The meaning of meaning
In linguistics there is a sub area where you study meaning – semantics. How do we know what we mean when we speak to one another? What tools do we use to project our meaning other than obvious thing like words and grammar and context? Body language and symbols are basic examples. But what else is there? With your voice you can use pauses, stress and pitch. I wonder if there are any waterproof tools for how to see through a liar. Can you ever be sure you know what is being said to you means?
Today I was translating the noun sentence into French. Easy, it’s just “sentence” pronounced in the exact same way any joker would fake a French version of an English word (may it be the other way around, but you know what I mean). Then my colleague asked me what it is in Swedish and it struck me – we use the same word for sentence as we do for meaning. In fact, there is no equivalent to sentence.
Maybe this says more about the Swedish people than the obvious lack of sense to translate a fairly foundational word. I find that Swedes in general are more honest than average. Slightly stupidly so, because on a twig in the back of our brains sits Jante and says: “you mustn’t adjust the truth to your advantage.” Is it so, that we to a higher extent actually say what we mean? I mean, mean what we say.
No, sorry. We sentence what we say.
Smug Swede
Is the Law of Jante built in to the Swedish language? How else come that a seemingly exact Swedish translation of, for example, “we expect that those who book a table also intend to dine” (“vi förväntar oss att gäster som bokar bordsplatser tänker äta.”), taken from a music venue’s website, only sounds patronising and rebuking?
Money is disgusting
I mean they are literally filthy. It suddenly hit me how medieval of an idea it is for everyone to carry around and change notes and coins with each other that have travelled around for decades. How many pockets has the fiver currently inhabiting my wallet been to? How many bras, boots, floors, bars, how many hands that previously touched other, even filthier notes? I work in a coffee shop. I do not mind carrying heavy parcels or cleaning floors and I thoroughly enjoy scrubbing the toilet. But when I realise that what I do for a living is, to an extent, to exchange hand filth with whoever would like to step into the door of our shop I feel rather disgusted. In fact, I would rather have them throw their dirty laundry at me. The first thing I am going to do when I get rich is to have someone else to handle things like these. I am totally beyond money. Money is for poor people.
Future
For the first time in my life, I’ve done a one year plan. It didn’t even hurt. For the first time since I was born, I sat down and said to myself: “These are the things I do and do not want in the near future. Make them happen, lazy ass.” The result:
- Start a Persian class
- Go to the countryside
- Arrange Christmas
- Go to India
- Stop buying three vintage dresses a month
- Go to university.
Doesn’t seem like that respectable of a list when I look at it, but, you know. It feels great to me.
Farsi
I’m starting an evening class in Persian in October!
