WHEN WORDS FAIL US

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXVI, 19 April 1934, Page 3

WHEN WORDS FAIL US

There are in everyday life many things which we find difficult to describe. For instance, how . many , can describe -the difference in flavour between tea and coffee. It sounds simple, but it requires the services, of an expert in beverages to do so. Dictionary descriptions are considered to define an object so accurately that no other description is admissible, and in most cases the information is conclusive. But take the word--“-violiii,” which the dictionary describes!,as .“a four-stringed musical instrument- played with a bow.” If this information were supplied to a Pitcairn Islander-and he were asked to draw the instrument:— assuming, of course, that he-had’never seen a violin—the result would be: alarming. • Only a mathematician can... describe a spiral staircase. Mosf people atthiii.pt to do so by a circular movement finger. ' Everyone who has seen a concertina “knows” it, but the chances’ are ’that/Sh attempt to describe the instrument would hopelessly confuse almost everyone. •><!;! '. The description of flowers-is impossible without a standard—which must be well-known—as a basis of visual comparison! ;