I received mild pushback on the word euphonious used in the tooth fairy poem posted yesterday. Euphonious is a word seldom used in ordinary speech. Never used might not overstate the case. The Greeks gave us this word for ‘good sound’ that actually sounds beautiful. Euphonious (‘eu’ = good & ‘phone’ = sound)
How do words lose their status in our working vocabulary?
We use the words euphoria, eugenics, euphemism, euthanasia, and eucalyptus. We use the words telephone, saxophone, cell phone. We have even turned the noun ‘phone’ into a verb. “I’ll phone you tomorrow.”
How did we lose the adjective euphonious?
Perhaps the need for such a word disappeared. We are so overwhelmed by a tsunami of spoken language delivered on television, radio, and the internet, that we do not notice the beauty of language, the rich sonorous sound of the spoken word, the interplay of meanings revealed by well-chosen words. We have lost the discipline of listening. We seldom hear the musicality of language. We often use profanity to add the color and punch to our speech. Profanity adds emotional intensity without contributing to meaning.
We still teach students to recite President Lincoln’s address at the dedication of the Soldiers National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania not only for its concise statement of national purpose, but also because of its euphonious phrasing.
Next time you hear someone speaking, listen for the sound as well as the meaning.