Word Lover!!!

Good morning!

Today my post is on being a word lover! I love words! Maybe that is kind of unusual, I don't really know! I do know that I've always been this way! In most things that I do, I try to pass on my love of words.

"What do I do that shows I love words", you ask? Here are some;

I love to write; my blog has really helped this past time for me! I have always wanted to have something published and have written numerous articles, editorials, letters, tutorials, and even started some children's stories. I know that to become a better writer, you must write every day! While I'm not up to every day, my blog posts help me to do that several times a week!

I pass on my knowledge of words and language to my children and to the children I see at school. Just the other day, my teenager called me a "walking thesaurus" when I suggested a phrase for his forensics speech! I took this as an odd compliment....maybe he was really being smart-mouthed with me! In garden club, with second to fifth graders, each month I try to provide a multi-levelled lesson, complete with new vocabulary for those that "have a need to know". I know....I was one of those children, a long time ago! When I see my first grade book club, once a week, we talk about words and how strange they are; to, too, and two; who knew they could all be so different? And how about homophones and homonyms? This week in my third grade writer's circle, we will be starting poetry! The third graders are smart and most working above their grade level. Our concentration there will be on making wise word choices to make our poetry descriptive and aesthetically pleasing to the ear.

I am fascinated by our language and the decoding process. Some children learn that so quickly, while some never seem to be able to unlock the key to all the codes. I recently started to substitute teach for ESL (English as a Second Language). Our community has a large Hmong population. I really enjoy this! It is enlightening to me to be able to try and describe a word and its meaning and/or use in English. I recently joined Merriam Webster's word of the day. This word is automatically e-mailed to me and there is even a pod-cast link for the word! It helps that the pod-caster has a very nice, deep, soothing voice!

Now, you are thinking; "well she probably has some college degree in language arts". I don't. However, I did take Latin in high school (a very long time ago) and have a medical/nursing background. Although, I'm not sure which came first with either of those; the love of words or the necessary immersion in the discipline. Surprisingly enough, I do not speak another language. However, have been thinking about learning one!

In any case, I know I am a logophile. And that is my word for the day as I had to look it up this morning! I did not know what a lover of words was called! Now, I do.

Thanks for tuning in! Please visit my other blog on my jewelry website;

http://www.carolsjewelryorchard.com

I posted there about my newest creations! Just click on Carol's Blog on the menu.

Have a Sunny Day!

~Carol~

Business and Language Arts.....Does it Really Matter?

Okay, I am going out on a limb somewhat here! However, twice this week, I've had electronic/digital business contacts with a of couple people that had atrocious grammer and spelling!

It got me thinking about whether this really matters in business these days. What do you think? In the first case, I was looking to buy something from a vendor and each item description had many, many spelling errors!!! I'm not the best speller myself, but I usually check a word, if I'm not sure. And I probably rely on the dictionary a greater percentage of time than spell check on the computer. Part of the issue today may be all this texting that goes on. Words are shortened to barely recognizable abbreviations and texting has generated a shorthand language of its own. I have to admit that I don't text. So, maybe that's part of my problem. But the spelling errors I saw weren't of a texting type of shorthand, they were just odd phonetic variations. I don't expect perfect spelling from anyone. But, I had to stop and "figure out" what this person was trying to describe about the product! So, I considered not buying from this vendor, as I really didn't feel this was good business form. It made me wonder about quality. In the end, I caved in and purchased what I wanted from this challenged speller. I'm hoping the spelling isn't a reflection of the quality of goods that I will receive. I'm betting that all will be well with the purchase, but down deep I'd have felt better about it if the spelling had been more correct.

The other experience I had this week was receiving an e-mail from a person that I do business with locally. There was no capitalization in the whole e-mail, despite it being written in a letter format. It was several sentences long! I just didn't understand that either! This person is highly educated, but I believe very short on time. So, that is the excuse I am attributing to her lack of grammer!

The sad part is that in today's world, I'm not sure any of this matters. I guess I didn't let it interfer with my purchases, in the first case. Keep in mind, I have yet to see the goods, however. I'll let you know next week about that. I know we are all pressed for time and the world moves at a fast pace. I suppose that I am just a person that likes to write properly. I love words, their meanings, and intonations. I still love getting and sending hand-written letters. My children are still made to write thank-you notes by hand. And that probably brings me to the root of some of my problem with this. I am still in a stage of life where I am helping school aged children (my own and others) learn to write properly. So, it spills over to expecting it from adults involved in business transctions. However, I'm coming to the realization that I'll just have to take the new altered language arts of the digital world in stride when it comes to business!

On a lighter note, I have a new collection of jewelry in my shop that is being added to daily. It is called the Aloha Collection, inspired by all things Hawaiian. I have also added a few nice pieces for Valentines Day!
Check them out at: http://carolsjewelryorchard.etsy.com