Today I was thinking about language a lot. Well, the past little while I have been thinking about language a lot. I decided that we think about language backwards. If I say a word like "trite", somebody will ask me, "What does trite mean?"
That's not the question you should ask. A word means nothing. A word only represents something that is a meaning. There is a difference.
I realized this while in Germany, but it solidified upon my return to good ol' U S of A. Because today I was sitting in the library, and a glorious sound fell upon my ears. A young man, sitting almost directly behind me, received a phone call. And before I could register my complete annoyance that he answered it, he answered it like this:
Hallo! ... Ja, ich bin gut. Studierst du hier jetzt? ... ah, du bist shon fertig... Nein, nein. Ich bin nicht verheiratet....
And instead of annoyance, my heart was filled with joy! Not because he was not married, but because it had been a whole week since such beauty had filled my ears.
Words represent meanings. For in German, or in English, it was what this person meant that was being conveyed-- I simply am now able to have two ways to discover the SAME meaning. Glorious.
I'm still smiling.
well then what do you say? what is the meaning of 'trite'?
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