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Shop: Myyco.com Isolated Cubensis Liquid Culture For Sale   Unfolding Nature Unfolding Nature: Being in the Implicate Order

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The english language...
    #6203046 -

For some reason I was recently reminded about a time when a friend of mine went somewhat insane and after a few weeks of recluse behaviour presented me with about 3 pages, covered on the front and back, of words related to inflicting pain on someone.

it wasn't a threat, it was more like, "look at this!".

This guy wasn't extremely intelligent either, so many words were off the list.... also the list was comprised of only verbs, no noun-like concepts such as "tar & feather", or "quartered".

He also had the english/vocabulary comprehension skills of the average american 10th grader, so many words were off the list, such as "smite".


So.... back to the point.... recently I was comparing that to a list in my head. I wanted to see if there could be an equal opposite list written.
Maybe my lexicon isnt as big as I think it is, but I am pretty sure that I should be able to create a list of equal size, but about pleasurable things... but the list was very short, not a even a fifth of his.

So, it got me thinking about how that unbalance of "painful" and "pleasurable" terms reflects (english) human behavior, or atleast base level of perception.
Or... is it a reflection of our society? is it a reflection of the macro, or micro of human behavior?

Another thing I found interesting was that my short list of pleasurable verbs were more often in the upper echelon of the english language, while most of the painful verbs were around an 8th graders reading level.

I thought it was interesting.... cant tell when im high.

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Re: The english language... [Re: SneezingPenis]
    #6203083 -

cant tell when im high.

I can always tell when I'm high. :grin:


Too bad about the words though. Guess it's just more "natural" for us to be upset. :mushroom2:


--------------------
"Don't believe everything you think". -Anom.

" All that lives was born to die"-Anom.

With much wisdom comes much sorrow,
The more knowledge, the more grief.
Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC

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Re: The english language... [Re: SneezingPenis]
    #6203331 -

interesting as a notion


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read books

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Re: The english language... [Re: SneezingPenis]
    #6203430 -

It's interesting.

Quote:
Or... is it a reflection of our society? is it a reflection of the macro, or micro of human behavior?


Do you have a point in mind, or are you asking this from curiousity?

It would make sense that with so many words of something usually interpreted as negative, and as much "negativity" flowing freely, that maybe it catalyzes or contributes to the flow.


--------------------
channel your inner Larry David

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Re: The english language... [Re: SneezingPenis]
    #6203827 -

I wish I knew other languages. The English language is not only ugly and gutteral, but also not very expressive. In certain sacred languages such as Hebrew or Sanskrit, every letter of a word has immense signifigance, which just doesn't come across in English translations.


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Re: The english language... [Re: Silversoul]
    #6205118 -

Silversoul said:
I wish I knew other languages. The English language is not only ugly and gutteral, but also not very expressive.


I would have to disagree with you on all of that.

Quote:
In certain sacred languages such as Hebrew or Sanskrit, every letter of a word has immense signifigance, which just doesn't come across in English translations.


I agree with you on that.

You are comparing apples and oranges.


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No statements made in any post or message by myself should be construed to mean that I am now, or have ever been, participating in or considering participation in any activities in violation of any local, state, or federal laws. All posts are works of fiction.

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Re: The english language... [Re: kotik]
    #6205337 -

Once while tripping heavily I found myself unable to understand my native language (english). It did sound very ugly compared to many other languages.


--------------------
"Don't believe everything you think". -Anom.

" All that lives was born to die"-Anom.

With much wisdom comes much sorrow,
The more knowledge, the more grief.
Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC

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Re: The english language... [Re: Icelander]
    #6205421 -

In Amsterdam recently to be surrounded by languages that i didnt understand was a remarkably soothing feeling.

Then in Berlin i found that trying to speak another language was like freeing my mind. I dont know German (or any other for that matter) but the clarity was tangible, in the attempt.

Im gonna learn, im gonna go away  :heart:  :mushroom2:  :thumbup:  :sun:


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read books

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Re: The english language... [Re: Jackenobi]
    #6205682 -

total immersion?


--------------------
channel your inner Larry David

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Re: The english language... [Re: SneezingPenis]
    #6205926 -

It remains a difficult path as much of the mind is dominated by language :wink:
Language likes to affiliate with the dominant brain hemisphere, recognizable but not necessarily dependent on left- or right handiness.

So, to make a balance between hemispheres is major goal and this will inflict our word building abilities in the proper contextual way :smile:
:heart:
ps: english is not native to me, as you can read out of my words :lol:


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Though lovers be lost love shall not  And death shall have no dominion
......................................................
"Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men."Martin Luther King, Jr.
'Acceptance is the absolute key - at that moment you gain freedom and you gain power and you gain courage'

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Re: The english language... [Re: BlueCoyote]
    #6205948 -

I would need to see the actual list of words to be able to generate a suitable list of antonyms.


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"Reality is that which doesn't go away when you stop believing in it." - N. Bohr
"The world is ruled by letting things take their course. It cannot be ruled by interfering." - Tao Te Ching, 48

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Re: The english language... [Re: demiu5]
    #6209819 -

absolutely, for as long as it felt like grace


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read books

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Re: The english language... [Re: SneezingPenis]
    #6212037 -

I would think that something like this would go back to the roots of our primative days when it was vital to warn others of impending danger.

If something is good, few words are needed. Words are given to a language based on need. In some cultures, there are 20 words for "snow", in others, 20 words for "pasta", etc. Pain, hurt, and impending doom is a very precise and important concept to get across. If something is good and cuddly, it isn't as imperative.

At least that's my take on it.


--------------------
"Man's real life is happy,
chiefly because he is ever expecting that it soon will be so."
- Edgar Allan Poe

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Re: The english language... [Re: Geneephurr]
    #6212634 -

well, here is something else I have been thinking about regarding this topic.

It might be just my perception of it, but it seems to me that it is much easier to describe pain than it is euphoria or pleasurable things.

There seems to be much less misunderstanding, or less things "lost in translation" when trying to convey a pain, compared to something pleasurable.

example.... describe an orgasm, and the describe the feeling of breaking a limb. Which was easier, and which do you feel was conveyed better?

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Re: The english language... [Re: SneezingPenis]
    #6213214 -

Its a reflection of two things:

One: If we're happy, we tend to shut up. If we're not, we tend to whine, in order to make silence better. (someone once said: Only speak in order to improve the silence, or something)

Two: Fnord.


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The argent messenger of truth beyond truth, the antithesis of life, cruel and bleak as interstellar space, pulseless and frozen as absolute zero, dazzling with the frost of irrefragable logic and unforgettable fact.

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Re: The english language... [Re: SneezingPenis]
    #6213795 -

psilocyberin said:
describe an orgasm, and the describe the feeling of breaking a limb. Which was easier, and which do you feel was conveyed better?


Good point, but then you get into the catch 22: Is it harder to describe pain because of our lack of descriptive words on the subject?

If we had more words for pleasure would we be a better society?


--------------------
"Man's real life is happy,
chiefly because he is ever expecting that it soon will be so."
- Edgar Allan Poe

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General Interest > Philosophy, Sociology & Psychology
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