by G E Barr

Created on: November 14, 2009

Gift Of A Writer With Mojo

As of late, I've read Percival Everett's, I Am Not Sidney Poitier. Everett lashes, ties bows and throws paint with words. He is extraordinary with words. He has given me a whole new appreciation of the English language. I was thinking about this today, when my two year old grand daughter asked me what a "honky" is.

The English language, by the way, kind of reminds me of America. It comes from every where and the words weave themselves into our language quite nicely. Can you imagine calling a car, anything else? Or water? Or sky?

Take nouveau riche, for example. We use the term here in America. It is an old term in France, as it is french and it is a rather nice way of saying, "You have money, but lack the manners, as well as the savvy". It is a term which fits well on Native Americans, Blacks and Whites. It's just one those universal, human terms.

Then there's sans. Sans, quite literally means, without. It too, is a french word, adopted into the English language. Another commonly used french word is adieu and we all love a la carte.

Long ago, on the island of Great Britain, the Normans injected french into what was, in the beginning, a germanic language. The English hobknobbed with the Scandinavians which caused a significant grammatical simplification and lexical enrichment of the Anglo-Frisian core.

Of course, the spanish language also has contributed to English. There's alligator, abilone, banana, armadillo, barbecue and barracuda.

The Pennsylvania Dutch and the Yiddish introduced german to the English language more recently. There's fahrenheit, fest, baker, and blitz. Add to that Lager-beer, poltergeist and pretzel!

Native Americans have contributed to the English language also. Hickory, Hominy, Husky and Caribou are all words derived from Native American language. Other Native American words are Moose, Moccasin, Pecan, Persimmon and Skunk. Also Succotash, Squaw, Chocolate and Coyote.

Africans too, contributed to the English language with words like, Coffee, Chigger, Aardvark, Juke-Box, Zombie, Zebra, Voodoo and Mojo.

The English language spoken in America is much like the continent itself. Rich with diversity and history. That history began on an island called Great Britain. The English people have always been reaching out and bringing more people into their folds. America is an extension of that tradition. America's society, politics and language reflect this.

Yes, with a little knowledge of English history, one can clearly get their American mojo moving.

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