written quest

I have not written for a long, long time. Putting aside the lengthy essays being written in the answer manuscripts come end-block examination, i haven't actually written anything much. Heck, even the exams don't require that much of a lengthy answer nowadays. Answering the exam questions means writing it short, precise, comprehensive, and comprehensible. The grammar doesn't even have to be correct, as long as the examiner knows what you're saying or, at least, trying to say. That leaves me with pretty much nothing to write - a decent multi-paragraphs-ultra-vocabs kind of writings. Oh my, how this has taken its toll on me now. It seems that I have lost a lot of the writing skills that I've acquired throughout high-school. As it is, I'm struggling to write this miserable introductory paragraph, having to think which vocabs fit better and if the grammar is proper!

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The only way to regain this skill is to write. Write and write and write. And read, of course. And understanding what it is you're reading. I remember loving the dictionary so much simply because it enriches my collection of vocabularies. I used to open random pages of the dictionary on the eve of Essay paper to search for catchy and classy vocabs but useful and practical ones, understand their context of meanings, and construct sentences using those vocabs. And then i'll fit those sentences into the essay the following day. A successful formula this was.

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Now I find it difficult to construct sentences, tie them nicely together, and connect the paragraphs into a smooth flow of events - the smoothness of a milky, creamy piece of durian that leaves your taste buds tingling for more. Oh yes. There is such a thing as milky and creamy piece of durian. My vocabularies have gone to mere basics, just enough to survive the language. My thoughts? Although most of the time i think in English, it's difficult to lay them down, organise them systematically, and convey these thoughts to others in a fluent, impeccable english. It would be such a waste not being able to convey ones thoughts when one actually has incredible ideas. It's all locked up within ones neurons, shared only between the synaptic junctions in ones cerebrum and never got articulated. This is what i call dysarthria. One can have the intelligence of ten genius scientists combined together, but until and unless that intelligence is being expressed, one is perceived as not knowing.

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Some might think, why all the fuss on language? As long as we're able to speak and write, we're okay, right?

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I have always believed that people who master language, master knowledge. Remember that when Allah created Adam, he taught him the names of things? In other words, God gave Adam a symbolic language thereby enabling us human beings to have aql/intellect. Language enables us to think, process, and understand. It allows us to contemplate all the observable signs surrounding us. It opens the gate to knowledge and paves the paths toward truth. Ultimately, it allows us to express our free-will, our ability to make choices.

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Animals, on the other hand, do not have symbolic language therefore no free-will. We might see the miaowing of cats and roaring of tigers as them 'speaking' to one another. These sounds send specific signals, but by no means are these signals similar to our understanding of language and conversation in human terms. It's hard to delineate the distinction between the nature of animal and human language when we humans have successfully anthropomorphise animals i.e. to attribute human qualities to others that are non-human.

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Now back to language. In essence, knowledge is transferred from a person's thought to another person via language, be it any language. Therefore, the more you understand language, the more are you able to understand the knowledge that is being conveyed to you. The richer your language is, there more terms there are for you to think and comprehend further. Knowledge is learned, applied, and passed on. Good language allows us to pass on the knowledge more efficiently.

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It is very unfortunate that in the learning institution, language is seen as a subject -just another paper to pass. Language is not perceived as a tool that connects one knowledge to another. Knowledge is a unified body. Compartmentalising knowledge shrinks our world and restricts our logic.

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Now see how a skill that we often take for granted is so important for us to constantly polish?

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Writing is just one of the many ways language is expressed. Enhance our language by writing, reading, speaking. Anything. That's why i'm starting to blog anyway - to have a platform for me to write. To have people reading what i write is a bonus. May I be persistent in my quest to write and enhance my language, inshaAllah ;).