Motus Mentis

In my ceaseless foraging for blog-fodder, I ran across this clickbait today:

10+ Hilarious Reasons Why The English Language Is The Worst

“The worst”? Au contraire, say I: what other language has such richness of idiom, precision and discrimination?

Anyway, off to the linked item I went. It began:

English is a mystery to all of us, whether you’ve been speaking it since day one, or you’ve just started to learn it. From its bizarre spelling rules to its free-for-all grammar, it’s a daily struggle just trying to form sentences that make sense.

For some of us, I suppose.

No wonder people are turning to emoji to express their thoughts.

Strewth! This is what’s called a “category error”. Here’s an example of a “thought”:

He who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition will waste his life in fruitless efforts.

If you can express that with emoji, please astonish me by doing so. The comment-box is open.

The truth, I fear, is that if people are “turning to emoji to express their thoughts”, it’s because they are no longer being taught how to have “thoughts”. The world now runs on feelings.

Good Lord, what a mess we’re in.