You can have roses,
I'll chomp on the long grass fronds.
Hork 'em up later.
We took Ofuro baths a few times, years ago, here. A very American fellow gave us a tea ceremony. Awkwardly elegant. But he also explained to us that the tea should be made with water that was not boiling, because it "burned" the tea. In my mind, I rebelled at the word. It should have been "scalded." (The hot bath itself was wonderful, by the way.) There is something about large, all-American, long haired, white guys imagining themselves as tiny and exotic. Who am I to judge?
I do love words, the right word for the right job. Not that I'm not willing to use whatever is at hand for a hammer, or to verb a noun, or sillify adverbage. But, I like to keep repeats out of a paragraph, and if there is a proper technical term, I much prefer to use it. Burn is an oxidation process, or a rating of tissue damage, or subjective sensation. Hot water causes scalds unless the matter goes black - temperature sensitive paper going dark, skin goes red and blisters. There is searing and scorching and curdling, branding and charring, browning and sunburning, to go with over-application of heat. (I've been thinking of my days in the burn ORs lately.) Or appropriate application. Japanese teas may want lower temperatures for flavor, but that doesn't make caffeine (xanthines) more soluble in water at lower temperatures than boiling. Flavor is fine, but early in the morning, I want the stimulant. He could tell I wasn't buying his insistence that the less hot temperatures were the only way to treat tea.
That is why I love my native (and, sadly, only) language. There is always another word, with a range of meaning and specificity. More to learn, more to explore. There is no end to the vocabulary, new words all the time.
"The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that the English language is as pure as a crib-house whore. It not only borrows words from other languages; it has on occasion chased other languages down dark alley-ways, clubbed them unconscious and rifled their pockets for new vocabulary. "
- James Nicoll
13 comments:
I don't think English is really (from a user perspective) any richer than any other language -- nobody's working vocabulary begins to approach the full vocabulary of their language. But any language is a treasure house, that's for sure. Endless riches, endless opportunity for nuance and refinement and exactness.
Dale,
I only meant in terms of word number. But I will have to trust your greater knowledge on this.
How synchronistic! I just left a roundtable at bbworkswell dot blogspot on the very subject of language, English in particular, and I find another interesting post here on the same subject.
Your tea friend was repeating what the tea industry says about steeping tea at too high a temperature. I always wondered why that word is used, myself, for the same reasons you list. The biggest concern about using too high a temperature for the water is not the release of caffiene, which leaches out in the first 30 or so seconds, but because of the bitter alkaloids in the tea which need high heat for release. Green (and white) teas are the least processed of the teas, and require lower temps to be at their most palatable. Time and temperature are the most critical facters in brewing a good cup of tea.
Uh...didn't mean to sound so pedantic, Zhoen. I used to sell teas in the local farmers market, and I forgot myself.
Crow,
Guy at the spa was not a friend, btw. I'm aware of the issues with green and white teas, which I never drink at home, because at home, the caffeine is the point. My objection was only to the word "burn" which really should be "scald." Talking at cross purposes, I expect. Feel free to be a tea pedant here, this is a tea pedant friendly zone.
(o)
I agree, right word for the right job.
I appreciate the James Nicoll quote too-especially coming from a Welsh speaking standpoint!!
gz,
And that is what I love about English, it just absorbs words that it likes the sounds of. I like the plasticity. It is what I do like about my culture, it accepts as it's own korma and salsa and kosher, relishes the exotic and accepts it as it's own.
I can rant on for eons about all the stuff I hate about modern US culture, but this is the one aspect I adore.
Great post. I love language too. (Not a very original comment!)
My son has to do 'read and record' homework, four times a week. He has to read for 15 minutes, then record: what book he's reading, how many pages he's read, a quick synopsis of what happened in those 15 minutes of reading, and a new word he's found with a quick definition. I've been really enjoying watching him learn these words, here are his last few: perceptively, ingratiatingly, irreplaceable, subordinate, blithering, languishing, reckon and descent.
I seem to be attracted to blogs of people who enjoy the written word and vocabulary.
The word 'hork' is common around this house. It may not define a pretty action, but it is ever-so-fitting. My hairy guy horks. There is no other word that captures it better.
My Nanna used to make a pot of tea and always said "let it mash, love", allowing it to sit for a couple of minutes to brew.
I do like that image of Moby, so refined! You might like this post from Isabelle.....
http://in-this.blogspot.com/2011/01/just-cats-and-things.html
Her cats also have some interesting attitudes!
I have now trained Tom out of saying that the sugar 'melts' in the tea. And he's supposed to be the scientist.
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