Really Amazing, or should I say ‘Amazin

“Amazin”, must be one of the favourite words of the younger generation in use today, but where did this word originate?

Well, surprisingly, we have William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616) to thank. Not only did he invent and introduce the word “amazement”, from which the adjective amazing is derived. He also transformed the English language by introducing so many new words. When he was born in 1564, Latin was the dominant language. Even texts on the English language were written in Latin. However by his death over fty years later in 1616, thanks in great part to him our English language had evolved signicantly.

It is estimated that through his plays and poetry, he used more than 20,000 different words, of which approximately 2,000 he invented and introduced to the English language for the rst time. This is even more remarkable when you consider that the Old Testament has just under 6,000 identied words and that the average farm worker at the time in the16th century had a vocabulary of about 300 words. Plays written during his most productive period had an incredible number of new words. Hamlet for example introduced to audiences 600 words that had never been heard before.

Among the words rst coined by Shakespeare are: Critical Frugal Excellent Extract

Barefaced Indistinguishable Majestic Addiction Zany and many others. Eventful Well-read Negotiate Courtship Hereditary Countless Lonely Assassination Summit Belongings

He made great use of attaching un-prexes to existing words to make completely new words never used before such as unlock, untie, unhand, unmask and over 300 others. While he was procient in creating new words. It was his ability to coin new phrases which added so much to the richness of the English language.

Just some of his creations which have entered the common language include – The be all and end all Wear my heart upon my sleeve Wild goose chase What is done is done Eat me out of house and home Love is blind Heart of gold As good luck would have it In a pickle A foregone conclusion Play fast and loose Too much of a good thing Cold comfort There is method in my madness Flesh and blood Vanish into thin air Tower of strength As dead as a doornail More in sorrow than in anger All that glitters is not gold Any many more...

It is remarkable how the words and phrases that he wrote have become part of our daily use. Fortunately, his plays were collected and printed into a compendium by two of his friends after his death, ensuring the survival of his written work. This collection of his works was formally called, Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories and Tragedies, but is now known as, “the First Folio”.Today, it is estimated that all or part of 300 original First Folios still exist. His plays were then reintroduced to the public in a big way by the actor manager David Garrick (after who the Garrick theatre is named) in the 1740s, so his new words and sayings continued in common usage. Their inclusion in the rst dictionary of the English Language published by Samuel Johnson in 1755 ensured that words coined by Shakespeare really became embedded in the English language. If we consider his sayings and use the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations as our guide, then approximately 10% of all notable quotes spoken in English can be attributed to Shakespeare. So, the likelihood is that on a day to day basis, most of us quote Shakespeare.

Now, that's what I call a legacy. The English language has a great deal to thank Will Shakespeare for or to quote him, “All's Well That Ends Well”.

Alf Bennett

A Good Communicator:

Always listens to you. Always answers - even if it’s just to say ‘I heard you’. Answers emails - even if it’s just to say ‘I got it, thanks’. Answers phone calls - even if it’s just to say ‘Can I ring you back?’ Leaves phone messages - even if it’s just to say ‘just me, don’t worry’.

and is never too busy to say - ‘sorry, busy at the moment, but I’ll answer asap.

When you can’t remember the words...

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore.

When an eel bites your thigh and you bleed out and die, that’s a moray.

When you’re smashed with a jug in a South Auckland pub, that’s a Maori.

When you see a big boat tied up with a rope, that’s a mooring.

When you wake up and it’s bright because it’s no longer night, that’s the morning.