English
#ChangeLanguageChangeMinds #BlackIsBeautiful #DarkIsDarling #BlackIsNOTBad #DarkIsNOTBad #NoMoreBlackIsBad #NoMoreDarkIsBad
The use of darkness as a synonym for “bad” is a microaggression that results in macro-oppression. The constant devaluing of darkness pings upon the…
Read MoreWords Beginning With “STR”
The sound “str” is all about objects that are straight, or have structure: “straw” in “strawberries,” for instance, are little straight lines that align. When…
Read MoreWords Beginning With “CR”
The sound “cr” implies a narrow hole, such as a crack or crevice, or even something bigger that might hold a creature, such as…
Read MoreWords Beginning With “CL”
The sound “cl” implies two or more things that cluster together because they are very close. They might share a hinge or symmetry or…
Read MoreWords Beginning With “GR”
The sound “gr” is all about watching the growth of green things: grapes, grass, grain, which all gradually ripen, and when they reach the grocery store,…
Read MoreWords Beginning With “TH”
Words that begin with “th” are often about other people: One of the biggest holidays in the United States is Thanksgiving, and it always falls…
Read MoreWords Beginning With “SH”
There are many types of shells: eggshells, seashells, and the outer shell of beans, but all are a shelter for what is inside. “Sh!”…
Read MoreWords Beginning With “GL”
The sound “GL” has “reflection” at its root because “glacier” and “glaze” show characteristics of ice, which glows when light hits it. Icing or…
Read MoreWords Beginning With “FR”
The sound “fr” suggests fragmentation. Freckles are fragments of melanin. French fries are fractions of potato. Human fractures make one frail. A frog jumps…
Read MoreWords Beginning With “BR”
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Language operates on metaphor: The sound “Br” imparts the sense of “branch”—and the actual branch turns into practical broom or brush: a tool.…
Read MoreWords Beginning With “BL”
The sound “BL” implies a relationship with eyes: “blink” is two eyes closing and opening—“blind” is when they never reopen. The colors “blue” and…
Read MoreLetter A: From Hawk to Ox
The oldest Egyptian hieroglyphs to have been discovered were inscribed around 3200 BC, fully formed, with no clear antecedent. This is more than 5,000…
Read MoreBreasts, Vaginas, and Tools: Musings on the roots of our alphabet
If you want to describe something to someone, but neither of you speak the same language, drawing a picture is the simplest way to…
Read MoreMaggie Li’s Speech: When Socrates Meets Confucius
Maggie Li, whose real name is pronounced “Lee Chee” (Li Qi is the pinyin) is a friend and student of mine who came in…
Read MoreIn Chinese, English, Egyptian, and Hebrew, A Similar Symbol Represents “Tits”
太太 = Mrs. tàitài tai4 tai4 Think about a “Mrs.” at a time of no birth control. These two “tais” represent breasts. “Tài tài”…
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