To Be

So I was amusing myself with some web-surfing of linguistic sites, and in my browsing I came across an interesting fact (which is presumably true): Turkish is the most regular language in the world with only two irregular words, one noun (water) and one verb. Anyone want to guess the verb?

Yep, it’s that perpetually-irregular-no-matter-what-the-language verb: to be. Not even the most regular language in the world can get it right. Which makes you wonder… is this all just a grand coincidence or is there some philosophical or psychological reason for it?

“To be,” after all, is one of the most basic and important concepts a language can convey. It cuts right to the chase of reality and thus finds its way into all sorts of communication. In fact, a brief count reveals that I’ve used it six times in the past seven sentences. So why does this most important of words get “irregular status?”

Is it that people could regularize other irregular verbs inherited from their forebears, but “to be” is used with such frequency that no one could make the switch?

Does it show a certain respect for a common yet indispensable word, by giving it a form all its own?

Or does it perhaps reveal our own limitations in perceiving and describing reality, such that we cannot even master our own word for it?

What do you think?

Quests of Yesterday

For those who have not read the tales of Sinbad, the basic storyline is easy to follow:
Sinbad leaves home to travel to distant lands, where he has many crazy adventures and misadventures. Surviving by the skin of his teeth (but often with some sort of prize), he returns home, where he vows to live out his days in tranquility. But after a while, his wanderlust gets the better of him… Da capo.

I often find myself sympathizing with Sinbad. Yesterday was case in point.

I needed to acquire some Most Precious License Plate Screws. So I betook me to the local market, wherein I found almost no place to leave my trusty steed and no merchants offering what I wanted. One of the sellers, however, was kind enough to point me toward where I might find them. So I spurred Lapis toward Parts Mostly Unknown and, after one u-turn, some blinding sunlight, and an odd roundabout, I successfully arrived in the Domain of AutoZone. The kind AutoZonians did indeed have the treasures I sought – in many varieties, in fact – and were willing to part with them for only a small sum. With them I returned home, tired from my travels, but happy to have acquired these most effective and exotic of Screws.

No sooner had I set foot in the door, however, than my stomach reminded me that it was dinnertime. And nothing sounded better to my hunger than the mellifluous tones of the Great Taco Bell. Consulting the All-Knowing Google, I discovered that I could not find such a Bell nearby. Getting to the nearest one would take a great feat of navigating, and such is the magic of the roads hereabout (like unto some of the staircases at the fabled Hogwarts) that I must needs take a different route to get back. It would also require that I travel roads of great size, which might, if I were not careful, swallow me and spit me out far from home. Yet I was hungry, so I set out hoping that I could find my desire – and subsequently find my way home. My first essay at the roads was unsuccessful, so I contrived to make a loop of them and in ten minutes returned to the difficult spot. I am glad to say the second run was successful and Lapis sped me toward my goal. Once there, I found a large stables for my steed, thinking the rest of the journey would be easier made on foot. I entered a great market and found, at the far end of the lowest level, the Shrine of the Bell. The workers there gave me two Golden Chalupas for my dinner, which I resolved to carry home – should I ever arrive there again. However, after redeeming Lapis from the stable, the trip home was a great success, due to much wary watching of the tricksome roads on my part and great adroitness on the part of my blue mount.

So here I sit in the safety of my Den and here I vow to stay in peace and tranquility… at least for today.