Words are sounds. Sounds which can be harsh or gentle, hard or soft, pleasurable or amusing. Some words are poetic, some functional.

Onomatopoeic words have a sonorous effect on the ears. Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem ‘The Princess, Come down o Maid’ has two wonderful lines. 

The moan of doves in immemorial elms

The murmuring of innumerable bees. 

The doves and bees are there in your mind’s eye instantly, with a warm summer’s day. English is rich in onomatopoeic words. Swoosh and splash tell you what the water is doing. The variety of sounds we have to describe the speech of a cat all echo the animal’s. 

Another group which is fun is alliteration. Every child enjoys playing with words like ‘Peter Piper picked a pickled pepper’ and getting in a muddle.  It can also be great help in trying to remember an awkward item for an exam.

Mnemonics is a useful word with a useful function.  If only it was easy to spell. The colors of the rainbow give various ideas.  Richard of York gave battle in vain, or Roy G. Biv. The first is more elegant.

There are words we only use in one form.  No one ever says someone is ruth.  It’s always ruthless.  No person ever lists although ships might, but people can be listless. Hapless is another.  Reckless and feckless are commonish but the first part on it’s own is rare. Any way why do they all end in less. More ruthless is nonsense yet it’s not.

Some words, regardless of their meaning, have an attractive sound.  Recidivist and relict are two.  Reoffending criminals and widows are not the first things that come to mind with these words.

Our language is rich, subtle and varied.  With words borrowed from a number of other’s, we have made it probably the simplest language in the world but also one of the most complex. It is a language which can express the elegance of a scientific experiment, declare love gracefully and be extremely crude on occasion. Perhaps it reflects the complexity of the apparently chilly English.