whole lotta trouble
The German language's affinity for sesquipedalians once led Mark Twain to
quip, "Some German words are so long that they have a perspective." Having
polysyllabic words in a language is no sin as long as you get your words'
worth. In that respect, those lengthy German words are worth every syllable.
Where else can you find a single word, schadenfreude, for example, that
conveys the whole concept of 'pleasure derived from the misfortunes of
another'? The English language knows a good thing when it sees one and has
generously borrowed terms from German. This week we'll meet seven of them,
both with and without 'perspective'.
clerisy (KLER-i-see) noun
The well-educated class; the literati; the intelligentsia.
[From German Klerisei (clergy), from Medieval Latin clericia,
from Late Latin clericus (cleric), from Greek klerikos
(belonging to the clergy), from Greek kleros (inheritance).]
Ironically, clerisy and clerk have branched out from the same root,
that is also the source for clergy and cleric.
The campus pro-life group put 10,000 roses in Polk Place to represent the 10,000 abortions which have taken place in the last three days. Whether you agree with their message or not, can you acquiesce that such a strategy is a lot more meaningful than a protest march or picket? It was so striking. It necessitated a pause.
I went to a panel tonight with three Holocaust survivors. Their stories were each so different, equally thought-provoking. One man was from Dresden, one woman, Poland and the other woman, France (Strasbourg, in fact, about which we chatted en francais after the panel). They each emphasized something different, according to their experiences. The woman I sat next to, Esther, was asked why she shares her story. "It's an obligation," she kept saying.
An obligation. If more people would fulfill their obligations, I'd warrant there'd be much less trouble in the world.
Or maybe the question is finding one's obligation; maybe some people just don't know.
The thing is, in this country, it's so simple.
You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do. -Anne Lamott
quip, "Some German words are so long that they have a perspective." Having
polysyllabic words in a language is no sin as long as you get your words'
worth. In that respect, those lengthy German words are worth every syllable.
Where else can you find a single word, schadenfreude, for example, that
conveys the whole concept of 'pleasure derived from the misfortunes of
another'? The English language knows a good thing when it sees one and has
generously borrowed terms from German. This week we'll meet seven of them,
both with and without 'perspective'.
clerisy (KLER-i-see) noun
The well-educated class; the literati; the intelligentsia.
[From German Klerisei (clergy), from Medieval Latin clericia,
from Late Latin clericus (cleric), from Greek klerikos
(belonging to the clergy), from Greek kleros (inheritance).]
Ironically, clerisy and clerk have branched out from the same root,
that is also the source for clergy and cleric.
The campus pro-life group put 10,000 roses in Polk Place to represent the 10,000 abortions which have taken place in the last three days. Whether you agree with their message or not, can you acquiesce that such a strategy is a lot more meaningful than a protest march or picket? It was so striking. It necessitated a pause.
I went to a panel tonight with three Holocaust survivors. Their stories were each so different, equally thought-provoking. One man was from Dresden, one woman, Poland and the other woman, France (Strasbourg, in fact, about which we chatted en francais after the panel). They each emphasized something different, according to their experiences. The woman I sat next to, Esther, was asked why she shares her story. "It's an obligation," she kept saying.
An obligation. If more people would fulfill their obligations, I'd warrant there'd be much less trouble in the world.
Or maybe the question is finding one's obligation; maybe some people just don't know.
The thing is, in this country, it's so simple.
You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do. -Anne Lamott