Words help us remember. Words sharpen our senses and help us give shape and texture to everything we observe. Words have interesting sounds and mouth feel. The word “zebra” doesn’t only conjure up a striped ungulate, it pleasantly vibrates on our lips and tongue. It’s fun to say. The word “power” pushes out with force. It can even produce spittle. It’s aggressive. The word “emolument” is slippery, almost slimy. It feels like something unpleasant is rolling in our mouth. “Sun” doesn’t only describe our star, but it feels bright. “Onomatopoeia” is a mouthful, and it describes words that suggestively sound like the ideas they represent. “Bang” is both the sound that something makes and the word used to describe that sound. “Splat” is another example of a word that mimics the sound. And so is “buzzer” — another word that makes our teeth vibrate. Human languages are full of onomatopoeic words. In our household we use the word “pook” to refer to farts. It’s a Russian word, but easily understood and remembered by an English speaker. Consider what happens when you look at a series of images. As they are flashed on the screen, you don’t need language to identify…

Read more →