Friday 17 November 2017

Primordial Emotions

 An interesting article from the online magazine TeenInk: 

"Use a Simpler Word in a Complicated Word's Place

English has a wonderful dual heritage. At its core there is a duality, a choice, between its formal, official Latinate roots, with its information, transubstantiation, and nutrition; and its earthy, warlike, immediate Germanic roots, with its knowledge, God, and bread. The Germanic words often hit us on a stronger, more emotional level. They are words that are more connected to our immediate needs for survival. They are the words that tell us about blood, food, and love, not lacerations, nourishment, and amorousness. One teacher of mine called these words, the types that refer to our most basic human desires and instincts, as primordial words. They are words that were in us before words even existed. If you think that's a contradiction, just don't overthink it. The goal of this exercise is to stop overthinking.

At moments of great importance or emotion in books, you'll notice how everything gets simple, and writers return to primordial words to describe things. They are much more effective, more timeless, more human. The other words have their place, but they are fussy and distant. It's easy for you to switch them out at key points in your story, and they'll immediately give you a jolt of something both more vivid and more spiritual. These words feel more essential to our humanness. So when your character is dying or loving or weeping, remember these words, and use them liberally. Strike out the anxious, intellectual Latin."
 "Writers return to primordial words to describe things"
Please note that all credits go the author H. Blair*


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It is quite comforting to know that no matter how much humanity advances, no matter how 'un-humanlike' we may become with our increasing isolation, no matter how many lines we cross to create a utopian society, concepts like 'love', 'hunger' and 'blood' will always be our base instincts. It truly shows that we could go a full circle back to our primal instincts. There are countless articles claiming that we live in the most peaceful time of humanity, which I personally agree with, but I believe humanity yearns for the innocence of its ancestors as an adult does for her childhood.

*From: "Teen Ink | Use A Simpler Word - Teen Ink Weekly." Teenink.Com, 2017, http://www.teenink.com/Weekly/2017-10-24-article.

1 comment:

  1. Well said dude! There is always a ying to the yang, good to the bad.

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