If one is inclined to have a God, especially one whom we call by name, a benevolent, loving, kind, merciful, gracious God (as opposed to a god of the dark side), then one is fully versed in the words of Love, having had a relationship with a mostly intangible being, like a parent who guides and regards and upholds us; then we are well versed in the depths of all the emotions and thoughts and feelings, sensations and intuitive gratitude, even remorse or regret if not loved properly; all in their varying degrees and intensities. We all have a fully functioning sense of nurturing and being nurtured, unless there is a psychological deficit leading to psycho or sociopathy. The words are the cloaks in which those experiences are wrapped, and to say that English lacks a vocabulary for that is simply overlooking the depths of our reach for its capacity. Just read Shakespeare's sonnets or the poetry and prose of any fully expressive soul Yeats, Barret-Browning, even some of the greatest lyrics in Rock and Roll are love songs shared with the purest depths of the soul. English has the most vast and varied vocabulary of any language in the modern world, it just depends on what one focuses on. What are those 96 words? I was yearning to see the list and to find just the right words in English to translate them. One word vs. an expression is convenient, but is it always accurate? I find this article a teaser, was hoping for a stronger lesson here. If the lesson is that Godlessness has flattened the language of the modern speaker, no doubt, but I argue, certainly not the lexicon nor the capacity to employ it in English. I love you all, I love where this has moved me, I love that I live in a country free enough to express my feelings (unless you're in a book burning state). Peace, love and mercy to us all.
On Jan 19, 2024 Karen Charbonneau Zukas wrote :