MYSTERY BEHIND THE LANGUAGE

Language is no doubt a unique and patent means of communication whether written or spoken. It remains a building cord that holds the world in unity. All over the world, different languages are used by members of yet various communities to export their various achievements, success and

failure in an attempt to proffer better solution to the challenges of life. It has remained the only human invention that cut across races and barriers.

In all the contemporary ones, the English language remains the most widely spoken in political, business and official quarters today. Statistics have revealed that about half of the world published books and three-quarters of the international mails are in English language.

Yet, as rich as the language may be, and like other languages, it is crazy. For example, we say boxing ring when it’s a square and not spherical. What can we say of pineapple that has neither apple nor pine; an eggplant that has no egg; hamburger that is not made of ham but beef, or a cocktail party with no cock or its tail. Sometimes, language is taken granted when we claim to explore its paradox through some words or expressions contain an element of truth but which action offends common sense in the ordinary sense.

 How can dead people kicked the bucket, or why should two people not in good terms be said to have no love lost between them? Why is “to bootleg” means dealing in illicit alcoholic drink when there is no logical link between boot, leg and alcohol. Why quicksand is now called slow sand since it does not permit quick movement? Why an open door is called ajar and an open jar not called a door? Abbreviation is such a long word when it means to shorten a word. Consider a guinea pig, it’s neither a pig nor from guinea.

Sometimes this language arouses our sense of humor. In English, he who sings is a singer, and who teach is a teacher, what do we call he who prays and laughs, prayer and laughter? NO! Who do writer and speakers write and speak respectively and finger don’t fing neither does hammer ham. When the plural of tooth is teeth, shouldn’t the plural of booth be beeth? And if teacher taught, what is wrong to say the prayer praught?

English language permit one to make amends not just one owned, irrespective of the situation, and allow one to comb through the annals of history and not just an annals of history. If a vegetarian eat vegetable, tell me what a humanitarian should eat, human?

The instances are endless, why do English people drive on a parkway and park in a driveway? They recite a play and play at a recital: they ship their goods by trucks and load their cargoes by ship. Their slim chance and fat chance are the same. But to overlook and to oversee are opposites whereas to see and to look are synonymous. The weather may be as hot as hell today but become as cold as hell the next day. What other consolation do we have in the creative and semantics business of a man in his human race ( which does not engage in any race) than to accept that when the stars are out, they become visible but when the lights are out, they have been put off, therefore become invincible, after all we have mankind but no womankind.

Remember also that when one winds up his watch, he definitely starts it up , but when he wind up his write up, it’s no more, no less.