not be the same as yours. I can only hope to adjust that as you and I communicate along the way. I invite friendly criticism but not correction to the point you want me to say things that please you. I am not a politcally correct woman nor to I plan on becoming one in the future. If you do not like what others say then excercise your freedom to walk away rather than report them to the dern Thawt Police. If you enjoy the people with whom you communicate then be willing to learn from them keeping in mind you may not always agree with them. If you fail to agree with them remember, you don't have to use this as a means to kill a friendship. As a friend in church taught me recently; learn to be a big ear. Finally, I want to thank my anonymous Yankee friend for the manner in which he shared his observation. It is his presentation that got me to listen and learn.
Until the next dive bomb my darlings-meow.
posted by Divine's Dern Thawts at 9:32 PM
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