language

The one aspect of life that remains forever constant is that everything is always subject to change. Language is no exception. This year, in my attempt to finish my undergraduate degree, I am aware of a great change in the language used by each Professor in the classroom setting. Their lectures use less of the “one-hundred-dollar words,” you usually find in scholarly papers or in an academic setting. The language used is more relatable to and derived from our current youth culture.

This change may be a progressive or positive step for academia. When learning becomes less foreign, students may be more engaged and more likely to take an interest in the subject matter. However, what words are being lost at the expense of relatability? In what way could these modern day changes hinder our vocabulary or prevent us from knowing the word which expresses exactly what we are trying to communicate? Whether a positive or negative, it remains a fact that the way we speak and the words we use are continuously changing, based on culture, economy, geography, etc.

Even the definition of a single world is in constant flux. Any attempt to ultimately stabilize language is impossible. Samuel Johnson ambitiously attempted to stabilize language with the creation of his dictionary. However, the inherent circularity in language made this a hopeless endeavor for him. There is no way to define a simple word other than using additional simple words, which in turn needs definition. Arguably, this circularity in language makes it impossible to get at the minute shades of meaning in a word.

Thus, I think that instead of prescribing language, all dictionaries do is describe the way that language has changed over time.

There is a paradox in language; whether you entertain a word’s definition or language as a whole, the one thing that remains constant is that words and language are always changing.

We all have a favourite word. There are the ones that we overuse, going to them in times of need when all other potentials for articulation are lost. Or there are those which are more sparingly applied and saved in our back pocket for the opportune moment. Whether it is the phonic sound of the word as it leaves our mouth or favouritism primarily based on meaning, there are always particular words that just stick.

Although rarely used, eunoia has been one of my most dearly adored words for the past few years. It is not found in all dictionaries, however the urban dictionary defines it as “beautiful thinking” or “beautiful mind.” The medical dictionary defines it as a sparingly used medical term for normal mental states and it is the shortest word in the English language containing all the vowels.

Eunoia has a Greek origin and is used in book eight of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics to describe the benevolence or feeling of goodwill that forms the ethical foundation for human life. In rhetoric, it is the goodwill formed between a speaker and his/her audience.

Christian Bök is a Toronto born experimental poet, who won the Griffin Poetry Prize for his book of poetry, Eunoia in 2001. Eunoia consists of univocalics, which is a type of constrained writing that uses only a single vowel in each of his chapters. Each of the five chapters consists of one of the vowels from the word eunoia. Bök believes that his book demonstrates the flexibility of the English language and the unique personality of each vowel, for him: “Enfettered, these few sentences repress free speech.”