“Pursuant to our recent correspondence…” “As discussed heretofore…” “One would anticipate a certain amount of umbrage taken…”
You what??
I recently started an email with the words “Pursuant to our recent correspondence…”. I used it without thinking and thought it quite acceptable until I read it out loud. It then occurred to me that it sounded terribly old-fashioned and staid. I then tried to use “re: our recent correspondence” but the informality and abbreviation of it irked me. I settled with “Further to our correspondence..” But this small incident reaffirmed my realisation that I quite often use archaic language. Indeed, in the first year of my BA in English we had to do Old English, and I remember Dr. Elizabeth Okasha listing words that were now defunct; being an over-eager and shiny new student I went up to her afterwards and said that I still used a number of these words. She gave me the withering look I deserved. But all of this does draw attention to the fact that we all have a different set of words for different contexts. We carry suitcases (or sometimes just small portmanteaux) of synomyms of varying weight and cadence. Depending on who, where and when you are addressing you will alter your choice of words. To your partner: “I’d love a cuppa”; to your neighbour: “I’d love a cup of tea thanks”; to the irritating acquaintance that you are trying to intimidate “Do you have lapsang souchong?”.
If you have moved home, county and country you will frequently even have accents and intonations that alter depending on who you are speaking to. You may greet someone with Howayer, You ‘aright mate, Hi There, or Feck Off. The “Ts” in your “butter” may disappear and reappear, and your “bath” have a long or short “a”. Even if you have a consistent accent your tone will change depending on whether you like, fear or fancy the person you are talking to. The lack of tone is what makes text messages occasionally problematic: “I’m fine”, “Don’t hurry home”. It is impossible to know what our “real” voice or vocabulary is any more than we can know who the “true me” is – though if you want to have a deeper think about this join our philosophy course! In the meantime, consider that “each year, an estimated 800 to 1,000 neologisms are added to English language dictionaries (in the 20th century alone, more than 90,000 words have been added)”. Words are constantly popping into and out of existence; the English language is mutable, mercurial and protean as your sweet self.
westcorkcollegewords 