The Write Way

20 October 2006

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Greetings,

You know by now what a sunny disposition I have ... (I'll pretend you didn't say that ...) and how tolerant and patient I am. It doesn't matter to me what language you speak, where you went to school, what colour you are, what religion you follow or what political party you support; if you have a brain with a few neurons in working order, a heart, a couple of lungs, a liver and at least one functioning kidney, then as far as I'm concerned, we're the same, mate.

(Actually, I lied about the political party ... How anyone could vote for that mean-spirited, humourless, arrogant, morally bankrupt little rodent [insert an image of your favourite politician here] is beyond me!)

Sorry, I was side-tracked for a moment there... Ahem!

So, as the possessor of said sunny disposition, I can tolerate teenagers who wear pants three sizes too big for them. (Remember when your kids were little and you tried to buy them clothes they could grow into? How times change!) 

I can also put up with all those inane reality shows on telly. One of the latest offerings out here supposedly examines important issues of health, such as the snippet I saw on a promo that "examined" body odour. It showed the obligatory nubile young thing, decked out in tight T-shirt and shorts conducting an "experiment" that consisted of her sniffing the armpits of a variety of sweaty men before and after exercise. 

Egad!

I can even smile benignly (and not through gritted teeth and clenched jaw) when little old ladies leave their trolleys in the middle of the supermarket aisle while they stand and ponder the weighty issue of whether they should buy the 125 gram tin of baked beans or lash out and go for the 225 gram size because it's on special this week.

But what I can't tolerate is people who disrespect the language!

AARGH!

Don't you hate that word?

Disrespect, boys and girls, is first and foremost a noun. Repeat after me, "Disrespect is a noun." 

But the verb has reared its ugly little head so often recently, that I felt I owed it to you, dear reader, to gird my loins and sally forth to investigate ...

And this is what I found: the transitive verb "to disrespect" dates from 1614, some 17 years before "disrespect" appeared in print as a noun. 

The Oxford English Dictionary states:

"Disrespect, v. trans. The reverse of to respect; to have or show no respect, regard, or reverence for; to treat with irreverence.

"1614 WITHER Sat. to King, Juvenilia (1633) 346 Here can I smile to see...how the mean mans suit is dis-respected. 1633 BP. HALL Hard Texts N.T. 11 If he love the one he must disrespect the other. 1683 CAVE Ecclesiastici 231 (Basil) To honor him, and dis-respect his Friend, was to stroke a man's head with one hand, and strike him with the other. 1706 HEARNE Collect. 26 Apr., He was disrespected in Oxford by several men who now speak well of him. 1852 L. HUNT Poems Pref. 27 As if..sorrow disrespected things homely. 1885 G. MEREDITH Diana I. 257 You will judge whether he disrespects me."

(Read about the work involved in compiling the first OED, and you'll really appreciate all those different references to the word's use in print: http://www.write101.com/W.Tips351.htm )

So, maybe disrespect was used as a verb 400 years ago, before the noun form became the favourite son ... but doesn't that tell you something? It was tossed out because it was an abomination! 

In my research, I discovered some really scary definitions ... perhaps the worst was this:

As a verb, disrespect has two meanings:

1. show a lack of respect for

2. disesteem; have little or no respect for; hold in contempt

Disesteem? Dis-bloody-esteem?

See above for AARGH!

From the Compact Oxford:

noun: lack of respect or courtesy.

verb: informal, chiefly N. Amer. show a lack of respect for.

DERIVATIVES: disrespectful (adjective) disrespectfully (adverb)

Note that its use as a verb is considered informal now and is confined chiefly to North America. So a word to our 'Murkin cousins ... if you love us at all, remember those immortal words of Aretha Franklin:

Ooo, your kisses (ooh)
Sweeter than honey (ooh)
And guess what? (ooh)
So is my money (ooh)
All I want you to do (ooh) for me
Is give it to me when you get home (re, re, re ,re)
Yeah baby (re, re, re ,re)

Ummm ... No, that's not what I meant at all ... 

First verse perhaps:

(ooh) What you want
(ooh) Baby, I got
(ooh) What you need
(ooh) Do you know I got it?

OK ... that's not right either ...

(ooh) All I'm askin'
(ooh) Is for a little respect when you come home (just a little bit)

That's better. See? All we want is a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

Then you can, "Find out what it means to me," and forget about disrespect as a verb!

Make sure you find time to read this week's Little Something Extra, because it shows you one sure way to get all the R-E-S-P-E-C-T your little heart desires!

This week's quiz:

Here are some words about this and that ... match 'em up:

ahisma, distelfink, beadle, stillicide, cicerone, cozen, solipsism, zetetic, nugatory, eidetic

1. a continual falling or succession of drops; rain water falling from the eaves 

2. a minor parish official who serves as an usher and preserves order at services 

3. the philosophical theory that the self is all that you know to exist; only the self exists, or can be proved to exist: everything else exists only in the mind 

4. a Buddhist and Hindu doctrine holding that all forms of life are sacred and urging the avoidance of violence

5. of visual imagery of almost photographic accuracy; especially visual imagery that is vividly experienced and readily reproducible with great accuracy and in great detail 

6. traditional Pennsylvania Dutch folk art motif of a bird or birds symbolizing good luck and happiness 

7. of no real value 

8. cheat or trick; act with artful deceit; be false to; be dishonest with 

9. seeking; proceeding by inquiry; investigating 

10. a guide who conducts and informs sightseers

And speaking of tolerance (we were, you know ... respect, tolerance ...) reminds me of an interview I heard with the new CEO of some major company; he was asked about employing women in top management roles and his response was, "I respect all women in their quest to break through the glass ceiling ... the little darlings."

A bit like the comment from a man-in-the-street on a local current affairs program touching on the sensitive issue of religious tolerance who said, "I respect all religions and their stupid gods." (This show had temporarily run out of stories on weight-loss products, neighbours/tenants-from-hell and push-up bras.)

Last week's quiz:

aura, séance, ankh, tarot, arcana, amulet, anaphrodisiac, geomancy, omen, shaman

1. event taking place in the natural world that is said to presage a far more important event in the life of the observer, for better or for worse - OMEN

2. ancient Egyptian symbol for life, composed of a circle set atop a T-cross formation - ANKH

3. ancient form of divination in which handfuls of soil or other materials taken from the earth were sprinkled on the ground, or when arbitrary markings were scratched into the earth or sand to generate an assortment of dotted patterns, which could then be interpreted - GEOMANCY

4. session with a medium involving at least one participant and sometimes more than a dozen, for the purpose of contacting dead friends and relatives - SÉANCE

5. person with powerful intuitive, psychic and sometimes healing and telekinetic abilities who is very much attuned to the forces of nature. Many can predict the weather, communicate telepathically with animals, and sense when the energies are out of balance in the bodies or psyches of living beings - SHAMAN

6. talisman designed to be worn, usually in the form of a necklace, bracelet, brooch, and sometimes even a belt buckle - AMULET

7. collection of 78 images representing ancient and universal archetypes, as well as situations that might arise in the course of the lifetime of an individual - TAROT

8. a substance, such as camphor, that reduces sexual desires - ANAPHRODISIAC

9. information known only to a special group - ARCANA

10. electromagnetic field that surrounds every living being; shaped like a gigantic egg, with the narrow part of the egg at the head area and the widest part at the feet - AURA

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Never-Ending Story

An Ape that wants to play Hamlet after being type-cast as King Kong, a talking anvil and that rottweiller ... Dr Morgenes is still caught in the nightmare that is the casting couch. Help him find a plot!  Just click on the Comments button at the end of the entry to add your contribution. If you have friends who fancy themselves as writers, invite them to contribute (just forward this newsletter in its entirety to them).

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A Little Something Extra

Those of us who enjoy writing dream of making a full-time living from doing it, don't we? However, most of us are practical enough to realise we're not really going to be able to laze around on a beach tapping out the World's Greatest Novel any time soon. But you'll be thrilled to know that there are ways to write and make a very healthy income and get all that R-E-S-P-E-C-T we were chatting about earlier.

Ta-da! Introducing ... The Well-Fed Self-Publisher: How to Turn One Book into a Full-Time Living  

Now, I don't know about you, but when I hear that term "self-publishing," I usually think of those sad offerings you see at school fêtes and flea markets where couples have written their family history and had it printed by one of those vanity press mobs.

But not any more!

This new book from freelance writer, Peter Bowerman, is a step-by-step how-to guide to help authors profitably self-publish their titles, and it's based directly on the successful self-publishing of his first two books (currently 50,000 copies in print). 

Since his first book was published 5 years ago, Peter has been earning a full-time living from his writing, and now his latest book examines how you can maintain control of every aspect of your book by self-publishing. 

If you follow the steps, you'll be able to produce a superior product, both in form and content, because Peter explains everything from designing the cover (THE most important part of your book) to getting your ISBN, typesetting and indexing, choosing the best binding and all those myriad details you never stop to think about.

The book also features an entire chapter on developing the crucial “marketing mindset” most creative types lack, chapters on virtually every aspect of book marketing and promotion, plus distribution, POD and five appendices (including extensive resources, timeline, foreign rights and more). 

There are five key reasons that make this an excellent guide for all writers:

• it contains a sales and marketing discussion (for non-sales creative types)
• it uses a radically different approach to marketing (Internet, not media)
• it focuses on process and profit (most books focus only on the first)
• it's written in a personal, engaging style (you'll read it in a couple of sittings!)
• it's really just one, big “Real-World” case study based on Peter's experiences (totally non-theoretical)

As someone who would rather gnaw off my own leg than go out and market a book with book signings, interviews etc, I really (really) love Peter's "dandelion seed" approach to marketing! Brilliant concept and so effective. (See the very aptly named Chapter 4: "Bullseye ...")

Even if you're not ready to take the plunge to self-publish yet, you'll find this book is full of nifty tips. I'm sure Peter won't mind me telling you just a couple from his Miscellaneous Tips chapter. Click here for some of those "Why didn't I think of that before?" ideas: 

Word of the week: Loins (n) "part or parts of the human body or of a quadruped animal on either side of the spinal column, between the false ribs and hipbone; the parts of the body between the hips and the lower ribs, regarded as the seat of physical strength and generative power"

I bet you thought loins were the rudey bits, didn't you? Well, "loins" can also refer to "the region of the hips, groin and lower abdomen; the genital and pubic area." (And may I draw your attention to the fact that there's no L in that penultimate word? Just want to save you embarrassment ...)

You won't be at all surprised to learn that this word comes from the Latin lumbus meaning ... wait for it ... 'loin.' Think of that pain you get in your lumbar region, and you won't forget this one! That's the pain you get "of, near or situated in the part of the back and sides between the lowest ribs and the pelvis."

So if you have a hectic weekend ahead and need to gird your loins, you at least now know where they are, and because I'm in a generous mood (remember that sunny disposition I mentioned earlier?) here's how to do it ... This is always assuming you're wearing the short tunic of a Roman soldier, by the way; not sure it would work otherwise, but here we go:

You hitch up your tunic so that it's at upper thigh level, hold up all the front material, then reach through and bring the material from the back to the front and pull it up tight. Then bring the front material down over the top of that and pull it through to the back. Now smooth the material out at the back so that it's snug around that dainty derrière of yours. The final step is to wrap the excess material around your waist and tie it at the front. And Bob's your uncle! 

Your loins are herby girt!

However, it's not exactly something you'd want to be doing as an enemy raced down a hill towards you, is it? The cheery cry from your centurion, "Look lively, lads! Here come the barbarian hordes! Gird your loins, grab your swords and off we go!" could cause a certain amount of consternation in the ranks.

Oxymoron of the week: Instant classic

And a couple of Latin phrases you probably won't need this weekend if your loins are properly girt ...

Braccae tuae aperiuntur

[BRAHK-keye TOO-eye ah-pay-ree-OON-toor]

(Your fly is open)

Subucula tua apparet

[soo-boo-KOO-lah TOO-ah ahp-PAH-ray'

(Your slip is showing)

Did you know that you can have your very own Latin reminders? How about undies proclaiming, Bene est rex esse? (It's good to be king) or a shopping bag that warns, Emptrix nata sum (Born to shop)? Click here for these and more: http://www.cafepress.com/write101