Matthew Parris's missing words
Writing for the Times last week I found myself bogged down in a patch of linguistic mud. I had begun a sentence thus: ‘Discussing a mutual acquaintance who keeps breaking into foul-mouthed language at inappropriate moments’ ... — and then couldn’t quite lay my hands on the word I wanted next, though it seemed to be on the tip of my tongue. It meant (this word) ‘the person I was talking to’.
So I continued to write, inserting within square brackets ‘the person I was talking to’, and hoping the right word would come to me before I filed the column.
It didn’t. So I simply had to remove the square brackets. The piece as published continued ‘...the person I was talking to remarked...’ (etc), which was perfectly clear, but gratingly inelegant. The word never did come to me, and I have had to conclude that the English language has no single noun in vernacular use to describe what we might call a ‘co-conversationalist’: the person talking to, or discussing something with, someone else.
More articles from: Matthew Parris | this section
Post this entry to: del.icio.us | Digg | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit
Advertisement
James Forsyth talks to Scott McClellan, former press secretary to the President, about his new book attacking the Bush administration, its methods and its deceits
Lord Lloyd of Berwick says that the government’s emergency legislation to overturn their lordships’ ruling on witness anonymity is part of a ‘gradual usurpation’ of our liberties
In the week of the Spectator Summer Party, Steven Berkoff recalls another of our celebrations at which he sought out the Tory leader and forgave his confusion of Brando and Dean
Glasgow East symbolises — as few other places in Britain can — the fact that the problem Labour faces is not just lack of leadership but lack of mission. What is to be seen in this constituency encapsulates and dramatises Labour’s abject failures to comprehend, let alone tackle, the nature of the poverty which grips our council estates.
For all the latest on the Glasgow East by-election, visit Coffee House
It’s draconian, expensive and ineffective, says David Davis. All the evidence shows that the Prime Minister is eroding our civil liberties pointlessly
Gerald Warner celebrates the unexpected appearance of one last ‘swashbuckling novel’, and mourns the loss of a genre that taught boys honour, courage and chivalry
There are no ‘good’ teachers: the teacher who is good for you may wreck another’s prospects
Michael Bloomberg, the Mayor of New York, unveils his new partnership with Boris, and their plans to forge a transatlantic alliance between the two greatest cities on earth to promote state-of-the-art public policy, cultural links and economic prosperity
As nationalities proliferate, the English want their turn, says Rod Liddle — who considers himself British first. St George’s Day and ‘Englishness’ have been partially decontaminated, but we are no closer to a definition of what ‘England’ is — and quite right too
Clemency Burton-Hill, who appears in the new ITV series The Palace, muses on the outrage it has provoked and the taboos that still govern fictional portrayals of the monarchy
Selected by tablet hotels for their personality and attention to detail.
Huge savings. Lowest prices guaranteed on hotels in Rome. Book online or call now and save.
Selected by tablet hotels for their personality and attention to detail.
Huge savings. Lowest prices guaranteed on hotels in Rome. Book online or call now and save.
PORTA METRONIA, ROME Standing high on the top of one of the seven hills of Rome- the Coelian- this unique
ROME and PARIS: over 350 holiday rentals apartments listed: visit www.romanreference.com and www.parisreference.com or call +39 0648 903612.
Goldsmiths by Design Welcome to Ruffs! You have found a company of Goldsmiths that specialises in the manufacture, amongst other
Spectator Business | Apollo Magazine
Corporate | Advertising | Privacy | Terms
Spectator, 22 Old Queen Street, London, SW1H 9HP
All Articles and Content Copyright ©2008 by The Spectator | All Rights Reserved