I love learning new words. I had a chance to help someone on the phone learn a new word today. She said she had been listening to the local classical music station and the DJ ( does Classical Radio have DJ's?) played a piece by Delius (who?) and that the piece was transcribed by an
amenuences. She didn't know the word, and she wasn't sure how to spell it, nor how to pronounce it really. So, the two of us tried to spell it the best we could based on what she heard on the radio. Turns out the word was
Amanuensis: one employed to write from dictation or to copy
manuscript (\ə-ˌman-yə-ˈwen(t)-səs\). But that brings up something in my mind. I'm glad the radio DJ used an unfamiliar word in this instance. So many times TV and Newspaper talk down to us. How many times have I heard that the newspaper is written on a fifth grade level. In this case, the radio DJ challenged the listener to explore and look into what was being said. Both of us, the caller and me, learned something new today. This is why I love my job!
