Conoces a los Masones?
Sorry, I must apologize straight after typing the title. I made my first spelling mistake after a total amount of five words - that is quite an achievement, wouldn’t you say?
If I aim to be a proper, good writer, then writing the above fifth word in question the way I did is not acceptable. Of course not, it is a breach of code of spelling in the English language that reveals a series of possible reasons to the trained eye.
“No big deal, really!”, someone might want to reassure me. However, this would depend on yet another set of factors to be taken into consideration, such as the context this mistake finds itself in.
As a matter of fact, I had first typed the word oblivious to the fact that the spelling of it might harbour some difficulty. I just wrote it down as it came to my mind. I did not ponder on how you might write this word correctly before beginning to type, and that was my mistake. Nobody would have noticed, had I corrected the spelling straight away. Instead, I have decided to go on a little detour about the importance of adhering to the use of a code - any given code.
The word code brings to mind another expression: circle of trust! Do you remember the film “Meet the Fockers”, with Robert de Niro and Ben Stiller in it? Hilarious, isn’t it? It is actually one of my favourite movies of all times. I am so happy right now that I get to mention it in the context of this article, because the “circle of trust” is a quote from this great film that intrigued me ever since I watched the movie and has popped up every now and then in my mind.
Please take a look at this scene, you can find on it Youtube. The future father-in-law, Jack Burns (Robert de Niro), is lying next to Greg (Ben Stiller) when he wakes up in the morning — after a hell of a “performance night” — and Greg finds himself “out” of Jack’s circle of trust. You really must watch the movie, if you haven’t already done so, it is a great laugh!
Not getting the spelling of a word right is not a big deal. Getting to talk about code as a means of being part of a certain“circle of trust”, actually is. It means that one gets to be accepted by people and that you will probably get some sort of benefit from it.
When engaging in the correct spelling of the languages we use,at any given time, this may turn out to be an advantage, or a disadvantage, depending on the point of view.
In my case, the ability to reflect upon this must of course be classed as a skill, and one that took me a very long time to develop. I would not have to fear any serious consequences from it.
If I were a school student right now, sitting an exam, maybe writing an essay on the subject of “Freemasonry” , I am pretty positive that a teacher would mark it as a spelling mistake when performing the work of correction.
Hence, I chose the title in English, and the subtitle in Spanish, because these two are intertwined to account for my mistake: If I had spent a moment recalling the way the word is spelled in Spanish, I would have been able to derive the correct English spelling from doing so.
When I started to wonder whether I had got the spelling of the word freemason right, my mind wandered off strategically to check what I knew about this word. My brain came up with a theory, i.e. that the word could be derived from the French word maison (house). It is not, actually! At least not from the modern French word maison. This part I had to look up, by the way!
To put a full stop at the end of my point, I need to go back in linguistic time even further. I do hope you can bear with me.
The word freemason is Middle English from Old French, according to the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English, Ninth Edition, first edited by H.W. Fowler and F.G. Fowler, on page 837. I have a copy of it in my bookshelf and I like to consult it when the online tools do not leave me any other choice. It means that this linguistic piece of code that was changed centuries ago!
The rules of conduct within a certain circle of people have been predefined.
The need to determine a goal at the end of the task “essay-writing” has made it necessary for a teacher to mark down for the incorrect spelling of a word according to modern English in use TODAY.
The goal that comes attached to writing an essay at the age of 12 or 13 is somewhat different from mine. The most basic difference between us is that teenagers have yet to acquire all sorts of aspects of the code spoken in their country. Therefore, the poor kids would inevitably get marked down for misspelling any word being teachers’ prey.
The other — me — is already applying this code freely by editing a draft of a text on the Medium platform and does not necessarily get confronted with any direct consequences. She even gets to tell you about it and turns it into an anecdote, while the students sitting the exam will more than likely be feeling sorry for themselves when finding out that they got marked down for a silly mistake, one which does not even make a difference in terms of understanding the essay!
So, the point is… ?!— End of detour.
I set out asking you a question. The question is whether you know who or what the Freemasons are? So, do you? What is your understanding of them? What kind of experiences, if any, did you have in the past with this secret order?
Correct me, if I am wrong, but there is at least one thing about them that we all know: they recognise their fellows by way of applying a secret handshake. So, to be recognised as a member of this particular circle of trust, you must know the code, i.e. perform the handshake.
It occurred to me that this practice might have to be altered now that coronavirus is inhibiting any form of physical contact. Handshaking appears to be first in the list of code becoming obsolete.
I find it a very interesting question to raise and to ponder about what might happen to the community of the Freemasons. However, an even more interesting question certainly is how coronavirus might alter the known codes of all sorts of walks of life, in communities, cultures and their traditions.
Business deals used to be closed shaking hands, people would not only greet others shaking hands, but there used to be a hierarchy of physical contact, in which the scale went from more formal verbal greetings, over handshakes, to hugs. Smiles were actually exchanged before all of the above, as a first means to express sympathy. None of this is possible right now, will it ever be socially acceptable again?
Will there be permanent damage to the physical part of culture code?
A bit futher down in time, will there be no more hugging, kissing on cheeks, seeing people’s smiles for fear of contracting this desease, or any other?
I hope not, but I can tell you this much: the people within MY very own circle of trust, those that I do hug, kiss, and smile at, have currently shrunk to an all-time low.
So, are you “in”, or are you “out” of the circle of trust of those around you? Now that we are not even allowed to hug and kiss people anymore; How are we supposed to tell?
My thoughts in November of the year 1 #P.C. — Post Corona
Sue
