Day 65
There’s not a more fun way to write words than by using International Phonetic Alphabet.
I realize that, having written the above statement, I just lost half my readership for today’s entry. (Thank you to the 2.5 of you who are still bearing with me.) But I’m serious. What other alphabet can be used to write any language in the world? Not a one. The good ol’ IPA has a symbol for every sound humans produce in our thousands of languages. From glottal stops (the little catch you feel in your throat when you are in the middle of “uh-uh”, as in “no”) to nasals (think “m” “n” and “ng”) to alveolar stops (“t” and “d”) to non-English sounds like clicks and trills and pharyngeal fricatives. Oh, and all the vowels, too.
Check it out here: http://www.omniglot.com/writing/ipa.htm
And if you ever get the chance, take a phonetics course. It is seriously fun – you sit around making odd noises and attempting to correctly pronounce words that look like, using our alphabet, “mahmoofeeseeheekah”. But not exactly like that, because unfortunately I don’t have IPA script on my computer. Bummer.
Onward.
Ever been expecting something big to happen, and then all the circumstances go in the completely opposite direction? Yeah, me too. It sure takes the wind out of your sails, throws you for a loop, knocks you down, and all the other metaphors we use for disappointment.
It’s times like these I need the Shepherd. He knows.
Where He leads me I must follow
Without Him I’d lose my way
I will see a bright tomorrow
If I follow Him today
Like a lamb who needs the Shepherd
At His side I choose to stay Through the night His strength I’ll borrow
Then I’ll see another day
Life is like a winding pathway
Who can tell what lies ahead?
Will it lead to shady pastures,
Or to wilderness instead?
Like a lamb who needs the Shepherd
When into the night I go
Help me find the path that’s narrow
While I travel here below
Though you walk through darkest valleys
And the sky is cold and gray
Though you climb the steepest mountains
He will never let you stray
Like a lamb who needs the Shepherd
By your side He’ll always stay
‘Til the end of life’s long journey
He will lead you all the way.
– R. Carmichael
Made for Eternity 