So I have just completed reading Empires of the Word; A Language History of the World by Nicolas Ostler. If anything this particular book was a formidable opponent. It took me over two months to complete the odyssey, in every sense of the word. I would highly recommend this book to any with an interest in language. However, I write this not to talk of this book, but of the thoughts that have risen from reading it. Thoughts that formed revelation, and understanding of the wider world of language. As I endeavour to resurrect the lost art of the Bards, I can't help but think that English, as a vehicle of thought, is far more valuable than I gave it credit. For years I have professed that the language we use in America, Britain and other parts of the world, was a broken and unwieldy language. A language that constantly broke its own rules, without rhyme or reason. A Dialect of Germanic origin that forsook its rigid heritage, the bastard child of Celtic and Latin. I realize now that my previous disgust with my mother tongue was misplaced and inaccurate. Inasmuch as the rule breaking is concerned, that is very true, yet it does not detract from the general eloquence of English. I you have not read my latest Literature submission "The Fairy Tale", I would highly recommend doing so. Not as a promotion of it, but an example of what English is capable of. Far better examples lie in the works of Shakespeare and Tolkien. Reading the prose of Ireland, the fables of Scotland, and the ballads of England, should do more than tell one a story. One should be educated, uplifted, thought to be induced and expounded. So before you drudge about in Composition 1 or College Prep English, remember mastery of the language will only improve your intelligence. Rudimentary control of phraseology and syntax, will give you a rudimentary and crude view of the world. The smoke will only be blacker, and comprehension out of reach...