Or at least I think it's for English. I'm so fascinated looking at the Ballard List, because, seriously, there are times when I either don't know what the typo is supposed to be, or how someone could make it. This falls in the latter category. Please do not think that I'm looking down on any sort of typo, Lord knows I've made at least my share of them. But the L is way on the other side of the keyboard from the E which starts the word.
So for consolation, I tell myself that perhaps it's not a typo at all, but is like Spanglish, but with Latin instead. Then I realized we already have a word for English with Latin. It's, well, English.
It could be "languish," I suppose. It's a stretch, but languish is such a great word. "I languish in a deep dark drama." Sounds like an existential poem I would've written in college. Actually, I think the next time I'm feeling theatrical (it happens) I'm going to do my best Edward Gorey and clutch - nay, brandish! - a strand of pearls and collapse on the fainting couch vociferating "Languish! Languish!"
There are other ways of misspelling English on the Ballard List such as "Engish" and "Englsh" which I can completely understand. But with an L at the beginning...what did I do with those pearls?
(Photograph of Sarah Bernhardt from Wikipedia. She's so great - I could only wish to languish with so much style and grace.)
Brian Dahlvig
No comments:
Post a Comment