09:More language issues

I wrote last week about the propensity of the young to use language not favoured, and often not understood, by their elders.  I have another ‘beef’ about human language - it is often unfathomable and illogical.  For example, people can be ’disgruntled’ but they are never ‘gruntled’. they are ‘distraught’ but never ‘traught’.

Of course, I could be missing something. 

I have a particular problem here.

In the kennels where I lived before my current human beans kidnapped (dognapped?) me, there were various small holes in the walls at ground level.  Though this could make the place draughty and cold at times, it did allow small creatures to get in - insects, beetles, mice, voles and even the occasional hedgehog.  Of particular interest here, though, is an unusual frog called Sebastian.  Sebastian became a friend and made regular visits to the kennels.  Over a few months, he taught me to read using the newspapers used to line the floor.

Sebastian was an unusual frog.  Not many frogs can read but he had learned from a 9 year old girl who thought that he was her route to princess status but regardless of how many times she kissed him, he remained unwilling, indeed unable, to turn into a handsome prince.  She did, however, teach him to read - using her comic books and a few children’s books. 

Unfortunately this means that Sebastian, and subsequently me, learned English with the vocabulary of a 9 year old and in the context of a 9 year old girl’s interests.

It has taken quite some time and effort to develop my language skills but my vocabulary is still lacking .... perhaps that is why I have never heard the word ‘gruntled’ - or ‘paraging’, to give another example.  

(Writing this makes me wonder why some negatives use the prefix ‘dis’ rather than ‘un’.   Why aren’t people ‘ungruntled’, ‘unparaging’, ‘unturbed’, ‘in unarray’, etc.)

(Writing that then makes me realise the value of that little word ‘etc.’ - it fits perfectly when you can’t think of any more examples but you know they exist.)

This train of thought is like browsing the internet when you start with one idea in your mind but get distracted (‘untracted’?) and you meander the side roads of the web.

Sorry if this blog post is a bit long and rambling but its not often I get access to the iPad - I have to seize the moment, make hay while the sun shines and strike while the iron is hot.

What a language!!