We use words carelessly without thought to their origin. Cow herds watched the village herd and therefore were not available to defend the village in the event of attack. They were therefore demeaned as cowards. But, who defended them, alone?


Thoughts On Herds

If sheep herders are shepherds
Are cowboys cowherds?
Are cowherds cowards?
Language is a strange
And complex canvas
Brushed with etymology





Poetry by josephus The PoetBay support member heart!
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Written on 2012-09-30 at 22:00

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countryfog
Thinking more about this . . . the English language is a living thing, always evolving. The French, some French, are xenophobic about the influence of other languages on theirs, whereas we welcome words from anywhere and everywhere. We are creative but an important part of that is adopting and absorbing other ways of saying something, or giving new meanings to old words. No doubt that can result sometimes in imprecision, in multiple ways of understanding what words intend. Perhaps that is one of the difficulties in translating non-English poems from languages that tend to be more specific and explicit, more nuanced, than we tend to be. It would be interesting to hear from others here about their own languages.
2012-10-01


countryfog
So true . . . our language is incredibly intriguing and often paradoxical, how the same words can be used to completely different effect by different writers, or interpreted differently by different readers. Dictionaries tell us all the things a word has been . . . but we constantly redefine them by our own experiences and sensibilities. Poetry especially allows, even compels, us to.
2012-10-01