måndag 26 januari 2009

Would that I could

Rule: Languages consist of arbitrary utterances
Exception: Alliterations work to produce the same feelings although the words are translated

Sometimes I get så caught up with a languages, some utterances, some expressions, proverbs, puns, rhymes - they make me enjoy the language itself.

Like for example the English phrase: would that I could. That nice ou-sound - what effect does it produce? Definitely a feeling that this comes from deep within, from the inner being and that it expresses doubt, sometimes regret - but never joy, confidence.

Russian has a partly different, laconic, touch when you can say so much with a single word.

I love languages. Life is, regretably, too short to learn them all.