Jose Carillo's English Forum
Joe Carillo's Desk => You Asked Me This Question => Topic started by: maxsims on February 07, 2010, 03:33:34 PM
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Raul Gonzales's book certainly shows that he has an admirable way with words. But where did "againstness" spring from? I think his assessment of a certain actor/president won't go unchallenged, and I believe that comparing his WW2 suffering with the trials of Jesus - "almost like carrying the cross up Calvary" - may raise a few religious hackles.
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Firstly, the surname of Raul S. Gonzalez is of the variety with two “z’s,” ending with a second “z” rather than an “s.” About “againstness,” mmm…wordsmiths sometimes do find the conventional lexicon sorely inadequate to express what’s in their mind, so they sometimes get tempted to do the ultimate in wordsmithing—coin new words. “Againstness” does sound like a strange new syllogism, but it doesn’t look bad at all to me and it seems to work just fine in Gonzalez’s sentence construction. And we mustn’t forget that he was writing an informal essay, a newspaper column—not a college essay or a masteral dissertation. No one can flunk him for his urge to be lexically creative.
As to Gonzalez’s assessment of the once-upon-a-time actor/president, the gauntlet was actually thrown as early as September of 2001 when Gonzalez wrote about him in his column in The Daily Tribune. As far as I know, however, the Biblical simile—or was it a metaphor?—wasn’t disputed at all.
And finally, regarding Gonzalez’s feeling that his World War II suffering was “almost like carrying the cross up Calvary,” that was his honest feeling at the time, I suppose. Remember that we Filipinos are mostly a deeply religious people. And I think that even the supra religious shouldn’t dispute someone’s deepest feelings. In the Holy Book itself, in fact, many of the people who claimed they had received some divine instruction or message could only say that it came in the form of a dream, a sign, or some other form of unverifiable advisory--no third-party proof whatsoever. I can’t presume to speak for Gonzalez, but I have the feeling that he would just shrug off with a grin whatever religious hackles may come.
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Whoops! Sorry about mispelling Mr. Gonzalez's name.
"Syllogism"? "Neologism" perhaps?
Actually, I don't mind "againstness". It beats "negativity" hands down!
Hackled rise.
You are far from the first person to tell me that Filipinos are a deeply religious people. When I ask, "Compared with whom?", I usually get no answer.
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Whoops, too! You're right, of course--it should be "neologism," not "syllogism." (What was I thinking?) As to my use of the phrase "whatever hackles may come," I was thinking of "hackles" in the sense of "temper," not the literal "long neck feathers" of birds. Now that you point out the usage, however, I can see that "come" is a rather oblique, rickety verb to use with "hackles." As you suggest, the verb "rise" is a perfect fit.
Simply to put matters in total context, here's the entry for "hackle" by my digital Merriam-Webster's 11th Collegiate Dictionary:
hackle
Function:noun
Etymology:Middle English hakell; akin to Old High German hāko hook — more at HOOK
Date:15th century
1 a : one of the long narrow feathers on the neck or saddle of a bird b : the neck plumage of the domestic fowl
2 : a comb or board with long metal teeth for dressing flax, hemp, or jute
3 plural a : erectile hairs along the neck and back especially of a dog b : TEMPER, DANDER <the issue raised some hackles>
4 a : an artificial fishing fly made chiefly of the filaments of a cock's neck feathers b : filaments of cock feather projecting from the head of an artificial fly
As to the deep religiosity of Filipinos, making a comparison with other nationals is indeed difficult because so many aspects need to be explained. But the foreigner should be able to see it in the high attendance of our churches, the number of religious icons being venerated inside those churches and in our landscape as well, and the size and frenzy of our religious festivities. Religion is doubtless a very strong determinant and component of our folkways.