July 31, 2008

Discover the Magic of the Most Beautiful Words in the English Language

Filed under: translation — admin @ 5:15 am

‘Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.’ Henry James.

What are the most beautiful words in the English language? The answer to this subjective question will obviously vary from person to person depending, as it does, on the meaning, the sound, the context, and the connotation of the word or words in question.

‘Words strain,

Crack and sometimes break, under the burden,

Under the tension, slip, slide, perish,

Decay with imprecision, will not stay in place,

Will not stay still.’

T.S. Eliot, ‘Four Quartets’

And yet if you scan the works of the most fastidious and discerning writers you will find certain words that are almost universally accepted as ‘beautiful’.

‘You can stroke people with words.’ F. Scott Fitzgerald, ‘The Crack-Up’

Here is Part 1 of my list of ‘beautiful’ words. Are there any words you would remove from or add to this list? Let me know what you think.

autumn

beloved

blandishments

blossom

butterfly

cadence

caress

carol

champagne

chime

crimson

crystal

darling

dawn

delicious

delight

desolate

dream

dulcet

dusk

echo

eglantine

enchant

eternal

ethereal

glistening

goblet

golden

gossamer

harmony

harvest

idyllic

languid

languorous

laughter

love

lullaby

lustrous

magic

Email your suggestions for ‘The Most Beautiful Words in The English Language’ to: assignmentsplus1@aol.com

Gerard McLoughlin is the author of ‘15 hours To A Powerful English Vocabulary’.

To view this course, please visit http://www.assignmentsplus.com/vocabularycourse1.html

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