147. Why fine lexicographers do not become fine writers except Dr. Johnson? P S Remesh Chandran

147

Why fine lexicographers do not become fine writers except Dr. Johnson?

P. S. Remesh Chandran
 
Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum
 

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We have heard about fine lexicographers and about fine writers but rarely have we heard about fine lexicographers who are also fine writers. One of the rare exemptions to this was Dr. Samuel Johnson. And among the pioneers of lexicography there were a few other such eminent writers as J. R. R. Tolkien, Thomas Dyche, Noah Webster and Nicolas Slonimsky, whose careers remind us that in the beginning it were writers who took up the additional job of collecting words and compiling dictionaries out of need to help themselves and those coming after them. But soon there were no more fine writers among fine lexicographers.

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Take the example of the word lexicographer itself. Why do some writers choose to use the words lexicologist, neologist or etymologist instead? It is not an ‘instead’. It was writers who invented these words or coined them using their native or Greek, Latin, English or French roots, and adding to these roots prefixes or suffixes in front or back or both when their need demanded. Writers created words, not lexicographers. Writers asked no one’s permission before creating words and they didn’t need to ask anyone too. They are licensed to deal licentiously with language. That is their privilege which is to the world’s advantage.

 
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So, unless there are writers and a resulting literature, there will be no lexicographers in a country. From the period when lexicography began in a country or a language, we can roughly arrive at the time when literature began and ripened there, enough to demand the collection, classification and compilation of words not only in their language but in other languages also to warrant the inevitable supply. In this aspect, the history of lexicology is also our guide to when writers and literature originated in those countries, which in itself is a denotation mark of when and where civilization flourished and when and where there were darkness at that time.

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Dictionaries, lexicons, thesauruses and glossaries were in need when the number of writers in a country increased. The time when these compilations came into demand also tells us the time when literature in those countries became ripe. So, we come to conclude that literature became ripe in Greece far earlier than 3rd century BC. 300 years later Ancient Rome made it during the time of Jesus Christ. China also made it even before the same century ended. Egypt and Italy passed that mark in 2nd and 3rd centuries. During the 8th, 9th and 11th centuries (1) Iraq, (2) Japan & Spain, and (3) Turkey & Italy respectively produced their first Arabic, Japanese and Hebrew language thesauruses, lexicons or dictionaries. England and France came up with their first dictionaries in the middle of the 13th century but they were not English or French but Latin and Croatian bilinguals. They had to wait till Germany’s Lithuanian dictionary of 16th century came out, to publish their first English and French dictionaries soon after. But Poland and Turkey also produced theirs during the same time and stole the thunder. Perhaps the Germans did not give their presses. By the middle of the 18th century the English had brought printing to India and by then even this author’s native language of Kerala, Malayalam, also had a comprehensive dictionary thanks to the Germans. By going approximately 300 years back from these time marks, we can deduce the time when literature and writers in these languages and countries took proper form.

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Can lexicographers order writers that they must use such and such words at such and such places for such and such purposes? Then why not they, learned in all these words far better than any writer write books? They lack the main ingredient- imagination and the power to create. When Geoffrey Chaucer thought the word ‘books’ is not sufficient to transfer to the mind of the reader the impression of a heavy load of books a student carries, he simply used the word ‘bookès’. It was plain licentious dealing with language. But who is to question the Father of the English Language? Whatever he used the society accepted and became theirs. Matthew Arnold observed that writers’ such licentious dealing with language is beautiful and what adds richness to language. So now we have a student ‘carrying a set of bookès’. 

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But what will happen if a modern day grammarian sees this? He will immediately look up ‘his bible’ and give the verdict that Geoffrey Chaucer did not know spellings and the proper forms of words! He will try to correct the ‘misspelling’ and spread the word which finally will reach the editor of an ancient printing house who will tell the grammarian that the spelling cannot be corrected and that is what that mark above the ‘è’ is placed there for- for reminding the ‘è’ must be stressed, not left out or removed. So that is why now no lexicographers become writers: they lack the basic ingredients- imagination and the power to create. The first shock to these kinds of grammarians was Robert Browning’s publication of The Grammarian’s Funeral which the world celebrated and laughed a lot over which. 

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More English articles by the author at:  
http://sahyadribooks-remesh.blogspot.com/
 
Malayalam articles by the author at:  
http://sahyadrimalayalam.blogspot.in/
 
More political article by the author here:  
http://sahyadribooks-remesh.blogspot.com/p/list-of-political-articles.html
 
About the Author P. S. Remesh Chandran:

Editor of Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum. Author of several books in English and in Malayalam. And also author of Swan: The Intelligent Picture Book. Born and brought up in the beautiful village of Nanniyode in the Sahya Mountain Valley in Trivandrum, in Kerala. Father British Council trained English teacher and Mother University educated. Matriculation with distinction and Pre Degree Studies in Science with National Merit Scholarship. Discontinued Diploma studies in Electronics and entered politics. Unmarried and single.

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E-Mail: bloombookstvm@gmail.com
 
Post: P. S. Remesh Chandran, Editor, Sahyadri Books, Trivandrum, Padmalayam, Nanniyode, Pacha Post, Trivandrum- 695562, Kerala State, South India.
 
Tags:

Lexicographer, Lexicologist, Neologist, Etymologist, Lexicology, Lexicons, Dictionaries, Thesauruses, Glossaries, Writers, Words Collection Classification Compilation, Dr Samuel Johnson, Bilinguals, // Noah Webster, Geoffrey Chaucer, Literature, Grammarians, Licentious Language, Greek Latin English French Roots, Prefixes Suffixes,

First published:

030. Father’s Help. R K Narayan Story. Reintroduced By P S Remesh Chandran

030.

Father’s Help. R K Narayan Story. Reintroduced By P S Remesh Chandran

Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum

  
First published: 11th Jul 2011
 

Children are very reluctant to go school due to various reasons, especially on Monday mornings. They will find many excellent reasons for not going to school, which are not new to us as we all had taken out the same excuses in our childhood days to evade going to school. But it is good to be very sympathetic and considerate to them in their little problems which to them are big. Who knows whether they would be having big genuine problems in school or not? 

A tale from the banks of the imaginary Sarayoo River.

R. K. Narayan is a famous novelist and short-story writer from India. Many of his stories are pictured to be happening in the Malgudi District in South India which never existed. These stories became famous as the Malgudi Stories. Malgudi is an imaginary district situated on the banks of the imaginary Sarayoo River. It is widely believed that this Sarayoo River made its appearance on this earth from the heaven and in the middle of forgotten ages decided to disappear below ground. The scientists and explorers did try to prove the once-existence of this mythical river. R.K.Narayan’s Malgudi District stories are in this respect identical to Thomas Hardy's Wessex County novels. Narayan's style is simple, lucid and humorous. Narayan's father's name was Krishnaswami Iyer of Rasipuram in Tamil Nadu, who was a provincial school headmaster. His brother R.K.Laxman also is a renowned cartoonist.

Would anyone enter the mind of children going to school unwillingly after protestation? 

Dream of a nation, future of a generation.

The South Indian boy Swami is reluctant to go to school on Mondays as boys everywhere are which a universal phenomenon is. He told his mother that he cannot go to school that day because he had a headache, which also is universal. Going in a Jutka (cart) will only make things worse. Moreover, he had no important lessons for that day. He convinced his mother who was very easy to be convinced as mothers everywhere are, but his father was a very stubborn person. He lied to his father that Samuel teacher would beat him mercilessly if he went to class late and that it was very late to go to school already. The teacher was a very violent man who would cut him to pieces with a cane and twist his ears. He also told his father a few false stories about Samuel teacher's cruelty to children. His father became such furious that he wrote a very lengthy letter to the Headmaster which would bring Samuel teacher's sure punishment and eventual dismissal from service. Thus Swami was forced to attend school that day with this letter. 

One day is enough for a boy to provoke a teacher into doing some horrible crimes against him. 

The Cuba School Bus.

On his way to school Swami had many thoughts. Samuel teacher was not a very bad teacher. Of course he beat boys, but he was not totally unkind as the other teachers. Swami could not find any fault with that man that would make his dismissal from service deserving. By the time he reached the school gates, he had resolved to hand over the letter to the Headmaster not in the morning, but only in the evening. Within that time, he was sure he could do something most mischievous to provoke the teacher to do some horrible crime against him that would make his punishment justifiable.

The astonished student found that the teacher has developed tolerance and gentleness overnight. 

Educational authorities fly in imported cars. From India.

Samuel teacher taught Arithmetic in Swami's class in the morning and History in the evening. In the Arithmetic class he was not punished for coming late or for not doing his homework. He was not minded but just ignored. His headache was readily accepted as an excuse. To his astonishment, the teacher seemed to have developed tolerance and gentleness overnight. He waited for the History class in the evening to come. In the History class he tried in many crazy ways to provoke the teacher to beat him. He asked many wayward questions, shouted several times in the class and answered questions that were asked to others. Finally he succeeded in obtaining eight hot cane cuts on his palm. Thus, when the evening bell rang, with satisfaction and without feeling any guilt, he went to the Headmaster's room to deliver the letter from his father. Alas, the Headmaster was on leave for a week and the Assistant Headmaster Samuel teacher was in-charge of the Headmaster. He did not dare deliver the letter to the man. When he returned home his father called him a coward, and tore the letter to pieces. 

Had there been no problems in school, would the child be unwilling to go to school? 

Going to school by Tuk Tuk.

This story was written by R.K.Narayan in the beginning of the Twentieth century, based on the experiences of a child in Indian circumstances. The times have changed and the perspective has now become universal. Academic syllabuses and the modes of students' travel to schools have changed much. But what did not change was our attitude to children's problems. Had there been no problems in school, and had the school atmosphere been very interesting and stimulating to children with their friends and play opportunities, would a child be unwilling to go to school? There of course are genuine reasons for a child to be refusing to go to school.

Sadism and masochism now prevalent and dominant in the teaching world. 

Protective shield of her elder sister.

Pestering and persecuting teachers are the prime reason for the child trying to keep away from school. Sadists and masochists are now in plenty among the teachers. Professional quality of teachers has also dwindled. Ethics in profession and pedagogical values are never kept. Trade unionism consumed and ate into excellence. Corruption is the face mark of educational administration. Governments shamelessly accept money from bargaining private managements and license opening and running of schools as they like including medical schools. Politicians and legislators are no more ashamed at the guilt of getting in the middle of auctioning of school permits. In India, if we give bribe to educational authorities and the private school managements, any low class graduate can become a teacher. Even talented teachers have to secure their jobs through bribery. This dissatisfaction and hatred they feel in securing their jobs are extended towards children in the form of intolerance, leading ultimately to unrest in schools. The child has nothing at all to do in this except bear the brunt of things.

Educators around the world have become one of the obstacles to education. 

Laughter often fades when they reach school.

Another factor that make children loath going to school is their backpacks. It weighs often up to 20-25 kilos. When we ask children why it is so, they answer that everything has to be taken to school each day, if not the teacher will beat them, put them out of class or send them away from school. We will wonder whether drug companies manufacturing medicines for back pains and back bone deformities are bribing the world educational authorities to continue this practice and keep back from bringing about humanitarian legislation. Why can't the world legislate and limit their daily burden to below 5 kilos, including water bottles and food? When one of the world renowned teachers, writers, philosophers and former Presidents of India Dr.S.Radhakrishnan said "we are faced with the paradoxical fact that educators have become one of the obstacles to education," it was very true. The morning face of a child going to school is the most beautiful thing in this world to see. That radiance there is the guarantee that human beings are taken care of in the Universe. Will it continue to be so in the coming years?

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Pictures Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
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Tags

Behaviour Of Children In Schools, Boys In School, Novelists, P S Remesh Chandran, Reintroductions, Reluctance Of Children To Go To School, Sahyadri Books Bloom Books Trivandrum, Short Stories, Short Story Writers, Stories, Writers, Writers From India
 

Meet the author
PSRemeshChandra
 
Editor of Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum. Author of several books in English and in Malayalam. And also author of Swan : The Intelligent Picture Book.