The Puente del Alamillo in Seville at night.
Commonly called the Harp Bridge. single mast stayed bridge.
The bridge was designed by Santiago Calatrava in 1992.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Wordsmithing: Jargon in Modern (Post Modern) Writing
For a while now, I have been mulling over how inadequate my vocabulary seems when I read some of the Post-Modernists (which is not often, since I read in bed and a PoMo book ensures you sleep after a single page). How obfuscation, jargon, terminology and plain unvarnished the-more-arcane-the-more-undecipherable-the-better code seems to rule the day in academic circles and is also increasingly encroaching into regular circles. (we are encircled in a circular fashion:))
The Word Maven (the word 'maven' is by itself a charming word, like maverick in a sense), William Safire, whom I adore, is able to expertly, eruditely and engagingly discourse on usage and vocabulary in the modern English language that like any living language is constantly in flux with new increments and archaic/obsolete deletions.
However, jargon is a totally different bird or fish.
One almost experiences a similar feeling while reading Middle English with the notable difference that instead of adding Latinate suffixes and prefixes and archaic spelling, the jargon ladled (or addled) Post-Post Modern language is very expansive in its borrowings. The more arcane the reference the better is the dictum being followed.
Computer jargon is a different kettle of fish. Since convenience is its hallmark and easy adoption is its singular quality.
Regarding other jargon, terminology and nomenclature (including acronyms like POTUS Pres of the US, etc) it enhances and enables speedy and unambiguous communication in shorthand and that is fine. The Forsterian edict "Only connect" is totally in line with my thinking.
Just a thought I am sharing with the wider world out there as a beginning to my blogging.
The blog will be exactly as titled, Eclectic and Everywhere.
Nothing is excluded --- painting, sculpture, photography, Urdu and English poetry, aesthetics, art creation and appreciation, architecture (appreciation), New York City, culture - Eastern and Western, Jacques Barzun (a prolific author par excellence), golf, Tiger Woods, natural healing, Sanskrit mantras, music, Hindustani classical music, pop, rock, electronica, trip hop, Drum n' Bass, polo, squash, tennis, cricket, Bollywood, Hollywood, Indie cinema, BOOKS (Note upper-case) and reading book reviews, non-fiction but also fiction and faction, technology, gadgets, economy (The Economist mainly and a great guide to this blog), world travel, India, USA, Italy, Japan, France, British royalty, ceremonial uniforms, pomp and pageantry, gliding, Maharajas of India, Renaissance art, The New Yorker (another mandatory read), web links, knowledge augmentation -- you name it you got it.
Comments on any and every topic are welcome and treasured since I firmly believe that the best ideas emerge out of seemingly innocuous conversation. However, the conversation has to be initiated and continued.
Please excuse me for any transgressions and digressions, now and in the future.
grazie, arrigato, danke, shukran
Sumeet Sood
The Word Maven (the word 'maven' is by itself a charming word, like maverick in a sense), William Safire, whom I adore, is able to expertly, eruditely and engagingly discourse on usage and vocabulary in the modern English language that like any living language is constantly in flux with new increments and archaic/obsolete deletions.
However, jargon is a totally different bird or fish.
One almost experiences a similar feeling while reading Middle English with the notable difference that instead of adding Latinate suffixes and prefixes and archaic spelling, the jargon ladled (or addled) Post-Post Modern language is very expansive in its borrowings. The more arcane the reference the better is the dictum being followed.
Computer jargon is a different kettle of fish. Since convenience is its hallmark and easy adoption is its singular quality.
Regarding other jargon, terminology and nomenclature (including acronyms like POTUS Pres of the US, etc) it enhances and enables speedy and unambiguous communication in shorthand and that is fine. The Forsterian edict "Only connect" is totally in line with my thinking.
Just a thought I am sharing with the wider world out there as a beginning to my blogging.
The blog will be exactly as titled, Eclectic and Everywhere.
Nothing is excluded --- painting, sculpture, photography, Urdu and English poetry, aesthetics, art creation and appreciation, architecture (appreciation), New York City, culture - Eastern and Western, Jacques Barzun (a prolific author par excellence), golf, Tiger Woods, natural healing, Sanskrit mantras, music, Hindustani classical music, pop, rock, electronica, trip hop, Drum n' Bass, polo, squash, tennis, cricket, Bollywood, Hollywood, Indie cinema, BOOKS (Note upper-case) and reading book reviews, non-fiction but also fiction and faction, technology, gadgets, economy (The Economist mainly and a great guide to this blog), world travel, India, USA, Italy, Japan, France, British royalty, ceremonial uniforms, pomp and pageantry, gliding, Maharajas of India, Renaissance art, The New Yorker (another mandatory read), web links, knowledge augmentation -- you name it you got it.
Comments on any and every topic are welcome and treasured since I firmly believe that the best ideas emerge out of seemingly innocuous conversation. However, the conversation has to be initiated and continued.
Please excuse me for any transgressions and digressions, now and in the future.
grazie, arrigato, danke, shukran
Sumeet Sood
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