The JRW Blog

There’s nothing wrong with having an insatiable desire to read. To get your hands on anything and everything having to do with the printed word. Since the mid-20^th century, scholars have viewed reading as a facet of language. Once eclipsed by the practice of silent reading, oral reading has regained the place of importance it held in previous decades when people gathered in public places to hear a spokesperson recite the latest news.

Seeking wider knowledge

Two separate studies, one done in 1978 and another in 1983, looked at the value of repeated readings to improve fluency. The readings were conducted by teachers who could help with the pronunciation of difficult words. The studies revealed that repeated readings lessened mispronunciations and improved reading rates. Another study in 1986 revealed that while a middle school student might only read 100,000 words in a year’s time, the average reader might easily read 10 times that many. A large volume reflects greater vocabulary exposure and therefore a greater grasp of global knowledge.

Which brings us to the Founders         

Thomas Jefferson had a passion for books that was shared by his peers. These were men who read widely, studied the precepts of government and learned all they could about the meaning of freedom. The framework for building our country evolved because of their passion for reading. Their personal libraries were large and contained a diversity of reading material. When the fifty-five delegates met to draft our Constitution in 1787, James Madison’s library, already expansive, boasted an additional 200 volumes that Jefferson had purchased for him in Paris.

Privileged colonial women read as widely as their husbands. They enjoyed the classics, studied history and soaked up current events. Many of the books in their libraries came through circulating libraries that brought novels from England.

Still an essential skill

Today, we often think of the fruits of reading in connection with the education of our children. A busy life often interferes with the time an adult would otherwise set aside for reading. But here’s the thing: Reading boosts brain power, which can help sustain memory and brain function as we age. Even a work of fiction can provide helpful information and make an adult more open-minded.

Thomas Jefferson knew that the knowledge contained in books was vital to the successful emergence of the new country. To him, reading was as essential as breathing. “I cannot live without books,” he once wrote to John Adams. He and his cohorts were the ultimate bookworms. And if reading can help shape a nation, think what it can do in your life.

Ready for a little history?

If visiting Florence, Italy, in the early 15^th century, you would find the Via de Librai, or the Street of Booksellers, in the heart of the city. The various booksellers and stationers on the street sold paper from nearby paper mills and parchment made from the skin of calves or goats. But most importantly, they produced manuscripts, which they sold according to the customer’s requirements. For example, you could have a scribe copy a particular manuscript and perhaps illuminate it with gold leaf and painted designs.

Avid readers

Many Florentines purchased books: seven out of ten adults could read and write. So, too, could many girls who were taught these skills from an early age. Almost 80% of Florentine boys attended school. In 1420, princes and religious personages amassed large libraries. Scholars and philosophers gathered on the Via de Librai to discuss the works of ancient Greeks and Romans. At the time, some were fortunate enough to own works by Lucretius and Cicero that had been lost for centuries.

A new book

As you stroll along the Via de Librai, you might visit one of the larger bookshops owned by a man named Guarducci, who paid rent to abbey monks at the rate of 15 florins per year plus a pound of candle wax. After scribes made a copy of the manuscript you brought, Guarducci’s young assistant would take the dozens of pages, assemble them in proper order then stitch them together with leather thongs. The pages would then be neatly placed between wooden boards that you might want covered with fabric or leather.

Looking ahead

While adding to your personal library, you could chat with fellow bookworms who often gathered outside Guarducci’s shop, intellectuals who exchanged ideas for creating a better society. Reading and the wisdom it brought inspired 14^th-century Florentines to hope for a full life based on friendship, loyalty, justice and political freedom.

What an interesting concept.

In Florida, Governor DeSantis has taken on the woke world, as you may know. Now he has signed legislation that prohibits teachers from quizzing students on their pronoun preferences. HB 1069 states that “a person’s sex is an immutable biological trait,” and “it is false to ascribe to a person a pronoun that does not correspond to such person’s sex.” This is one of a group of bills the governor calls “Let Kids Be Kids.”

Well, I may not be a student any longer, but as a former English major, I am by turns amused and outraged by the pronoun controversy that seems to pop up almost daily.

I keep thinking, “What’s the matter with everybody?”

Among the pronouns that people seem enamored of is “they,” a plural pronoun that refers to more than one individual. But some people seem to think it’s OK to use “they” in a situation that is clearly singular. Here’s an example: A man went into a bar, and they ordered a beer.

Excuse me?

I looked over this guy’s shoulder, expecting to see at least a small group of beer drinkers. But no. Apparently, “they” was used either because the writer wanted to appear cool by today’s woke standards or because it was just too much trouble to be correct and write, “he ordered a beer.”

I do not intend to become embroiled in the pronoun controversy. However, if I’m wearing my “editor hat,” you can be sure that I’m going to correct any woke-inspired pronouns I find. Every time.

Previously, I have written about my interest in words and how the dictionary adds new ones over time. If you like to write, perhaps you are a fan of old words, how they came about, and what they meant. Personally, in this day of woke-isms, preferred pronouns, etc., I find it refreshing to escape into the past and explore the antiquated collection of words that were once common in the English language.

• blutterbunged: surprised, confounded
• flonker: something that is extremely large
• grammar-folk: educated people
• grimbribber: a lawyer, legal jargon
• miscomfrumple: to crease or rumple, as in rumpling another’s dress by sitting too close
• mundivagant: someone wandering through the world
• pig-puzzle: a gate designed to swing both ways to meet a post
• quanked: overly fatigued
• scuggery: hidden, a state of concealment
• slister: to be lazy, to while away time
• transcribbler: someone who transcribes carelessly
• wordify: to put into words

You’ll find a ton of old and interesting words in The Word Museum by Jeffrey Kacirk. But start reading early or you’ll probably be late for your evening bouffage (satisfying meal).

I have always been interested in words, where they came from, and what they mean. But I have to admit that for some time now, new words I simply don’t get seem to pop up almost daily. Some are puzzling eyebrow-raisers that I let slide by because they’re associated with something in which I have no interest. On the other hand, I find that many are worth understanding and storing away for possible future use.

In 2022, 370 new words made the hallowed pages of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Here are just a few:

Galentine’s Day: This is a holiday for celebrating friendships, especially those among women. It is observed on February 13.

Mojo: A word often used to mean a charm or a spell, as in “She’s got her mojo working,” it also refers to a seasoning, sauce or marinade in its latest addition to the dictionary.

Hoglet: A baby hedgehog (used mostly by the British).

Yeet (yeeted, yeeting, yeets): A transitive verb that first came to light in 2007. To yeet means to forcibly throw something without regard to the thing being thrown.

Adorkable: Quirky or awkward in an endearing way.

Janky: This can refer to something that is faulty or not functioning properly. It can also refer to something that is of very poor quality.

Shrinkflation: According to the dictionary, this is the practice of reducing a product’s amount or volume per unit while continuing to offer it at the same price.

Atmospheric river: Here’s a word I heard out of the mouth of a TV meteorologist just recently. It is a “concentrated band of water vapor that flows through the atmosphere and that is a significant part of the global hydrologic cycle and an important source of regional precipitation.” There. Think about that!

Heard a new word that has piqued your curiosity? Check to see if it was worthy of Merriam-Webster’s notice.