My 1st Step to 1 BCH...

First things First

I think it is only fitting to write this as my first article after deciding on my 1 BCH goal, which I'd written about in "A Journey to 1 BCH starts with...".

Though it is not the first time I'd written on ReadCash, it is a first with a goal in mind. A phrase attribute to Zig Ziglar goes like this - “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.” It is so easy to focus on the second part of that phrase and think I'm doing well. Maybe some take comfort in that but that's not what I want. The reality is that the first part of the phrase makes all the difference in determining if I'm on the right course. In short, if I don't have a goal, I'll end up nowhere. Part of this goal is getting better at utilizing the language that I write in.

Writing in English

If you've followed my thoughts until here, you'd have realized that the medium of communication here is the English language.

Ethnologue.com states that English is the largest language in the world, if you count both native and non-native speakers.

Over the years, I've learned that even if you have not mastered a language completely, it is still possible to follow what is being communicated. At the minimum, the intended main point is understood. I say this because this is a comforting thought for someone whose first language is not English. Truth be told, even if English is someone's first language doesn't guarantee a smooth delivery of thoughts in words.

With this in mind, I propose we look at the most common language we communicate in here at ReadCash - English.

Whether it's English or not, learning another language is never easy. We often take them for granted. This is especially true if it's our mother tongue where using it is second nature to us.

My own perception on languages is that it is developed over time based on the necessity to communicate some of these - an idea, an experience, an observation, a story and generally a transfer of knowledge.

Needless to say, this communication can evoke an emotional response - joy, sadness, contemplation, disgust, intrigue. The results are endless. In a sense, it lubricates the gears of communication and makes the world go around.

Speaking of lubrication, let's switch the gear a little. I'd mentioned in my last article that I'll make my articles fun and brief. We're still on the subject of writing in English but we'll have a little bit of fun with it.

Let's have Fun

I'd like to have some fun with the English language. We have a look at some words or phrase that's amusing for one reason or another.

Know your vegetables

Do you see eggs in eggplant? No? Why not? Why is it called an eggplant then? How about grapefruit? Any grapes there? Oh, okay. How about pineapple? Any pines or apples? Confusing, eh? Interestingly, other languages for this fruit don't come anywhere close to the word "pineapple". Google it.

Well, the fun has just started.

Know your animals/insects

Fireflies. Yeah, you get my drift. Have you ever come across gentlemanbugs? Why not? Simple, there are only ladybugs. hahaha..I know, it's a lame joke.

Here's a really fun one before we move on. Fried Egg Jellyfish. Google it. I'm sure you'll get a kick out of this one. Recall what I mentioned earlier about language being a medium to communicate what we observe and from experience? This is definitely a combination of these two factors.

Know your signs

Ever seen these signs:

• Watch your head. That's gonna be awfully difficult to do if you don't have your handphone on selfie mode.

• Danger Ahead. If this was spoken, putting the emphasis and punctuations on the correct spot makes a whole lot of difference. Not convinced? Read this aloud with emphasis on the bold letter/letters:

  • Danger Ahead?

  • Danger Ahead!

I'm sure you've come across a few others that I'm not aware of. Do share in the comments if you have.

Final Thoughts

My first step is to ensure that both you and I have fun with my articles. I'm very certain my enjoyment in producing them will carry forward to you, my readers.

English is fun. It's a tough language to learn and master but it is a fun language. It is the language I'll use in my articles.

I'll end this article by quoting a tweet from David Burge from a few years back. He tweeted - Yes, English can be weird. It can be understood through tough thorough thought, though.

Opening the door to welcome this knowledge, I'm almost done with my final draft. (Get it, get it? Door, draft? Lol.) As usual, I'll dress this up with some complementary images before serving you the original copy.

Food for thought until the next article:

What's a final draft? Is it final yet? Or is it still a draft? Along with the same line of thought, how about an original copy?

Sources:

Header: Unsplash.com - Jan Tinneberg

Image 1: Unsplash.com - Ivan Shilov

Image 2 (cropped): Unsplash.com - Hello I'm Nik

Image 3 Unsplash.com - Austin Chan

Crazy English - Richard Lederer (A book I'd enjoyed reading)

Thank you for reading and have fun with English. Remember to share your experience.

Do drop by to say hi at my following addresses. I promise I'll be at home :)

NoiseCash: UplandDood

Twitter: UplandDood

Publish0x: UplandDood (link takes you to site. You'll have to search for UplandDood to find me)