I grew up hearing words like snakeroot, sassafras, mullein - things that had wondrous, mysterious sounds in their names.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
My sister called her pillow a pilgo. My brother called his pacifier his nimma. But I don't think I was much of a word generator myself.
I was always looking for evidence of these common musical roots, but I was too young to know that what I was doing was called ethnomusicology.
I grew up in an atmosphere where words were an integral part of culture.
Words played an important part in my growing up. Not only the written word... but words that flew through the air: jokes, riddles, puns.
I became aware that all sounds can make meaningful language.
I like 'nerves'! I like the word 'migraineur'. I like the word 'madness'. These are OK words. The 19th century had a very handy term: 'neurasthenic'. I think that's a very useful word. We all know what that means: it means extra-sensitive.
I think we've probably all read a word that we've never heard pronounced out loud, and we try it out in a sentence and fall on our face.
All my life I've looked at words as though I were seeing them for the first time.
Take a simple name like Nicholas: you can rhyme it with ridiculous. If you aren't too meticulous. You know, every word's rhymable.
Names, once they are in common use, quickly become mere sounds, their etymology being buried, like so many of the earth's marvels, beneath the dust of habit.