A good antidote to appease the discomfort that the irruption of the GPT chat can generate in some -especially those who work with texts- is to immerse themselves in the wonderful and fascinating world of language at the hands of so many scholars (linguists, philologists, semioticians, sociologists, neurologists…). The recent crop of books that clearly and entertainingly address different aspects of writing, speaking and new ways of relating is especially timely and reinforces our self-esteem.
In The Power of Words (Debate), Mariano Sigman (Buenos Aires, 1972), a doctor in neuroscience, poses many questions to trace paths that help us understand ourselves. The book, which has Michel de Montaigne and his "On the Art of Conversation" as a beacon, delves into linguistic learning processes and communication mechanisms, where emotions play a key and empowering role. “Talking to others is the most natural way to learn to talk to yourself,” says Sigman.
The volume brings us closer to studies and exercises that combine neuroscience with communicative practice. We know facts (our learning capacity in adulthood is the same as when we were children, also that we came to use thirty thousand words), curiosities (the Maniq, in southern Thailand, have fifteen exclusive words referring to smells) and we identify procedures embedded in the creation of our narratives (false memories are a part).
The pages of this essay are a constant invitation to have a kind attitude, to manage emotions and with them the words: "The words we use give shape and color to our world and that of the people we love the most." They are -says the author- a kind of clothing and good conversation, the best factory of ideas we have.
New voices, new pronunciations and constant variations in the use of language by the hand of the speakers are realities that the professor of Spanish language at the University of Seville Lola Pons (Barcelona, 1976) reflects in her latest work, Spanish is a world (Harp ). With his usual ease and erudition, he raises current issues such as the use of the hash sign, the translation of orthographic language into spoken language (parentheses!), the different accents ("Madriz", the Caribbean "amol" or the Andalusian) or by what do we lose the d (“arrived”").
The former director of the Royal Spanish Academy, Darío Villanueva, focuses on Poderes de la palabra (Galaxia Gutenberg), made up of twelve essays, in what J.L Austin called “doing things with words”. He reviews the pragmatic analysis of discourses –in literature, jurisprudence, politics or advertising-, the use of rhetoric –its validity in digital communication-. He affirms that political correctness, if it does not respond to rational dictates, leads to "ridiculous results by the abuse of euphemisms or circumlocutions or by the invention of solutions lacking the slightest grammatical logic."
From the Twitter account @EtimosDirectos created by Shayma Filali (Madrid, 2000) and Israel Villalba (Madrid, 1982) -student and teacher- arises The secret life of words (The sphere of books), written together with Peru Amorrortu ( Vitoria-Gasteiz, 2000). Their shared passion for the humanities and etymologies come together in this informative volume that reviews various semantic fields: deities, politics, gastronomy, medicine or sayings and sayings. Stories that delve into words.
The writer and academic Soledad Puértolas (Zaragoza, 1947) and the doctor in classical philology Elena Cianca (Madrid, 1960) took advantage of the confinement to elaborate Soul, nostalgia, harmony and other stories about words (Anagram), also impregnated with the spirit of Montaigne . Interest in language led Puértolas from life experience -she reads a story to her granddaughter- to explore the meaning -dictionaries in hand- of the words and link them in a kind of story, a chain, which includes literary works, etymologies and new uses. Cianca completes this itinerary with exhaustive and meticulous notes.
