Just as the Eskimos are reputed to have umpteen words for snow, so I notice just how many terms the Spanish have for different types of peppers and squid. They, meanwhile, can't believe just how many words we Brits have for root vegetables (e.g. swedes, turnips, celeriac, etc, etc...) that are just types of "nabos" for them.
Our linguistic usage is governed by our surroundings. However, one semantic fault is universal: no language anywhere has enough words for love.
In Denise Riley’s recent short collection of essays, A Chorus of Ears
(Picador), she reflects on the way the persona of the poet frequently gets
in the way...
