Being an English major, some of the most common things you hear are about how much people who aren’t English majors hate English, whether you ask for it or not. “I hate essays”, “poetry is lame”, and “I never read” are just a few of the things that I hear consistently whenever English is brought up. For me, these are insane reasons not to like English because I can’t imagine myself without it in my life. So, I decided that I would write a few words on why I love English to maybe address a few of these points and, hopefully, give people a greater interest in English.
English and language are everywhere, from signs that need to be read to reading an assignment for class to talking with different kinds of people. To do all this, we all must prescribe meaning to different sounds and symbols, pictures and actions. We have signifiers and the signified (shout out to Saussure). We give meaning to different things and with that we are all able to understand each other and the world we live in. Without language and English, we would not be able to study and understand meaning that is necessary to help us communicate with one another.
Thinking of the English language itself, we only use 26 letters to convey thousands of emotions and feelings. We use punctuation to convey the tone in which we mean different phrases and emphasize words and ideas to convey feelings that can be mistaken for different if not read correctly. With just 26 letters, you can move someone to tears or have them laughing their butt off, you can move a country but also just a singular person. There are so many combinations of words and actions that make up human life and the ability to understand these are learned in the study of English and language.
In regards to writing, I don’t see the problem, but I’m also biased because I like to write. Personally, I’d rather write an essay instead of take a test every other week but I also would prefer creative writing over professional writing, which is also why I write for the Odyssey. Writing for me is like telling a story, but one in which the words are handpicked and thought about to make sure that story has the most effect. It’s using the perfect words to describe a situation that makes the reader think about what you’ve said and think about that not only in relation to themselves, but to their sociocultural understanding as well.
Which brings me to the point of poetry. I, personally, love to read and occasionally attempt to write poetry because for so few words there is so much to be talked about. Poetry is one of the hardest things to write, but if done right, is one of the best things to read. My favorite part of poetry is that there can be so many different interpretations that make the dialogue unique to the reader, which is also true of literature but especially poetry. Poetry has the power to move in the vaguest sense, and is one of the reasons that I couldn’t live without studying English.
In a world of too many decisions and uncertainty, English is the one thing I can come back to that makes sense. Even amid uncertainty, English makes you think in ways that don’t necessarily provide an answer, but provide some satisfying insight into our culture and our lives.
