Apr '13
13
Lovely and talented Irish poet Eleanor Hooker posted a link on Facebook to linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky delivering a lecture in Dublin. He discusses the fundamental nature of language and what it is designed for. He opened by defining language as 'sound with meaning'.
Irish clergyman Edward Hincks (born in 1792) was one of the decipherers of Mesopotamian cuneiform (cuneiform script is one of the earliest known systems of writing).
And so, today’s poem.
Decipherment
Language may be
sound with meaning
or meaning with sound
but I've been fumbling with wording,
mumbling in ears
for years;
my blunt reed
scores cuneiform script
that no-one can read
on clay tablets
that bake
then break.
I say things I don't mean,
say mean things,
or mean things, but don't say them.
You are my Edward Hincks.
Irish clergyman Edward Hincks (born in 1792) was one of the decipherers of Mesopotamian cuneiform (cuneiform script is one of the earliest known systems of writing).
And so, today’s poem.
Decipherment
Language may be
sound with meaning
or meaning with sound
but I've been fumbling with wording,
mumbling in ears
for years;
my blunt reed
scores cuneiform script
that no-one can read
on clay tablets
that bake
then break.
I say things I don't mean,
say mean things,
or mean things, but don't say them.
You are my Edward Hincks.
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