Vanishing Words
It is no mystery that we learn our language in childhood and become citizens of our countries thanks to the institution of primary schools. It is therefore essential to ensure that children are exposed to a diversity of situations, and taught about life as it is, and not just their immediate surroundings.
I am saddened to read this article. But I’m not overly surprised. Of course, a child doesn’t learn his or her mother tongue by reading dictionaries, but partly by looking up those secret words that they’ve never seen or heard before. The vast majority of children are now brought up in at least semi-urban conditions, and despite their teachers’ efforts are increasingly removed from Nature. It’s a pity that the adults who are in charge of producing such tools of knowledge as dictionaries are so keen to sever the flimsy links that still connect them to Nature. We are not being esoteric or excessively nostalgic here: some of the words culled are not just the catkin shown above, but also acorn, buttercup, heron, almond, marzipan, ash, beetroot, porpoise, gooseberry, raven, carnation, blackberry, tulip, porridge, etc. Was blackberry replaced by its capitalized version?
The author’s argument has to do with the important link between language and imagination. But there are ‘down-to-earth’ implications too. We know that science teachers are also having a hard time maintaining children’s interest in and curiosity for life sciences.
To me, the future looks pretty grim and rather puzzling: At a time when so much is made of environmental protection and conservation, how are our children and grand-children to understand anything about it, and name the components of that environment, if it is turned into a remote, undescribable concept instead of remaining part of their reality, if only in imagination?
Tags: dictionaries, language, words
January 18th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
Thank you for posting the article! What struck me is how just one person with a certain mindset can profoundly impact how an entire generation relates not only to language, but to the world as a whole. However, I do not think all is about to be lost. As someone who loves the outdoors and who also happens to be a parent, I find that nature is understood in an innate way by experiencing it directly – by simply being outdoors, for example – than through books. I mean, you can read about trees, but can only truly “know” a tree by seeing and touching one.
So, to answer your final question, which is: “how are our children and grand-children to understand anything about it, and name the components of that environment, if it is turned into a remote, undescribable concept instead of remaining part of their reality, if only in imagination?” It’s simple – by taking them outside!