Slender Letters

I do not think you appreciate, because you can not know, what it takes for me to write these short posts daily.  I lost all of my languages and communication ability on October 17th, when I awoke with total amnesia.  Everything is gone, all but one memory - which now vexes me. :(

So, to verbally communicate, I stutter every time I use a word that I have not used recently, if at all since October.  So, these posts are good for me in that regard - expanding my vocabulary.  Written is also hard because I am relearning how to type.  Sigh.  I am down to maybe four hours now on a normal post!

I have reread all of my old blogs - metal detecting, painting, cooking, my father's life, Thoughts From The Little Apple and of course, After The Apple and sadly, four blogs I deleted long ago, but I have backups I read through (and it angered me greatly!  So, I am glad no one else can read them!).  It told me a great deal about the old me - the man whom is dead, that will never be again - if I have anything to say about it.

To relearn English, I have been voraciously rereading all of my books - Anthropology, Archaeology, Mineralogy, Geology, Theology.  Things that I do not remember, are still interesting to read, but I am not sure they are where my new path will take me.  And I have hit a snag ... I know I am a Christian, in fact every moment of every day is completely dependent upon Him - because I have nothing left in  (or of) me.  And I am seemingly starting over knowing God and defining a Christian walk anew.

I picked up a book covering topics in Catholicism, old enough that it was done in old English and I came upon a mystery: letters I have never seen before!  Yeah, I am pretty sure that I never have encountered the letter "C" attached to a "T" by a curved line above them.  The same for "S" and "T"!  This is called a "ligature", I was to learn, the connection of the two letters by another symbol. 

And I found that English used to have soft, hard and slender sounds for each letter.  As time progressed the slender sounds only remained with the CT and ST combinations.  If you would pronounce these letters as an American,  yeah you are mighty close to what the Englishman would try to sound out.  Think of PACT, PAST, etc.  Hmmmmmmm.  Well, it is rare.  In the old manuscripts they can only be found in about 2% of them.  But, there is very little that is fact about them known.  Lots of theories and with the advent of moveable type, almost extinct in English.  However, in my searching I found out that new fonts are being produced for the English computer community which will be featuring Old English, Medieval English, Norman and Saxon English modifications as well!

How odd!  Did you know that?  Well, Gaelic Girl did, which was then followed by the comment of, exactly how much brain damage have I sustained?!?!?!?!

I know the answer is: significant.

But, I have found this subject fascinating and this little post is the product of a week's worth of computer searching and asking questions!  Another mystery, "solve - ed", as Clouseau would say ...
:)