Surely you've read how Eskimos have many different words for snow because snow is an important part of their life. It's true. The Inuit dialect spoken in the Nunavik region of Canada has 53 different words for snow. For example, “matsaaruti,” means wet snow that can be used to ice a sleigh’s
runners. "Pukak” means crystalline powder snow that looks like
salt.
Do you think there is a culture that has many different words for tears? Some place where everyone is sad? I can only think of a couple different ways to say tears in English. The most poetic is "drowning eyes". Tobias Wolff used that in his short story Bullet in the Brain.
There are not many different ways to write tears, but there are a lot of different ways to write weep. At least 27 different synonyms. We must not be a happy people.
At least we can write. Consider those who cannot. Those who are not even aware of the possibility of writing. Those whose tears are a waste of the only nourishment they have.
ReplyDeletePretty much everyone can write, even people in prison. Most people don't write because they're not sad enough.
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