The Power of Words is Under-Appreciated...

Welcome to Colourful Kaleidoscopes!

(A Thought on Words)

"Life is a kaleidoscope of colors: Intricate, unexpected, beautiful."  ~Unknown

Guten Tag, Bonjour, Salvete, Buenos Dias, and Hello! Welcome to my blog, Colourful Kaleidoscopes!

I am a bookworm with a curious mind. I strive to learn all I can and to try new things. That’s what brought me here to Blogger. I will be posting about a variety of different things that are related to my hobbies and interests, or anything that happens to cross my mind.

    Have you ever googled the definition of a word, even though you already had a basic idea of what it means? Did you gain a different perspective on the word afterward? For example, words such as bemused (being puzzled, confused, or bewildered) or reality (a thing that exists, in fact, having previously only existed in one's mind).

    We use hundreds, perhaps thousands, of words daily, yet we're not even sure what a good amount of them mean. Sometimes the way a dictionary or thesaurus explains a word can suddenly give you a new impression. For example, I was thinking about random objects I like, such as kaleidoscopes. They have always fascinated me with the way the colourful patterns shift and form, and just like snowflakes, no two will ever be the same.

As I considered what I would call my blog, this word came into my mind. I decided to google the definition of it, and I found this.

Kaleidoscope:

1. Noun; an instrument containing loose bits of colored material (such as glass or plastic) between two flat plates and two plane mirrors so placed that changes in the position of the bits of material reflect in an endless variety of patterns.
2. Something resembling a kaleidoscope, such as:
• A variegated changing pattern or scene.
• A kaleidoscope of colors.
• A succession of changing phases or actions.
• A kaleidoscope of changing fashions.
• A diverse collection.

Etymology: Greek Kalos (beautiful) + eidos (form) + -scope (an instrument used for seeing).

That's when, quite literally, I found the perfect title for my blog: Colourful Kaleidoscopes.

[Lucas the Spider GIF]

You may have noticed that I spell some of my words differently. I do that on purpose (color~colour / favorite~favourite / honor~honour). They are the British spellings of those words, which, in my opinion, makes them look more elegant and fuller somehow. Unfortunately, Grammarly disapproves that I write in a mix of British and American English, and I’m aware that if I ever write a professional paper or something for college, I should write one way or another. But for now, I can have fun and play around with my unique way of writing using British spellings and American comma placements. 🙃

  

[Random GIFs from somewhere]

I've met several people who have mentioned how they despise spelling and grammar. To a small degree, I agree because English is very complex and has weird spellings and tens of words that sound the same or have almost the same meaning. How frustrating indeed! 😖 But the cool thing about English is that it's a combination of a bunch of other languages, some of which are German (Kindergarten and doppelgänger), French (menu and garage), Spanish (banana and breeze), Italian (scenario and solo), Ancient Sanskrit (avatar and yoga), and Old Norse (sky).

   Also, did you know that every word in English has at least one vowel (a, e, i, o, u)? In some cases, 'y' is considered a vowel, too (for whatever reason), so even the word 'sky' has a vowel. Find it hard to believe? You can check for yourself! I bet you won't find a word without one (and if you do, please comment below)!

I remember that in the days that I went to public school, I hated writing. I thought it was the worst subject. But I believe that was because they never taught grammar properly. Also, we often had to write about a specific prompt which usually involved something I had little to no knowledge of (but that's beside the point). Since I started homeschooling, I have discovered how helpful grammar is and how fun writing can be! It turns out that I have a knack (an acquired or natural skill at doing something) for writing and wording things. I still struggle with grammar at times, but these memes showed me just how important it is when it comes to clear communication...

    

Now we can be more mindful about where to put some of the most valuable commas to avoid any unfortunate misunderstandings... 🙃😉

But because of some lack of attention to grammar, we get a good laugh at times!

      

Of course, let’s not forget my favourite grammar meme, which my dad once shared with me.

Nothing more to say about that! 😉

Out of random curiosity, I looked up the definition of the word 'blog':

   1. Noun; a website that contains online personal reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks, videos, and photographs provided by the writer, often written in an informal or conversational style. (It's also short for weblog).

  I feel like this post certainly lives up to that definition! 😄

    Honestly, I wasn't even sure what to write about for my first introductory blog post. Sure, I could have just said, "Hello! I hope you like my blog!" Even though I wouldn't have actually produced anything to form a proper opinion of... So I wrote whatever came to my mind, and I ended up talking about words... literally. Words just come to me like that.

[Jim Trott from The Vicar of Dibley GIF]

  Sometimes I feel like we don't appreciate words enough. If you think about it, words are just a jumble of lines and symbols that form letters, or they can be spoken sounds or are signed with specific hand movements. How can something like that have so many different meanings and interpretations?

   We can use words to communicate just about anything, from things like, "What's for dinner?" to "Why do you want to murder me tomorrow and not today?" We can use words to hurt or heal, to express ourselves, and to change anything. Our lives are dependent on communication.

    Imagine what the world would be like if we didn't have any words or languages or any ways to communicate with each other. 🤔

My Favourite word in English: Synchronicity (the simultaneous occurrence of events that appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection). In other words, a coincidence.

My Favourite word(s) in German: Blöd (stupid/dim-witted) and...

Siebenhundertsiebenundsiebzigtausendsiebenhundertsiebenundsiebzig (777,777 spelled out in German).

Madilyn (one of my best friends) came up with these a few years back:

Confuzzlement: Confusion about something goofy or silly that makes your head feel fuzzy. // Used in a sentence: She blinked back in pure confuzzlement.

Schmerbs: An exclamation of sorts when you're in a goofy/silly mood. // Used in a sentence: "Schmerbs!"

    Well, those are all the words that I have for now. Please note that these are my random thoughts and opinions and were not intended to offend anyone. I hope I didn't end up boring you with this and that you could take something from it. 🙂

Have a pleasant rest of your day (or night) and Macht's gut!

What are your favourite words in English or any language?

Have you ever created your own unique word, name, or phrase?

"Your words have the power to hurt, to heal, open minds, open hearts, and change the world..."

~Steven Aitchison