Proper Noun Usage:
An Observation from Ranger Wordsmith, Monitor...
Proper Noun Usage:
An Observation from Ranger Wordsmith, Monitor of Sapient Vocabulary (IE: The Modern Lexicon and Public Vernacular)
— By Ray Palla
Current social media discussions trend is to use a NOUN in the traditional place of an ACTION VERB. It is, by all literary experts, considered to be a faux pas or blunder, but is it really a vernacular carnal sin?
Here’s an example: “John consistently sharks his competition.” If you take it another step further you could end up with a sentence like: “An explosion in the Mid-East today could impetus World War tomorrow.”
On one hand the critics all agree that poor linguistics can kill an author, especially a burgeoning newcomer on the block. The argument from them is that the reader becomes uncomfortable with the dialogue and ultimately bored from the persistent mental translation required by the writer. All the rule books tend to admonish the use of local vernacular, even within fiction works. The ultimate rule book mandate is that all usage of common local phrasing be, at least, kept to the discourse of characters (rather than within the dialog of the protagonist), and confined to a “very minimum” treatment.
On the other hand I submit the examples of Mark Twain’s — “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and its sequel, “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” the latter often called “The Great American Novel.” Or consider Pulitzer Winner Ernest Hemingway’s — “The Old Man and the Sea” or anything written by famous satirist Will Rogers. Without the keenly woven usage of local phrases and colorful catchy words, would any of those works today be considered great? I submit that the answer to that question is a resounding, “No.” I argue that without the astute insight and flair of the vernacular and esoteric lexicon, these books would fall short of conveying a truthful representation of the factual places and times. I father submit that the characters and protagonists alike would appear parched, tired, and perhaps even lifeless.
Today’s phrasings like, “She skanks her way through the high school hallway,” paint a graphic that imposes itself on the mind’s eye. The communication is much faster than the literally approved option, “She looked like a skank as she sashayed through the high school hallway.” I suppose the shortening of things is the result of quickened lifestyle paces and perhaps the use of Twitter and other short-fast methods of interaction. I further suppose that it may be just an inconsequential phase in the development of human nature, but I can’t help but find it entertaining and a livelier approach to attention and interest harvesting.
That said, I submit to you the question, “Within a professionally written work, would you rather read old-school prose, or nose a fresh aroma?”
VERNACULAR:
- Use it? □
- Loose it? □
RPalla.com
