I was determined not to, wasn’t really interested, but alas, I caved & like millions of others, watched The Royal Wedding. Not because it was the Royal Family, not because I wanted to see the dress, not because there wasn’t anything else on telly either. It was because I, like every other (most, anyways) female on this planet, loves a wedding & moreso, because of my OVER-BLOODY-WHELMING-MATERNALISM. I am SUCH a mother, I could kick myself at times!
The way I thought of it was thus: I have seen this young man grow up, right from birth, to his independence. He has faced challenges many have not. Privileged, yes, but also extremely sheltered, protected & hidden from ‘normalcy’. The death of his mother, a cruel blow that no child should ever have to endure. Perhaps because I feel sorry for him, or feel like he has been a part of my life, I wanted to see this extra-ordinary young man married & happy. I will never meet him and am by no means a Royalist, but the mother in me needed to know he was ok.
Anyhoo… I am amazed at the amount of people questioning the language used during the ceremony! So many asking what troth & twixt mean. Excuse me for appearing pompous, but I, (being no English scholar) could easily work out the general meanings by relating troth to betrothed, being a promise & twixt to betwixt, being between or amongst. It saddens me that today’s younger population don’t seem to have the vocabulary to nut out such meanings or phrases.
Abbreviating words for fun, speed or necessity in limited space is fine in this world of sms, msn & the like, I do it myself, but my mistakes are intentional or meant as a play on words. I really cringe & am quite dismayed that behind this new ‘cyber’ language, a firm grasp of basic English just doesn’t exist in many cases, let alone 'Old English' as The Bard penned.
Perhaps the Dept. of Education should take a serious look at their planning or parents should actually converse with take a greater role in increasing the vocabulary/language/conversation skills of their children. I see kids too lazy to look up a dictionary, Google a meaning or at times, care enough to want to know. It seems instant gratification is their way of life, as if effort has been bred out of them. If they don’t know a word or phrase, use another! Done, dusted & fixed, but nothing new learned.
I don’t know the answer, I do know however, my heart is a little heavier when I consider what is really happening to these future generations...
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