Language Tells The Story

Tolkien told people that the stories he wrote came from the languages he invented.  First he imagined the words and development of his imaginary tongue and only later did he imagine the stories that led to its form.  He did not haphazardly invent the place names in his work, but developed them from a complicated system that considered their origin and change over time.  This level of philological detail provides depth and realism in his created universe.

In a small way, I have been experiencing how language can identify a person as being from a different place--even when the language is a shared one.  I ordered a lemonade and got a carbonated lemon flavored drink with a slice of lemon in it.  I later learned I should have ordered a lemon squash.

I have found that one does not have dessert at the end of a meal but pudding (which isn't necessarily the kind that makes Bill Cosby smile--it can be almost anything sweet).  Pudding can also be yorkshire pudding which is not pudding either--but resembles a circular puff pastry with the center removed and is used to sop up the gravy that remains on the plate after eating.

But I have stumbled across one language difference on more than one occasion that reminds me of how important word choice is in telling a story.  Two people can have exactly the same experience, but tell two very different stories from their perspective.

I was discussing an historical event with someone, and we were trying to figure out its proper date.  They told me that it was during the Civil War.  To which I responded that I thought it was much earlier than the 1860's.  I was fairly certain that it was at least as old as the Revolutionary War.

It was then that we realized we were talking about the same war from two different sides.  The British refer to the events of 1775-1783 as the Civil War.  It was a conflict within the British Empire.  The word choice is almost as if they think that one day we can kiss and make up and be one country again.  They don't see themselves as the bad guys.

We refer to it as the Revolutionary War because we threw off the bonds of British oppression and tyranny and claimed our rightful freedom.  Or at least that's the way our histories tell it.

One war--two names--the power of language to tell a story.