a funeral of words

As we gather here today to mourn the passage of words, may this also be a celebration of the joy that words have brought to souls throughout the centuries. Countless poets, authors, and songwriters have used words to reach the mind, soul, and spirit of humans. And the recipients of those words have savored them, rolling them across their taste buds as they imagined dreams they never dared to dream before encountering these delicious words.

Millions have slipped words of comfort into their Bibles, words written with fountain pens on linen sheets or on greeting cards written in exquisite fonts and expressions too beautiful to describe, at least not without words. Grandchildren and great-grandchildren have marveled at the lavish calligraphy of their ancestors as they read their family histories replete with anecdotal memories. Lovers throughout history treasured letters and notes of affection and returned to them when their hearts were breaking.

When did the disappearance of words begin? Perhaps it was with the blasphemous philosophy that a picture is worth a thousand words. Why use words that require spelling when the images can be understood even by illiterate people? We started noticing road signs with unnoticeable graphics instead of words.

Later, with the blessing of the Internet, we began to notice a decrease in the sending and receiving of paper greeting cards with personal notes written on them. Why not just send an eCard? Seals are not required; no need to go to the post office; no envelopes to lick; and, above all, it requires much less time and effort. And if the recipient never received them, fine. we certainly did wear Let’s go!

But I think we’d all agree that the biggest tragedy of all came with instant messaging and texting. Simple three-letter words were replaced by one letter! Sacrilege! “I’ll see you later” turned into ass. “I’ll be right back” became brb. “Father looking over his shoulder” became pos. And “I’m rolling on the floor laughing” became rofl.

Diseases were not immune to the languid minds of our society. Impossible to ignore if you watch TV for more than fifteen minutes are the commercials for RLS, PAD, PMS, PMDD, ADD, ADHD, BPD, and the hits keep coming. Is it possible that we will end up like the cave people before us, who relied on growls and other disgusting bodily functions to communicate?

All of us who attend this funeral are mourners of words lost to us as language evolves. We must take a stand here today, in the midst of these bunches of words: we Will find a way to bring back the real words, to make them desirable to the masses! Stand up and proudly pronounce: LLW! WLF! BBW!

Posted by April Lorier | Related Posts