I’ve got a minor hobby in addition to writing – learning foreign languages. Apparently, I’ve got quite an ear for it. A professional Mandarin translator told me I have the best Mandarin Chinese accent she’s ever heard from someone with no Chinese ancestry.
The moment you begin learning any foreign language, you begin to understand how little Americans know about their own language. We know from usage and sound what words work. We know very little about genetive tense (descriptive). I doubt most of you have heard of it until this minute.
Now, here’s an assignment – take 8 lessons in Koine Greek. That’s the Greek between the Attic period until modern Greek. I’ve had a year of Koine Greek. It is ridiculously precise. By lesson 8, you’ve learned about object vs subject, indirect vs. Direct article, and you’re learning about suffix tenses identifying not only the tense, but whether it’s completed, whether it’s feminine vs. masculine tense, etc.
Okay, now take one year of English grammar. Whew! What a relief. English is a funny collection of words from many foreign languages, assembled loosely into one language. German, Turkish, Latin, Hebrew, French, Scottish Gaelic, and Saxon fight their way into making up our eclectic language. I remember once learning a sentence containing words of all the above languages, something like “Please pass me a cup of coffee.”
The difficult thing is not learning English grammar – it’s that we even have a Grammar at all! The composer Wagner used to describe English as a dialect, not a language. While of course I disagree, linguists probably grasp his point of view.
A writer uses words as tools. Let’s look for example at a writing tip I gave about a year ago. I use the word “Hit” constantly in fight scenes. It’s a weak verb as it has many shades of meanings. As a result, it doesn’t fully convey action well. Did Joe collide with Frank? Did Joe run into Frank? Was it weak, ineffectual, or did it paralyze, stun or incapacitate him?
When I go into edit phase, I begin hunting down and changing every weak verb. Hit is the first victim. Smash, strike, buffet, slam, etc take its place. Why?
Obviously, the words – through their own sound – conjure up stronger images than the lesser “hit”.
H. P. Lovecraft did the same thing In his writings, but he had taken this to a level that most people never could reach – he invented words. To create the sensation of what your senses would perceive in his horrific writings, he would put together syllables and consonants in such a way that the meaning was obvious – by its very nature, it conjured up the sense he was trying to convey. I used to have a list of all the words he invented for his stories. Some people can read a novel and tell immediately if the author was a Lovecraft fan – I’m sure the Lovecraft influence is obvious in my writings to such an expert.
To create the sensation of something heavy and wet hitting a solid object, Lovecraft would make sure to have a G instead of a harder consonant, and the first consonant had to be an S. Words to suggest someone speaking in a stuttering language started in G, B in the middle, ending in NG. If you can find the entire list, leave a comment below and I’ll add it to this article at the end!
The fact I am using the Lovecraft WordPress theme is a complete coincidence – I just felt it gave the right look for my website.
You and I don’t have to go to this extent, but every writer should most definitely know the rules for grammar. Start compiling lists (using a good thesaurus) of words that (by meaning or sound) convey the kind of impression you want to leave the reader with.
Conclusion
Before you begin submitting your novels for publication, ensure you’ve gotten at least one year’s worth of study in English grammar. I’m sure YouTube is chock full of videos of English Grammar for writers! I doubt they outnumber the “World’s Worst Drivers!” accident compilations, but there’s got to be a thousand English Grammar playlists out there for free!
Start looking. Words are your tools.
