Word Play

English is amongst the wordiest languages. Perhaps the wordiest. It boasts of a million plus words. 80% of which are borrowed from other languages. Contrast it with French, which has some 10,000 words. An average educated english-speaking person has a basket of 20,000 words! Although we use about 2000 words a week. Words fall into categories and patterns. I have attempted to put together a list of word classification which, in practice, are easy to identify with and often used, but their nomenclature is not necessarily so.

1. Antonyms: Opposites
2. Synonyms: Reason why Thesaurus is in business.
3. Buzzword: a popular word relating to a particular activity or subject
   1. Calibrate Expectation | Outside the box | Push the envelope | Sea change | Boil the ocean | Cloud Computing | Integrated Marketing
4. Catchword: a popular word relating to a particular idea, class or quality.
   1. Sexy
5. Demonym: word used to refer to one’s origin or country.
   1. Example Parisian, Indian, Egyptian
6. Derivation: a word that comes from another language
7. False friend: a pair of words that sounds similar in 2 languages but have different meanings.
   1. Actual in English and Aktuell (at present) in German
   2. Stanza in Italian means room
   3. Carte (card, menu) in French and cart in English
   4. Adept (proficient) and Adepte (follower) in French
   5. Affluent (wealthy) and Affluent (tributary of a river) in French.
   6. After in German means anus.
   7. Apologie is praise in French
8. Homograph = Homo (similar) + Graph (writing). Words which are written identically but mean and are often pronounced differently.
   1. Bark: Dog | Tree
   2. Beat: with a stick | Music
   3. Axes: plural of both axis and axe.
   4. Compound: Chemical | Playground
   5. Content: ingredients | satisfied
   6. Now that you have got the hang of it try these: Bat | Bow | Coordinates | Bust | Desert | Digest | Discount | Fine | Lead | Minute | Object | Produce | Putting | Refuse | Row | Second | Subject | Tear | Wind | Wound | Lie | Lead | Close | Bear | Bank | Back | Bar | Capture | Change | Conduct | Console | Contest | Converse | Convert | Defect | Foot | Letter | Light | Live | Match | May | Mind | Park | Rock | Rose | Spirit | Transport | Yard | Wave
9. Homophone = Homo (similar) + Phone (Sound). Word pairs with similar pronunciation but different meanings and spellings.

On Happiness

 

"Live your Love. You'll love life!" - Dilpreeta

Spoken word: Jugalbandi of words and art

Love of poetry and storytelling had me stop flipping radio stations and listen to "The deck of cards" by Tex Williams; experiencing a  Haruki Murakami moment "Whatever it is you are seeking won't come in the form you are expecting." I had discovered a form of art, spoken word. An estuary of narrative and music  for the soul. A confluence of words and performing art, dance and theatre. All this, over a banal trip, ridden with gnarling Delhi traffic, browsing through FM channels indifferently, driving back across 3 states from work.

I was in the throes of a scripturient urge to celebrate my abecedarian finding. The drive seemed longer than usual, there was so much to do; quench my curiosity by reading more, attend to a deluge of examples, listen to new finds and compile a playlist. Most of this though, was curtailed to the luxury of late evenings that afforded time for myself.

Sunscreen,  Are you lonesome tonight, Yeh kahan aa gaye hum, have been all time favorites, only today I  know better, I can flaunt the genre of music they belong to and discover more such gems.

Political motivations, social causes, religious discourses, leadership speak, life experiences, stories, folklore and many more expressions have found themselves in this experimental art form.

I have put together a humble playlist of Hindi spoken-word tracks to show and tell what spoken-word is all about,  and with your suggestions it could only get better. 

Get the complete playlist: Here

4 beautiful poems written by Javed Akhtar recited by Farhan Akhtar in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

Apne Hone Par Mujhko Yaqeen Aa Gaya | Yeh Jaane Kaisa Raaz Hai | Dil Aakhir Tu Kyun Rota Hai | Toh Zinda Ho Tum

An all time favorite from a movie which is poetry in motion, Rituparno Ghosh's Raincoat. The movie is an adaptation of O' Henry's short story "The GIft of Magi". Enjoy the recitation in Gulzar's baritone and Shubha Mudgal's voice in Piya tora kaisa abhiman.

Calling Amitabh Bachchan fans. Silsila scores high on music  and poetry. Yeh Kahaan aa gaye hum has Amitabh Bachchan monologues and Lata Mangeshkar singing to Javed Akhtar's  lyrics.

What I learnt from Stephen King 'On Writing'

Your life experiences shape what you write. Gather more. Reach out, within. Then expand the experience to imagination.





Find your nook; your go to place, for reading and writing. Nothing ostentatious. Nothing distracting. A place which allows your mind to travel to a state of hypnosis.





Reading is a non-negotiable.



 
Write each day, every day.





"It ain't how much you've got, honey, it's how you use it!" Use words that come naturally.

Keep your sentences simple. Put your reader, first.  Be understood.

A list of 100 "what's the word?"

Do you ever get stuck for “that one word” that best describes a nuanced feeling or a thing? Well, I do. This curiosity set me up for some random browsing. What I found, was a bunch of words that were fairly descriptive and interesting. I began categorizing some 100 words; from being prohibitive & amusing on one hand to conversational & slang on another.  From a usability perspective, I am inclined to remember words that are both easier to use and easily understood. The rest are plain trivia.

Words I can live with:

1.      Aglet: that little plastic bit on the end of your shoelace or drawstrings.

2.      Aphthong: alphabets used in spelling a word but not in pronouncing it, essentially silent alphabets in a word: Example: Knife | Knew | Knight | Wednesday; Yes, people ‘d’ is silent J

3.      Akimbo: love standing with your ‘hands on your hips and elbows outwards’? The position is called Akimbo.

4.      Barm: the foam on your beer is barm. Cheers!

5.      Beblubber: the swollen eyes and face due to crying. She looked beblubbered-for crying out loud!

6.      Box-tent: That plastic tripod that comes in your pizza box is a box tent. Not only does it have a name it has a patent too.  

7.      Brannock Device: Useless trivia but did you know that the instrument used to measure your feet at the shoe store had a name?

8.      Claptrap: pretentious empty language or writing. Use of big words which mean nothing, are insincere. If you do end up familiarizing yourself with these words you will surely fall into this trap.

9.      Clinophile: a person who loves beds. Need I say more? Need to go back to my reclining, clinophile position.

10.  Contranym: a word that can be its own antonym. Stumped? So was I. Let me come to your rescue with some examples

a.      Cleave: to sever | to cling

b.      Off: Activated (alarm went off)| Deactivated (turn it off)

c.       Weather: to withstand (she can weather any situation)| to be worn away ( she looked weathered)

Word Trap

Word traps are ever so inviting, swallowing us into gaffes and indiscretion. Some borne of sheer ignorance others of confusion.  The pedagogue instinct in me prompts me to  question, why should I learn alone? Then again, nothing is selfless. Driven by selfish motivation, to have you walk into fewer word traps and in the bargain check me when I do, a list of word traps follows:

1. 100s ≠ hundreds. It is one hundreds.
2. 360 degrees = back to square one. Diametrically opposite is 180 degrees
3. A.D. ≠ After Death. A.D. = Anno Domini - Latin for "in the year of the Lord."
4. B.C.E = Before the Common Era and C.E = Common Era is the new, less sectarian A.D. and B.C.
5. A.M. = Ante Meridiem Latin for "before noon". P.M. = Post Meridiem -"after noon." Hence 12 A.M. L. It is noon. Period.
6. Able to: People are "able to". Things are not "able to".
1. You will be able to read through this document.
2. Crawler will be able to read through this document. Incorrect.
7. Accurate ≠ Precise
1. Accurate measurements reflect true values.
2. Precise: The degree to which an instrument or process will repeat the same value.
8. Actionable  ≠ Doable
1. It is a legal term for something that provides ground for legal action or lawsuit. So please watch text of your next email and MOMs.
9.  Ad nauseam  ≠ ad nauseum and definitely not ad nausea.
1. Ad nauseam is  misspelled to quite a "sickening degree"!
10. Administer not administrate. The latter is just an unnecessary substitute.

Light

Heavy head,

Heavy heart.

Eyes wide open,

Before the crack of dawn.

Flashes intermittent, with blankness.

Stillness on face.

Silence in person,

Chaos within.

Time ticks,

Time paces.

Self, a basic instinct.

Boundaries blur,

Walls emerge.

Impregnable future,

Fragile past.

Getting ahead?

With open eyes,

At the crack of dawn.

Marketing the brand, to you.

The  previous post on "Marketing the Brand - You" dwelled on the art of persuasion. The exploits of which, are aplenty, in the field of advertising and politics. A natural progression would be to identify these tactics at play and set your grey cells ticking, recalling brands and campaigns. Interestingly, as you begin to recall campaigns, it may strike you, that a majority of marketing campaigns lead with a primary tactic, but have an interplay of the others woven-in seamlessly into, stories of persuasion, they tell.

• Associations: forge a connect, arouse an emotion. Example Coke-Open Happiness. Nike- victory. The arsenal is well equipped with:
• Beautiful People: Before and after, a la fitness / fairness cream ad- the I could be like that feeling. A word of caution this can translate into an Oh I am so ugly moment too. Which is why read beauty magazine's sparingly- they only make you feel ugly- Baz Luhrman
• Transfer to a warm and fuzzy place : the aww moment, use of children, puppies, friendship, elderly, vacations and good times (Kingfisher)
• Symbolism: Broom :: cleaning corruption for Aam Admi Party, Cars to sexy women being wooed.
• Nostalgia: simplicity which = higher quality; evoke memories of childhood, India's partition- Google-Reunion Ad. Think Pilsbury Chakki fresh atta.
• Status- Snob value: discerning people drink Bailey's. Usually associated with Luxury marketing.
• Patriotism: Buy American, Dress Indian, Drive German. Example: nationalized banks, Incredible India
• Brand name: Umbrella branding- P&G, Unilever, HUL. Endorsed brands- Polo by Ralph Lauren.
• Bandwagon: Join us: everyone is doing it! Don’t get left out. Example Blackberry boys and every social networking platform-Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram.

Marketing the Brand - "You"

Anecdotes, make for valuable lessons. People who share their life stories mentor us fortuitously. It is over one such conversation I was told that, in personal and professional life you always get what you negotiate for, not what you deserve. Well, the original thought was Chester L Karrass'  “In business as in life, you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate.” However, what made it meaningful, was the narrative that followed. Needless to say, I had been subject to deft demonstration of negotiating capabilities.

On my drive back, I thought to myself that great negotiators would be rather capable in the craft of persuasion. A skill, I assume, we all would love to bargain in favor of.

Persuade means:

to prevail on (a person) to do something, as by advising or urging:

to induce to believe by appealing to reason or understanding; convince:

Thesaurus, can be quite a tool for learning. I don’t mean it from a "replace with a tougher word" perspective, alone. Look up, persuasive. Dwell on and internalize each of these synonyms.

Influential | Effective | Alluring | Cogent | Compelling | Conclusive | Convincing | Credible | Eloquent | Energetic | Forceful | Impressive | Inspiring | Logical | Plausible | Potent | Powerful | Valid | Seductive | Smooth| Actuating | Convective | Effectual | Efficacious | Forcible | Impelling | Stimulating | Moving | Inducing | Strong | Winning

Three thought bubbles popped in my head. First, how the often cited mechanisms of being persuasiveness were really not tactics, but aspects. Second, how advertising and politics had thrived on this expertise. Lastly, individuals are brands that need marketing.

Black

White is all colors

Yet

We call it pure

Black is absence of color

Yet

We call it impure

White reflects everything,

An impenetrable chill.

Black absorbs everything,

An inclusive warmth.

White is blinding

Black is blind

White is marriage

Yet

White is death

Black is protection

Yet

Black is death

Transition from life is peace

Peace is white

Yet

Rituals are black

Transition in life is chaotic

Chaotic is black

Yet

Ceremonies are white

Coal hardened to diamond

Black seasoned to white

Black is the reason for light

Black is the soul of white

Shouldn't white be black?

Unboxing Indian languages

My tryst with languages has been that of, love-hate. Education, across a string of schools and cities throws at you challenges, of what some might recall, as 2nd and 3rd languages. Compulsory languages, that you had to cross the mark on, to make it to the next grade. I had my encounters with Hindi, Bengali, Gurmukhi, Sanskrit and acquainted myself with French and Urdu. Thankfully, English was the marathon friend.


When it came to taking a second language, for boards, the hoity-toity had, French. As much as, the bourgeois bug appealed to me, I had to resign to Hindi "A". Then, I had kicked myself for not having scored lesser, so that I could have been assigned to the batch of Hindi "B". The scholarly subscribed to Sanskrit- oh boy, for that cramming! I have a fundamental disconnect with the whole, memorizing without understanding, school of education, but addressing that would merit an entire post. Honestly, I would have opted for neither French, nor Sanskrit, or the long tail German, Russian, and more. It’s the lack of choices, which sets you off on the "what if" mode. Sometimes, no option is not such a bad option, after all. It makes life simple.

Story of India- The Amul way

2014

History as we write it each day...

2013

Flashback of the year that was...

1978

India’s timeline-1978: The Amul way from Dilpreeta Vasudeva

1976

A-Z Brand Slogans & Advertising Tag lines

A | B | C | D | E |F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

A

1. We know Money - AIG or American International Group Insurance Company
2. Making the Sky the best place on Earth - Air France
3. Its good to be home - Airwick
4. Thodi Sharafat, Thodi Shararat - Aliva
5. Macharoan ka Yamraaj - All Out
6. Friday Dressing - Allen Solly
7. My World, My Way - Allen Solly
8. The Power on your side - Allianz Group
9. You are in good hands - Allstate Insurance Company
10. Lalach Aaha Laplap - Alpenliebe
11. Lets Go - Alto
12. Lasts Long, Really Long, Ting Tong - Amaron
13. Fragrance Your Imagination - Ambipur
14. Its Gone - Amrutanjan
15. Kick Out Pain - Amrutanjan
16. Pure Healthy Essence - Amrutanjan
17. Ye toh bada toing hain - Amul Macho
18. Better Ideas - Amway
19. We are listening - Amway
20. Racing DNA Unleashed - Apache
21. Cool Drink to Hang Out With - Appy Fizz
22. USA 1851 - Arrow
23. Be Life Confident - AXA UK
24. Stop @ Nothing - A Star
25. Making More Possible - ABN AMRO Bank