Whats In A Word? More Than You Realize

Home
>
Language
>
Whats In A Word? More Than You Realize

Whats In A Word? More Than You Realize

What's in a word? Apparently more than we might want.

For others, the ability to express yourself in the most meaningful way.

I have written articles before on how bizarre the English language can be and for that matter; many languages have special challenges with interpreting meanings.

There is one word in China that I heard has about 40 different meanings, (one source said the two words have over 80 meanings) depending on usage and emphasis. That word is Wu Li. Gary Zukav (author of "The Seat of the Soul") talks about it in his book "The Dancing Wu Li Masters.

For the book "The Dancing Wu Li Masters", it means patterns of organic energy or physics. Other more popular meanings are:

My Way
Nonsense
I clutch my ideas
Enlightened

For those who study both metaphysics and quantum physics, like myself, I find it interesting that it carries physics and enlightened as meanings.

In English, we have many words that people will interchange yet have different meanings, which can further confuse the receiver of your message.

Two such words are, effective and efficient. Effective is doing the right thing, that which you set out to do. Efficiency is doing whatever you set out to do well.

You can have one without necessarily having the other. Most people understand doing the right thing but not well, yet they get caught up on understanding how you can do the wrong thing well, efficiency without effectiveness.

Imagine you are on a sailboat traveling across the Pacific when you are informed:

We have some good news and bad news. First, we have picked up a great wind and can get back on our time schedule; however, our compass broke and we haven't the slightest idea where we are.

So, they are traveling very efficiently, but not very effectively.

Even the spelling of words can cause grief and misunderstandings. I remember when I was in elementary school and the teacher would just say, sound it out. However, that doesn't always work. There is the whole issue of synonyms and homonyms, as well as the issue that we have this habit if breaking the rules in order to have more expression and growth in our language. (Growth by the way is important).

Yet, one of the most enforced rules that I had to remember in schools was:

Use i before e (from here on it gets complicated)
except after c
or when sounded as 'a' as in neighbour and weigh.

But does it stop there, noooo.

Some more exceptions that don't seem to follow any of the above are:

Counterfeit

either

foreign

forfeit

Height

seize

leisu re

efficient

(and ironically or suitably) weird

Many more words can be spelling traps for people. They sound similar and many people are not sure where to put them.

Some common ones are:

Affect -a verb -to influence
Effect- a noun ? a result, a verb- bring to pass

Allude ?refer indirectly to
Elude ? slip away

Can ?ability
May- permission

Farther ?physical distance
Further ? abstract relationships of degree

Imply ? A speaker implies
Infer ? A hearer infers

Such as- examples
Like ? resemblances

You can see why good communicators are in a high demand for many corporations and businesses. It is never too late to invest the time and effort into your self and master your ability to communicate on a higher level.

All the Best!
Maria Boomhower
The Master Communicator
To get a free report on Communication Mastery, go to:
http://www.falconfreedom.com
http://www.mariaboomhower.blogspot.com

P. S. If you like what you're reading in this ezine, you'll love the book, "Overcoming Barriers to Communication." It's a manual that helps you overcome the challengers that start with Intrapersonal to Interpersonal and on to Mass Communication. Overcoming Barriers to Communication

In The News:

Priest apologizes for unholy language on Facebook
Fox News
LONDON – A British priest has apologized for some unholy language on his Facebook page, his bishop says. Canon Paul Shackerley, Vicar of the Minster Church of St. George in Doncaster in northern England, raised eyebrows by using the f--- word and ...

and more »

Irish Times
Ukrainian Opposition Blocks Parliament on Russian Language Bill
BusinessWeek
“Parliamentarism in Ukraine has been ruined,” Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn said in televised remarks today on the Kiev- based Parliament's Rada channel after failing to sponsor a compromise over the state language bill. Tymoshenko, who was sentenced to ...
Language no barrier to violenceSydney Morning Herald
Opposition blocks Ukrainian parliament after fistfight over language lawWashington Post
Fight in Ukraine's parliament over language billDayton Daily News
Irish Times -New York Daily News
all 717 news articles »

The Atlantic
What China's Talking About Today: Is Chinese Soft Power Working?
The Atlantic
(AP) When the Chinese government, riding the increasing global interest in learning Mandarin, started to open up language and cultural centers abroad by the hundreds, worried murmuring spread among foreign critics. Confucius Institutes and Confucius ...
Visa change for Beijing-sent teachers upsets ChinaFox News
US action self-defeatingChina Daily
500000 tweets debate restrictions on Confucius Institutes teachersMorning Whistle

all 159 news articles »

Huntsman: Romney's language on China is campaign rhetoric
CNN (blog)
Huntsman was critical of Romney during the Republican primary, arguing his opponent's language on China could lead to a "trade war." On Thursday, Huntsman did not back down from his earlier criticism, saying the ties between the US and China makes for ...

and more »

CBC.ca
'Winter's Tale' by Shakespeare gets African reboot
Fox News
The unified voice of a choir rises above the beats, singing in the Yoruba language of Nigeria's southwest at the start of a play that begins in its middle. This isn't the William Shakespeare you know. Instead, this is an African reboot of "The Winter's ...
Shakespeare's 'Winter's Tale' engulfed by African fire as part of language ...Washington Post

all 93 news articles »

Kiwibox.com Enters Spanish and Latin Markets -- Launches Spanish Language ...
MarketWatch (press release)
NEW YORK, May 25, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The Kiwibox network proudly announces the integration of Spanish language versions on its social networking websites. The US based platform Kiwibox and the European KWICK! now each support Spanish ...

and more »

Sign Language: Funny displays from the road
Washington Post
You can also send high-resolution JPEG or TIFF images to travel@washpost.com with “Sign Language” in the subject line. Winners receive a Travel tote bag. Photos become property of The Washington Post, which may edit, publish, distribute or republish ...

Service dog learns English, sign language
Houston Chronicle
Nick is a 3-year old goldendoodle service dog who understands English and International Sign Language. / HC Three-year-old goldendoodle Nickolas Scott is a service dog that understands English and International Sign Language.

and more »

eWeek
Microsoft`s F#: 10 Reasons Why It`sa Hot Programming Language for Developers
eWeek
By Darryl K. Taft on 2012-05-25 F# is a strongly typed, functional-first programming language for writing simple code to solve complex problems. From the business perspective, the primary role of F#, pronounced F sharp, is to reduce the ...

Houston Chronicle (blog)
Channel 13 leads local English-language stations in May sweeps, but ...
Houston Chronicle (blog)
KTRK (Channel 13) led its English-language competitors across virtually every newscast window during the May Nielsen sweeps period, although the other stations, characteristically, also found things to like among the monthly data. In the closest race, ...

Google News