Sunday, August 19, 2007

On language

The thing I like about the English language is the versatility it allows. The Anglosphere stretches all the way around the globe, and with such diverse speakers, the total number of words in the English language soars beyond word totals of all other languages.

The number of words in the English language is difficult to pin down, given the number of medical and technical terms, as well as word derivatives (run, ran, running, etc.). That said, scholars tend to put the total count between 500,000 and 1.5 million.

Combine such a vast vocabulary with such diverse speakers coining new words everyday, and you have expressive power.

For instance, one doesn’t have to drink beer. One can chug it, pound it, imbibe it, swill it, or, should one find oneself in the company of ruddy faced Bavarians, quaff it. But these can all be found easily in a thesaurus. If one truly masters language, one can balk at such infantile insults as ‘asshole,’ and upgrade to the wonderfully graphic “gall-faced twat.”

To truly savor the expressive power of the English language, however, one must consider the word "intoxicated." Off the top of my head, I can think of 20 synonyms:
  1. wasted
  2. blind
  3. pissed
  4. smashed
  5. blitzed
  6. blattoed
  7. hammered
  8. shitfaced
  9. plastered
  10. obliterated
  11. gone
  12. shitwrecked
  13. sloshed
  14. soused
  15. drunk
  16. inebriated
  17. lit
  18. tanked
  19. fucked up
  20. bent off one's face

Last night at Paul's going away party in Trout Run, Pennsylvania, I do believe I achieved all 20 states of intoxication.

Sigh... You can take the kid out of college...


LukisWeb said...

"bent off one's face"

We call it "faced off" where I come from. LOL!

LukisWeb said...

Now a more productive comment:

Videos are on youtube and posted on me blog:

Yes, I actually wrote a new post.

Enjoy the memories ;)

Anonymous said...

You misspelled #6!

Dad said...

So what happened to Williamsport?

Amanda said...

Yeah, I believe I went through those drunken states as well... not starting to feel better from my hangover until about 5 PM on Sunday. But it was nice meeting you and I hope you consider continuing to blog.
By the way, call Paulie-boy :)

Anonymous said...

It truely was a pleasure to meet you. The blog is a reall interesting read. Hope you continue writing. Paul's bro.