WHEN WORDS FAIL US
There are in everyday life, many", things which we find difficult to dei" cribe. 3?oi instance, how many candescribe the .difference in flavour be* tween tea and coffee? It sounds simple^ but it requires the services of an expert; in beverages to do so. ".
Dictionary descriptions are considererl to define an object so accurately that no other description is admissible, an<l in most cases the information is conclusive. But. take the -word "violin, J« which the dictionary describes as "£ four-3tringed musical instrument played - with a bow." If this information were; supplied to a Pitcairn Islander and ha were asked to draw the- instrumentassuming, of course, that he had never seen a violin—the result would ba alarming. . Only a mathematician can describe a spiral staircase. Most people attempt to do so by a circular . movement ofi tho finger. '"•'.'•', Everyone who has seen a. concertina' "knows" it, tut the chances are that art attempt to describe tho Instrument wonld hopelessly confuse almost every-* one.
The description of flowers is impose sible without a standard—which masj bo well known—as a basis of visuaj comparison.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19340516.2.128
Bibliographic details
Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 114, 16 May 1934, Page 12
Word Count
185WHEN WORDS FAIL US Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 114, 16 May 1934, Page 12
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