Craft Notes
Michael Kimball Guest Lecture #5: Language and Sentences
We are writers. Writers use language. There are lots of things we can do with language. As Robert Lopez says: “I always start with language.” And when he says that, he means his language, his particular language, and that every writer should have their own particular language. Raymond Carver gets at that with this (from “On Writing”): “It’s akin to style, what I’m talking about, but it isn’t style alone. It is the writer’s particular and unmistakable signature on everything he writes. It is his world and no other. This is one of the things that distinguishes one writer from another.”
When I think of language, I think of sentences. As John Banville says: “The sentence is the greatest human invention of civilization.” There are lots of things that we can do with a sentence. We can manipulate the syntax, the diction, the stresses, the tenses, the acoustics, the morphemes and the phonemes, syllables and prefixes and suffixes, the speed, and the length. As Andy Devine says: “The English sentence – because of English syntax – is infinitely expandable.”
We can manipulate objects, subjects, predicates, infinitives, participles, gerunds, phrases, clauses, and determiners. We can manipulate articles, nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, and prepositions. Joseph Young says: “Articles propel the sentence, push it off and keep it moving.” Stephen King says: “The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” Joseph Brodsky says: “Don’t use too many adjectives.” Andy Devine says: “Adjectives are not as bad as adverbs.”
For instance, I like to structure sentences around articles and conjunctions and prepositions—the more perennial parts of language—so that my narrator has a singular way to speak. And I like to move prepositions to the end of the phrase or the end of the sentence. That was one of the first sentence things that I figured out for myself. It’s not what we’re taught to do, but it is still quite obviously English, and it creates a kind of semantic link in the sentence—and this vaguely unsettling feeling.
[Punctuation Intermission 1: I probably won’t do one of these things for punctuation, but I have something I want to say about commas: Commas can save your life.]
Here are some other writers talking about working with different parts of language:
Gary Lutz: “Language is matter—it’s a substance to be fingered and disturbed. All sorts of stuff can be pinned onto a word, or poked into it. I like to fasten an unaccustomed affix to the base of a perfectly drab noun or adjective. Oddballery of that kind appears to suit my narrators, who are forever in search of further, fussier ways to insist upon their difference.”
Dawn Raffel: “An acoustical presence can be created, I hope, by sentences that have voice, stance, authority and cadential integrity. I read every sentence aloud and revise it until it sounds right to my ear; I find I can’t go forward more than a few sentences without going back and attending to as many grace notes as possible. I’m not someone who writes ‘drafts.’ If the sentences are sloppy, all the energy goes out of the piece for me. So I might write three sentences and revise them half a dozen times before moving forward. Actually, that part—playing around with syllables—is fun. I could spend hours doing it and be happy as a pig.”
Blake Butler: “I like something that makes my mouth or face feel jogged or deleted some, perhaps. Something that within the syllables both allows the syllables to butt up against one another in ways that variously embrace or attack. I think a lot of it comes out of trying to hypnotize myself: I enjoy feeling locked out of my body. When I am really in it, when I really start to feel channeled and beaten up a little by my mouth without controlling it, that’s when those words are really coming and spitting me up.”
Joanna Howard: “The initial rhythmic instinct drives the sentence length, so that I have a sense of having completed a thought based on the need for a rhythmic pause. Beyond this initial rhythmic constraint, which is perhaps arbitrary or perhaps organic, I like the cause-and-effect relationships built up out of strings of clauses, so that a detail is presented, commented on, resolved to some degree, until it triggers the next detail. I have always liked the way the word ‘sentence’ refers to a grammatical grouping, but also has a definition related to judgment and punishment of criminals: something which indicates verdict, as well as duration. This is how I think about sentences.”
Here’s Gary Lutz again: “I am drawn toward rhythms in which there are lots of stresses and hardnesses, and toward phrasings steeped in, or saturated with, a dominant vowel. I like inclemently declaratory sentences, sentences that disingratiate, sentences that feel full and final.”
[Punctuation Intermission 2: Another things about commas: Please don’t use comma splices. They make me hate whatever I’m reading.]
Here’s a kind of language check from John Gardner: “The writer who cares more about words than about story (characters, action, setting, atmosphere) is unlikely to create a vivid and continuous dream; he gets in his own way too much … his poetic drunkenness.”
Here’s Samuel Ligon with a kind of corollary to the Gardner: “I can’t remember who made the comment about prose being like a window, or exactly what was said, but I like that idea of making it invisible or unnoticeable, not smearing it up with anything that calls attention to itself. The reader needs to slip into a dream-like state through the writing, and it seems like clean, transparent prose can help facilitate that.”
And here is John Gardner, again, with one sentence that explains why I start with language: “Language actively drives the writer to meanings he had no idea he would come to.”
Tags: joanna howard, john gardner, michael kimball, robert lopez, sentences
I agree with you about comma slices, they are terribly annoying.
I agree with you about comma slices, they are terribly annoying.
had to google comma splices. thought that’s what semi-colons were for? does anyone have any examples of comma splices that were used to good effect?
I don’t like them either, they are without merit.
i will argue with you about commas any time, mk! it was a good one, i enjoyed it.
had to google comma splices. thought that’s what semi-colons were for? does anyone have any examples of comma splices that were used to good effect?
I don’t like them either, they are without merit.
i will argue with you about commas any time, mk! it was a good one, i enjoyed it.
we are all telling the same joke.
we are all telling the same joke.
seems like Beckett and Bernhard both use comma splices all over the place, and to great effect
i kind of love em. when they are good.
seems like Beckett and Bernhard both use comma splices all over the place, and to great effect
i kind of love em. when they are good.
semi colons are the ugliest mark
semi colons are the ugliest mark
Not to seem like too much of a pedant, but what your general thoughts on commas? I’m always interested in how different writers use them for pacing and clarity.
i think they look like little sideways whales
Not to seem like too much of a pedant, but what your general thoughts on commas? I’m always interested in how different writers use them for pacing and clarity.
i think they look like little sideways whales
That is why I love them.
That is why I love them.
I like commas and think it’s one of the three most important punctuation marks (along with the period and question mark). I think commas are especially useful for clarifying syntax. I’m also a big fan of the serial comma, which fits Chicago’s style sheet, if I’m remembering correctly, among others–though I know there are great haters of the serial comma out there.
I like commas and think it’s one of the three most important punctuation marks (along with the period and question mark). I think commas are especially useful for clarifying syntax. I’m also a big fan of the serial comma, which fits Chicago’s style sheet, if I’m remembering correctly, among others–though I know there are great haters of the serial comma out there.
the notebooks,
IBM Selectric IIIs,
et cetera
these are my shields,
protecting me from the world
from you –
My words are the weapons
I utilize
bludgeoning the audience
until they bleed from ears,
mouth, fingertips,
and eyes.
– Me
the notebooks,
IBM Selectric IIIs,
et cetera
these are my shields,
protecting me from the world
from you –
My words are the weapons
I utilize
bludgeoning the audience
until they bleed from ears,
mouth, fingertips,
and eyes.
– Me
This Andy Devine guy sounds sort of “sleaky” (a word my son uses to describe me).
I do hope to meet Andy, shake his hand
This Andy Devine guy sounds sort of “sleaky” (a word my son uses to describe me).
I do hope to meet Andy, shake his hand
I agree with you on serial commas. It can leave the meaning of a sentence ambiguous when it’s left out.
I agree with you on serial commas. It can leave the meaning of a sentence ambiguous when it’s left out.
who gives a fuck about an oxford comma?
who gives a fuck about an oxford comma?
I love them, I hate them, it depends.
Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow.
I would never use a long word where a short one would answer the purpose. I know there are professors in this country who ‘ligate’ arteries. Other surgeons only tie them, and it stops the bleeding just as well.
~Oliver Wendell Holmes (one of my predecessors)
I love them, I hate them, it depends.
Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow.
I would never use a long word where a short one would answer the purpose. I know there are professors in this country who ‘ligate’ arteries. Other surgeons only tie them, and it stops the bleeding just as well.
~Oliver Wendell Holmes (one of my predecessors)
the “predecessors” line is a shout to Bernard from Squid and the Whale, since I know you’re curious
the “predecessors” line is a shout to Bernard from Squid and the Whale, since I know you’re curious
there is a plate on the table. i look at the plate for a long while and then i look out the window for a long while. outside the window a little woman is walking around a large pond. as i sit in front of the window watching i watch the entire circumnavigation of the woman around the pond, which is a really large pond. at the far end of the pond the woman is very small and i can’t really tell if she is taunting me with her tongue, but i know she probably is. and yet i can easily imagine that if i had a good pair of binoculars i saw the woman through the binoculars, she would not even be looking at me, but concentrating very well on her long walk around the pond, which she uses to fight her age.
the woman has a son named jason who is 76 years old and lives with her in her cottage near the pond. i have met jason often to go fishing and to play a game of poker. i don’t really like jason at all but i spend time with him in order to ingratiate myself with the woman. and the reason for why i’m doing this is because there is something very attractive, to me, about this woman, that i can’t quite put my finger on.
but the fact is that while i’m watching her, and particularly when she is on the near side of the pond when it’s very clear that she’s watching me quite carefully through the window and so carefully that she even loses her step and trips over a trusting duck, i imagine having the woman in her bed and looking carefully at her vagina while i slide my hands up her thighs and kissing her and kissing her until she makes the noises that i like.
after the woman goes home i finish washing the plates in the kitchen and then i turn the television on to the show Where’s Randy, about a man who’s lost his mother.
there is a plate on the table. i look at the plate for a long while and then i look out the window for a long while. outside the window a little woman is walking around a large pond. as i sit in front of the window watching i watch the entire circumnavigation of the woman around the pond, which is a really large pond. at the far end of the pond the woman is very small and i can’t really tell if she is taunting me with her tongue, but i know she probably is. and yet i can easily imagine that if i had a good pair of binoculars i saw the woman through the binoculars, she would not even be looking at me, but concentrating very well on her long walk around the pond, which she uses to fight her age.
the woman has a son named jason who is 76 years old and lives with her in her cottage near the pond. i have met jason often to go fishing and to play a game of poker. i don’t really like jason at all but i spend time with him in order to ingratiate myself with the woman. and the reason for why i’m doing this is because there is something very attractive, to me, about this woman, that i can’t quite put my finger on.
but the fact is that while i’m watching her, and particularly when she is on the near side of the pond when it’s very clear that she’s watching me quite carefully through the window and so carefully that she even loses her step and trips over a trusting duck, i imagine having the woman in her bed and looking carefully at her vagina while i slide my hands up her thighs and kissing her and kissing her until she makes the noises that i like.
after the woman goes home i finish washing the plates in the kitchen and then i turn the television on to the show Where’s Randy, about a man who’s lost his mother.
People who care about writing.
People who care about writing.
it’s a quote from a Vampire Weekend song.
it’s a quote from a Vampire Weekend song.
Oh, OK. I don’t like music.
and, actually, erin, there have been a multitude of writers who cared about writing and did nnot use an oxford, or serialized, comma.
Oh, OK. I don’t like music.
and, actually, erin, there have been a multitude of writers who cared about writing and did nnot use an oxford, or serialized, comma.
I’m cool with ’em.
I’m cool with ’em.
So said Beckett.
So said Beckett.
I like how almost all of the comments are about commas. I’ve been pulling one of these together on revisions and commas come up there a lot too.
“inclemently declaratory sentences” —Gary Lutz
Now there’s a good use of an adverb
I like how almost all of the comments are about commas. I’ve been pulling one of these together on revisions and commas come up there a lot too.
“inclemently declaratory sentences” —Gary Lutz
Now there’s a good use of an adverb
that’s because commas are lawless, and carry guns.
that’s because commas are lawless, and carry guns.
there should be an official None Of That There ‘Purple Prose’ Please Society, with both American and European chapters. i would not be a member. i might join up with the Some Words Are Just Dumb And Overly Technical Like ‘Ligate’ Society, though, maybe
there should be an official None Of That There ‘Purple Prose’ Please Society, with both American and European chapters. i would not be a member. i might join up with the Some Words Are Just Dumb And Overly Technical Like ‘Ligate’ Society, though, maybe
I might go further and propose an I’m A Real Man And Real Men Write Sentences And Live Life Like Real Men Society
I might go further and propose an I’m A Real Man And Real Men Write Sentences And Live Life Like Real Men Society
re: adverbs. They get a lot of hate, but I think they can be used quite effectively. The problem is that most adverb use doesn’t add anything. There is really no point to say “Bill ran quickly to the car crash” or “Jill smiled happily at her mother” or “The Staple Brothers screamed loudly.” But adverbs can be used to subvert the action in interesting ways. Even if you are doing nothing more than using the opposite of the expected adv. (Bill ran casually to the car crash, Jill smiled angrily, they screamed softly)
Cormac McCarthy’s opening words as elected Chairman of the IARMARMWSALLLRM Society:
“See the man Cormac. Commas occasionally, but semicolons are for little bitches.”
re: adverbs. They get a lot of hate, but I think they can be used quite effectively. The problem is that most adverb use doesn’t add anything. There is really no point to say “Bill ran quickly to the car crash” or “Jill smiled happily at her mother” or “The Staple Brothers screamed loudly.” But adverbs can be used to subvert the action in interesting ways. Even if you are doing nothing more than using the opposite of the expected adv. (Bill ran casually to the car crash, Jill smiled angrily, they screamed softly)
Cormac McCarthy’s opening words as elected Chairman of the IARMARMWSALLLRM Society:
“See the man Cormac. Commas occasionally, but semicolons are for little bitches.”
my vote for most hilarious comment on a comma or punctuation. For the record, I love me a good comma and I abuse the shit out of them. That is what we poets do though, abuse things, people, animals, commas, words, ourselves when nothing else is available or we cannot yet stomach the terror we are suppose to elicit upon the planet.
my vote for most hilarious comment on a comma or punctuation. For the record, I love me a good comma and I abuse the shit out of them. That is what we poets do though, abuse things, people, animals, commas, words, ourselves when nothing else is available or we cannot yet stomach the terror we are suppose to elicit upon the planet.
e-props
e-props
I like dashes. Lots of dashes. They’re like eyelashes in my bowl of milk. I know, I’m gay.
I like dashes. Lots of dashes. They’re like eyelashes in my bowl of milk. I know, I’m gay.
Virginia Woolf was “into” semicolons. I’d say she knew what she was doing.
Virginia Woolf was “into” semicolons. I’d say she knew what she was doing.
i like them too. em dashes especially. but i’ve decided not to use em dashes for dialogue, because “that’s joyce’s thing.” i think i dig effusive punctuation; it feels more oral.
i like them too. em dashes especially. but i’ve decided not to use em dashes for dialogue, because “that’s joyce’s thing.” i think i dig effusive punctuation; it feels more oral.
i was taught to use serial commas in elementary school
i was taught to use serial commas in elementary school
Were you ever taught not to use them?
Were you ever taught not to use them?
I care about writing and I do not care for the oxford/serial/whatever you want to call it unnecessary comma. I find it inelegant.
I care about writing and I do not care for the oxford/serial/whatever you want to call it unnecessary comma. I find it inelegant.
Dashes are so underappreciated. I fell in love with them when I learned about em and en and started to care about the difference between them.
Dashes are so underappreciated. I fell in love with them when I learned about em and en and started to care about the difference between them.
i have a shortcut programmed in for a nice long em dash. i especially like to have an interpolation in the middle of a sentence pinned between two em dashes with no space on either side, “—floating—“
i have a shortcut programmed in for a nice long em dash. i especially like to have an interpolation in the middle of a sentence pinned between two em dashes with no space on either side, “—floating—“
I think comma splices are OK to create velocity or breathlessness, if appropriate for the character of the voice. See Jose Saramago or the crazier Marquez. Semi-colons? They work, but don’t they create a fastidious, kinda old-fashioned quality?
I think comma splices are OK to create velocity or breathlessness, if appropriate for the character of the voice. See Jose Saramago or the crazier Marquez. Semi-colons? They work, but don’t they create a fastidious, kinda old-fashioned quality?
Love them when they’re on a tear. Forgot about Bernhard (w/ comment above). Definitely Bernhard when he’s on. Don’t forget Saramago, folks.
Love them when they’re on a tear. Forgot about Bernhard (w/ comment above). Definitely Bernhard when he’s on. Don’t forget Saramago, folks.
I use commas for breath and clarity (to offset phrasing). Don’t like the serial comma. I feel like it slows things down. But I have to use it for journalism gigs. Those editors don’t care about the music of the language.
I use commas for breath and clarity (to offset phrasing). Don’t like the serial comma. I feel like it slows things down. But I have to use it for journalism gigs. Those editors don’t care about the music of the language.
I care about writing. If you’re just talking a list, why do you need the last comma? Clarity should be obvious. If you’re talking a string of indie clauses, maybe they should be separated if you can’t get clarity w/ commas of the non-serial persuasion.
I care about writing. If you’re just talking a list, why do you need the last comma? Clarity should be obvious. If you’re talking a string of indie clauses, maybe they should be separated if you can’t get clarity w/ commas of the non-serial persuasion.
yes. stuttery. a-musical.
yes. stuttery. a-musical.
love dashes, too. use them as arrows (or big fat greek colons) or badass parentheses.
love dashes, too. use them as arrows (or big fat greek colons) or badass parentheses.
My favorite parts:
— “cadential integrity” (the music of language)
— “Commas can save your life.” (clarity is king)
— “The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” (only if absolutely unnecessary or redundantly repetitive)
— “I like something that makes my mouth or face feel jogged.” (reading aloud, I’ve found, is the key to getting the phrasing right, getting the groove on)
“sentences that disingratiate” (is this about funking w/ the reader?)
“The reader needs to slip into a dream-like state through the writing, and it seems like clean, transparent prose can help facilitate that.” (clarity is king, but style reigns supreme)
“Language actively drives the writer to meanings he had no idea he would come to.” (yes in poetry… but in prose? maybe to something about a character he didn’t know was there?)
Thanks once again, Michael. Appreciate these.
My favorite parts:
— “cadential integrity” (the music of language)
— “Commas can save your life.” (clarity is king)
— “The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” (only if absolutely unnecessary or redundantly repetitive)
— “I like something that makes my mouth or face feel jogged.” (reading aloud, I’ve found, is the key to getting the phrasing right, getting the groove on)
“sentences that disingratiate” (is this about funking w/ the reader?)
“The reader needs to slip into a dream-like state through the writing, and it seems like clean, transparent prose can help facilitate that.” (clarity is king, but style reigns supreme)
“Language actively drives the writer to meanings he had no idea he would come to.” (yes in poetry… but in prose? maybe to something about a character he didn’t know was there?)
Thanks once again, Michael. Appreciate these.
i’ll buy that.
i’ll buy that.
My emdash shortcut is F12, and I love pressing F12.
My emdash shortcut is F12, and I love pressing F12.
Apothegms are great for Hallmark cards, but, for the most part, unhelpful when it comes to writing fiction.
Apothegms are great for Hallmark cards, but, for the most part, unhelpful when it comes to writing fiction.
Yeah, some guy uses the word “ligate” around me, I’m going Sobchak on his posterior.
Yeah, some guy uses the word “ligate” around me, I’m going Sobchak on his posterior.
Read Udall’s “The Wig” (guy gets away with all kinds of adverbs in a magnificent micro)
Read Udall’s “The Wig” (guy gets away with all kinds of adverbs in a magnificent micro)
that’s not a command directed at you, Lincoln, and I’m guessing you’ve probably already read it
that’s not a command directed at you, Lincoln, and I’m guessing you’ve probably already read it
respectfully disagree, edward. action = character, language = music, clarity is king… these are good apothegms (great word, by the way… sounds like opossum… tastes like chicken?) to keep in mind, at least for me.
respectfully disagree, edward. action = character, language = music, clarity is king… these are good apothegms (great word, by the way… sounds like opossum… tastes like chicken?) to keep in mind, at least for me.
I just learned a new word:
apothegm- a short, pithy, instructive saying; a terse remark or aphorism.
“great word, by the way….”
I like “sounds like opossum… tastes like chicken”. Not exactly sure what you mean here, I just like those words together. They’re funny.
To me it (‘apothegm’) looks (I’m not sure how it’s pronounced) like a cross between a punctuation mark and a throat-clear.
“Apothegms are great for Hallmark cards…..”? Really? Not my nana’s Hallmarks. “pithy”? “terse”?
I just learned a new word:
apothegm- a short, pithy, instructive saying; a terse remark or aphorism.
“great word, by the way….”
I like “sounds like opossum… tastes like chicken”. Not exactly sure what you mean here, I just like those words together. They’re funny.
To me it (‘apothegm’) looks (I’m not sure how it’s pronounced) like a cross between a punctuation mark and a throat-clear.
“Apothegms are great for Hallmark cards…..”? Really? Not my nana’s Hallmarks. “pithy”? “terse”?
Edward, Have you published any books?
Edward, Have you published any books?
Oh man, buzzkill, hahahah…. I was at a party recently, and I have these three friends who are all in a band, and it was an after party with lots of bands, and this little twerp, who was barely out of high school and had “grown up listening to my friend’s band,” which seemed sort of weird, was standing there in a convo with me, my friend, and another band guy, and the twerp’s drunk, and he just sort of slurred something weird at me, like “Hey, we’re like in bands, what do YOU like do…” And I didn’t know what to say, I couldn’t even laugh at the guy, didn’t seem sad, just seemed…………. [ ] So anyways, let’s not be lame to each other, gents.
Oh man, buzzkill, hahahah…. I was at a party recently, and I have these three friends who are all in a band, and it was an after party with lots of bands, and this little twerp, who was barely out of high school and had “grown up listening to my friend’s band,” which seemed sort of weird, was standing there in a convo with me, my friend, and another band guy, and the twerp’s drunk, and he just sort of slurred something weird at me, like “Hey, we’re like in bands, what do YOU like do…” And I didn’t know what to say, I couldn’t even laugh at the guy, didn’t seem sad, just seemed…………. [ ] So anyways, let’s not be lame to each other, gents.
The meaner response would be like: “Have you WRITTEN any (good) books, publisher man? Is insight an item on a resume? Is your VD called “syphilitic snobbaciousness”?
The meaner response would be like: “Have you WRITTEN any (good) books, publisher man? Is insight an item on a resume? Is your VD called “syphilitic snobbaciousness”?
Hey Edward,
One of the reasons that I’m pulling together these posts on some of the different elements of fiction writing is that is was always the little bits of advice, something that I could hold in my head — whether from a teacher, from something I read, or from another writer — that were the most useful thing to me as I tried to figure out what I wanted to do as a writer. And I know lots of writers who feel the same way. Also, my hope is that these will lead to a larger discussion – even if its just about the various punctuation camps.
Hey Edward,
One of the reasons that I’m pulling together these posts on some of the different elements of fiction writing is that is was always the little bits of advice, something that I could hold in my head — whether from a teacher, from something I read, or from another writer — that were the most useful thing to me as I tried to figure out what I wanted to do as a writer. And I know lots of writers who feel the same way. Also, my hope is that these will lead to a larger discussion – even if its just about the various punctuation camps.
Thanks, Joe. But I don’t want to argue about commas. I like them, but I don’t want to argue about them. I find people rarely change their mind about punctuation.
Thanks, Joe. But I don’t want to argue about commas. I like them, but I don’t want to argue about them. I find people rarely change their mind about punctuation.
Yes, and I remember Brodkey’s stories using adverbs well.
Yes, and I remember Brodkey’s stories using adverbs well.
hey mimi, apothegm *sounds* like opossum (that’s what I meant… I peeped the pronunciation) and tastes like chicken is just, um, yeah… funny is good.
hey mimi, apothegm *sounds* like opossum (that’s what I meant… I peeped the pronunciation) and tastes like chicken is just, um, yeah… funny is good.
Oh, I get it. ‘Opossum’ with a lisp.
But look:
apothegm – (āp’ə-thěm’)* [APE-uh-them)
opossum – (ə-pŏs’əm)* [uh-POS-uhm]
Having not previously known the pronunciation of ‘apothegm’, and having not looked up until just now the pronunciation of ‘apothegm’, and having studied biology, and, thus, being familiar with the word ‘apoprotein’ :
apoprotein – (ape’-ə-prō’tēn’)* [APE-uh-pro-teen]
n. A polypeptide that combines with a prosthetic group to form a conjugated protein.
I was pronouncing ‘apothegm’ APE-uh-them (a la ‘apoprotein’) and not uh-POTH-uhm (‘opossum’ with a lisp).
So I did not get your joke, which, still, I liked and which (the word combination of) I thought was funny, even thought the joke I read was so different from the joke you intended. I thought you meant something along the lines of “If one follows one or some or any or many or all of these apothegms (you listed your favorites) that one might worry that one’s writing might, uh-oh, sound like we’re having ‘possum for dinner, but in fact one’s writing will sound real good, and guess what! goody! we’re actually having chicken for dinner, and boy does chicken taste good! and that means one’s writing will actually be good and that is a good thing.”
* from dictionary.com
Oh, I get it. ‘Opossum’ with a lisp.
But look:
apothegm – (āp’ə-thěm’)* [APE-uh-them)
opossum – (ə-pŏs’əm)* [uh-POS-uhm]
Having not previously known the pronunciation of ‘apothegm’, and having not looked up until just now the pronunciation of ‘apothegm’, and having studied biology, and, thus, being familiar with the word ‘apoprotein’ :
apoprotein – (ape’-ə-prō’tēn’)* [APE-uh-pro-teen]
n. A polypeptide that combines with a prosthetic group to form a conjugated protein.
I was pronouncing ‘apothegm’ APE-uh-them (a la ‘apoprotein’) and not uh-POTH-uhm (‘opossum’ with a lisp).
So I did not get your joke, which, still, I liked and which (the word combination of) I thought was funny, even thought the joke I read was so different from the joke you intended. I thought you meant something along the lines of “If one follows one or some or any or many or all of these apothegms (you listed your favorites) that one might worry that one’s writing might, uh-oh, sound like we’re having ‘possum for dinner, but in fact one’s writing will sound real good, and guess what! goody! we’re actually having chicken for dinner, and boy does chicken taste good! and that means one’s writing will actually be good and that is a good thing.”
* from dictionary.com
*even though*, not *even thought*
*even though*, not *even thought*
that we’re still talking about this is even funnier!
funnier than that is the way you originally interpreted my joke. yowza… what a mind you have, mimi.
to clarify, the pronunciation I found for apothegm is here:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/apothegm
which is different from yours, and different from what I thought (I saw the italics as the stress… I should have used my old-school dictionary… I’m getting lazy and I guess don’t know how to read the online diacriticals).
at this point, I’m happy w/ banning this word from my vocabulary. can I get a witness?
that we’re still talking about this is even funnier!
funnier than that is the way you originally interpreted my joke. yowza… what a mind you have, mimi.
to clarify, the pronunciation I found for apothegm is here:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/apothegm
which is different from yours, and different from what I thought (I saw the italics as the stress… I should have used my old-school dictionary… I’m getting lazy and I guess don’t know how to read the online diacriticals).
at this point, I’m happy w/ banning this word from my vocabulary. can I get a witness?
Oh great. Now I have to go look up diacritical.
Oh great. Now I have to go look up diacritical.
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