To better understand...

By Vichara


In the science fiction series of book, The Hitchhikers’ Guide To The Universe (by Douglas Adams), there is this small aquatic being called a babel fish. Inserted into your ear, the babel fish will translate any foreign language spoken into your native tongue, thus rendering any miscommunication virtually impossible. Wouldn’t this be amazing if this existed today and could be utilized around the globe to better understand any person we would encounter? But I think it would only work up to a certain point. Understanding what another person is saying is one thing, having an understanding of they mean is a whole other thing. Even with the language barrier broken it still does not relieve us from utilizing a bigger skill, the skill to understand with the foundation of love, patience and compassion.

espiègle • \es-PYEGL\ • adjective
: frolicsome, roguish

Example Sentence:
"Her mother appeared, -- a handsome young country-woman, to whose features, originally sly and espiègle in expression, matrimony had given that decent matronly air…." (Sir Walter Scott, Old Mortality)

Did you know?
"Espiègle" is a corruption of "Ulespiegle," the French name for Till Eulenspiegel, a peasant prankster of German folklore. Tales of Eulenspiegel's merry pranks against well-to-do townsmen, clergy, and nobility were first translated into French in 1532 and into English around 1560. In the 19th century, Sir Walter Scott introduced his readers to the adjective "espiègle" and the related noun "espièglerie" (a word for "roguishness" or "playfulness") in his Waverley novels. Other 19th century authors followed suit, and even today these words are most likely to be encountered in literature.

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