Analytical Writing
My degrees are in STEM so my language tends to be rather artificial and scientific. It is succinct; not flowery in any way. It is descriptive only when necessary, never just for the sake of it. It is calculated; a science, rather than an art. And in my personal life, my language (especially in writing) uses a lot of abbreviations and emojis (symbols).
I do think this type of language has value.
Recently, I applied for a job that requires some radio communication. There was a preliminary aptitude test where I had to demonstrate my ability to read and speak in code as well as remember things for long periods of time. It is much easier to remember a few key words and symbols than a long, rambling paragraph. That, as well as clarity and purpose, are the reasons why air traffic controllers for example, probably shouldn’t speak like Shakespeare- with similes and metaphors. That would be dangerous.
Creative Writing
But for this blog I have had to revive some of my creative writing skills from the dead. I have surprised myself with how many words I have had to spell check or how vaguely I remember certain grammar rules.
I was recently proofreading one of my blog posts before I published it. The blog post is called Competing With a Ghost and this is the paragraph that my mind lingered on:
“A person’s ghost lingers long after they have gone. They might be gone from this world or just gone from our lives. Either way, their memory is what remains and they cannot add or take away from this anymore.”
It was specifically the last word of the last sentence that caught my eye. I had originally written “any more”. Two words; as in adding anything else to their legacy. However, I changed it to “anymore” to mean “any longer”. Changing this gave the sentence a slightly different, but still accurate meaning. This blog has been getting me reacquainted with words like that.
Modern Language
I am a native English speaker, but I think the new modern forms of English are much more robotic than their previous iterations. Due to practical and cultural reasons, language tends to reflect the era in which it is being used.
Today, language often prioritizes efficiency and exactness. Which, like I said earlier, has its practical benefits. And images like emojis or memes are just the modern version of cave paintings or hieroglyphs; they are meant to convey a story through a single image or series of images. People of different languages and cultures can understand their meaning. That is beautiful.
Code-Switching
I am having an interesting time at the intersection of all these different forms of language- using coding professionally, simplified language and symbols in my personal life, and descriptive language for this blog. My mind feels like a place where a river meets the lapping waves of an ocean and the filtered water of a water treatment plant. Each has its purpose. Each is going in its own direction, but somehow they mix and interact.
Messy Bun Book Lover
(Originally posted on July 3, 2025)