Quote of The Week
The alchemy of language
“The true alchemists do not change lead into gold; they change the world into words.”
― William H. Gass, A Temple of Texts
Thank you to Helen for sending that quote to me.
Language is, indeed, a very fine form of alchemy. This is especially true for those of us who are creatures of the written and spoken word.
An editor working on one of my Devonshire Mysteries queried whether people in real life would ever think, as my characters tend to think, in complete sentences. I was shocked.
I suppose, deep down, I knew that some of us interrogate the world in colours, shapes, sounds, numbers, patterns, music, actions, dance, tastes and smell and line and form and texture and on and on. But for me, words are what the world is made of.
Of course, I use my senses like everyone else, but those chemical signals quickly resolve into words. At school, I often got into trouble for talking in class, but that was just my mind at work.
I wanted to say, ‘Why aren’t you all talking about this stuff? What’s wrong with you?’
So yes, I think in sentences. Grammar is the glue that holds my world together.
But please don’t take me for a pedant.
Okay, I am a bit pedantic about some things, and I have been shown to shout at the radio when some celebrity or politician speaks total gibberish in lieu of plain English (or more likely in lieu of proper thoughts and ideas).
But though I love language, I’m not ruled by the strictures of formal grammar. Language in all its wonderful forms can be beautiful and expressive and joyous and sad and limitless.
If you want to make up a word or two, go for it. Others have done it before you. Language didn’t land from the skies. We made up the concept for a host of practical reasons, but it soon became more than that.
Let’s all learn to love language. Celebrate words, enjoy their vast variety, and you never know - you might come up with a little alchemy all of your own.
Peace and happy reading to you,
Mikey