OK. Caveats and disclaimers out of the way first.
I like the word 'awesome'.
I know and love the fact that language is evolving all the time.
I am guilty of overusing certain words - such as 'fab' and
'fabulous'.
I recently admired a blog http://linkis.com/nzlead.com/JD93A …but had the temerity to suggest,
against what from the online stuff I read, is popular opinion, that the word
'awesome' is overused. It was suggested that I put forward some alternatives.
Somewhat lazily, I pasted a few from my phone's thesaurus (well, 140 characters
didn't give much scope.)
One of these words was 'formidable'. What a word! With my 27 year
old degree in French and Art (neither used much these days) I instantly thought
of what it means in French. A very different meaning, pronounced with the
emphasis at the end - form-i-dah-bl. (I instantly forgot the linguistics module
I did in the 2nd year, so this may not be the correct phonetic format.)
In French, formidable means:
- fantastic
- incredible
- tremendous
- marvellous
It can also mean 'fearsome', like the English meaning, which is
about inspiring fear through something being hugely impressive, large, powerful
or intense. But another meaning of formidable is the inspiration of respect, a
bit like the word 'awesome'. And so we come full circle.
I love words.
I enjoy the challenge of thinking of just the right word to
convey the meaning I intend, or to spark the reader to understand their own
meaning.
'Awesome' can meet the bill, but somehow loses its meaning when
it becomes ubiquitous.
I fear
that this may have happened.
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