언어의온도｜The temperature of language

Spot ξ( ✿＞◡❛)

Language and words have their own "temperature". They can be warm, cold, or just the right lukewarm. When people feel tired, some people talk to friends to talk about their feelings, while others find comfort in books or in the words of writers. Language can freeze our hearts at one moment, and then quietly melt them at another moment.

Lee Ki-joo, the author of "The Temperature of Language", is a person who loves to listen and record. He admits that whenever he gets on a bus or subway, he can't help but start the bad habit of "eavesdropping". This book includes the moving words and texts he discovered from daily life, the etymology and origin of words, and the preciousness and truthfulness of language itself. These sentences are like slow cooking, gentle but profound, bringing soothing power to readers.

Delicate things are often beautiful and sensitive, just like Korean. A small point or a change in a particle can completely change the mood of a sentence. In front of a friend, I wanted to say "넌얼굴도예뻐 (Your face is also beautiful)", but I accidentally said "넌얼굴만예뻐 (Your face is the only thing that is beautiful)", which instantly made both of them blush.

Language has its own temperature. Sometimes it is warm, sometimes it is cold, and everyone feels the temperature differently. Moderately warm language can cover sadness; when life is exhausting, some people talk to friends to release their worries, while others find comfort in the words of writers in books. Language that is as hot as a furnace is often mixed with a lot of emotions. The speaker may feel happy, but the listener may be emotionally burned. Ice-cold words are equally dangerous. Not only can they not impress the other person, but they may completely freeze the distance between each other.

So, what is the temperature of the language you speak or write now?

Dimensions 11.4 x 18.4 x 2.4 ｜308 pages