A Road Trip to the Mediterranean

Occitanie

This beautiful area, sits, geographically-speaking, alongside the Mediterranean coastline between the port of Marseille and the Spanish border. Having been subjected to a recent name change, we are now to be known as Occitanie rather than Languedoc-Roussillon – a simplification which will not necessarily be popular locally. Ah, the universal dislike of change!

The other half of the French Mediterranean coastline comprises Provence-Cote D’Azur, which sits between Marseille and the Italian border.  Occitanie, saturated, as it is, in history and awash with chateaux and vineyards, also incorporates the foothills of the Pyrenees and through it all ambles deep gushing river gorges, colourful market towns, hovering birds of prey, slinky Pyrenean lynx hunting the wild boar and alongside it all, isolated and beautiful villages, each one built on a rising, almost nipple-like rock, topped with a chateau and a church, bells clanging regularly across the red tuille roofs.

Because of this stunning scenery, the region makes an excellent base for someone obsessed with photography with its undulating scenery and the dreadful history of the Cathars to absorb. Briefly, in the 13th century the church of Rome ruthlessly put down heretics and sects such as the Cathars who threatened their authority and financial stability. The church, with the strong support of the Kings of France, disbanded and persecuted the Templars and outright murdered the Cathars, who had sought refuge in a series of chateaux and towers along the Pyrenees.

However, today, the Cathar and Templar crosses are proudly displayed on the flags of the region. The local people, who don’t consider themselves to be French but the d’Oc – from whence the name Occitanie comes, are typically Mediterraneans – friendly, chaotic and noisy – and, of course, everywhere, the superb quality wines produced in this, the largest vineyard in the world.

It’s the start of Autumn, here in Occitanie. Searching for inspiration, I decide to take the short road-trip to the coast. On the drive down to the favoured wine chateau – Château Rouquette sur Mer on the Massif de la Clape – a wine-growing area sited on a small cliff-faced mountain separating Narbonne from the Mediterranean Sea – I have my “plastique” wine container in one hand – and in the other, my camera.

All around, the vines are turning colour – clear splashes of bright red against the wintery sunlight but most exhilarating of all, when I approach the Mediterranean Sea, are the colours of the sky. I have only ever seen such blues in the work of painters who flock to this coast for the intensity of the light. The deepest blues are high above me, the palest near the horizon, with every brilliantly reflected variation pulled in different directions across the water by the breezes and the currents. Such light can mesmerise – you feel pulled towards the sea, clutching your camera and feeling slightly breathless about these, the first truly possible Autumnal shots of the year. The beautiful light illuminates the vineyards which are otherwise empty of fruit, the harvest long behind us now and the wine already made into dark purple grape juice.

I’m in a hurry – I’m afraid the scene will vanish if I don’t catch it soon. But then one change in the wind direction, one cloud – everything will be altered, will have disappeared before the shot is in the bag!

As I drive over la Clape, I realise the windscreen is spattering – the rain is falling. This is one of the driest parts of France – less than 50 cms of rain each year – and virtually all of it in November and March. Recent descriptions of our weather in springtime include “you know the Mediterranean weather in the spring – up and down, like the mood of the people ……” a true to life description of everything Mediterranean.  A description of our weather in Autumn … sunny with wet days!

I look out over the vineyards to my left – their sheltered situation meaning that even so early in Autumn, there is the merest hint of a brown wash to the vines. The sun has encouraged a few vines to shiver, nakedly, in the cold sunshine and the breeze from the sea, whilst the edges of the fields are carpeted in deep-purple …. wild lavender and wild sage paving the way.  Looking watery, the combination of sun and rain has produced a rainbow of course. More Mediterranean magic!

I take my photographs, fill my “plastique” and I drift away to the étangs, a string of lakes which sit along the Mediterranean shoreline and which, in the Autumn, attracts a large number of migrating birds – pale, watery colours wash over this inland sea combined with pink flamingos, standing one-legged in the water – and I consider the summer gone, full of light and sunshine. Always a hot summer, filled with photographs, , summer food and wine, tours around the castles, chateaux and vineyards – and conclude that such idyllic times are there to be shared.

WRITING TO CREATE A SALES PITCH

Now, more than ever, good writing skills are critical to success in the working world. Thanks to technology, text-based communication is faster and easier than ever, which means professionals spend more time writing than in past.

In turn, writing has become a divisive medium. Those business people who do it well will find opportunities for achieving their goals, furthering their ideas, and advancing their careers. Those who don’t write, risk having their intelligence, competence, and professionalism questioned.

To make sure you’re part of the winning team, read up on some of the tips below.

1. KISS

Not “kiss” your peers, silly. That would inappropriately equal nepotism, sexual harassment, or just the beginning of a tumultuous relationship. KISS is short for ‘Keep It Simple, Stupid,’ and it means just that.

In the business world, where time is money, it’s essential to communicate quickly and clearly. Don’t overcomplicate the subject you’re writing about and the language you’re using.

Also, keep in mind that when you have niche expertise about a topic, it can be easy to make things overly tedious or to jam jargon into every paragraph, sentence, and subheading this side of Timbuktu. At the end of the day though, long, cryptic phrases that deeply resonate with only you or show off your intelligence to your peers may mean little—and even be confusing—to the people reading your writing.

Rather, use clear, concise, and straightforward language. Be explicit and use plain English. This will help make sure you get your point across to the people who matter most: your audience.

2.  BE CONSISTENT

When writing for the professional world, you should always eliminate any obstacles to understanding. Writing that is consistent allows your audience to focus on the message.

Inconsistencies, no matter how small, can raise subconscious red flags. For example, a sudden % can be as distracting as a naked clown in rush hour traffic if you’ve otherwise written the word percent throughout.

Similarly, sudden style changes can cause readers to hunt for deeper meaning where there is none, which detracts from your writing’s main points and purpose. For instance, if you start a list with bullet points and end it with numbers, it raises questions about the reasons behind such an action. Are the bulleted points more important? Are the numbered points a mistake?

One great way to keep your professional writing consistent is by creating and following a style guide, which is a manual of sorts that provides conventions for language, spelling, formatting, and punctuation. If you don’t want to go through the process of creating your own, you can always adopt an established rulebook, like The Associated Press (AP) Stylebook or The Chicago Manual of Style.

3. LEAVE THE ROBOT ON THE DANCE FLOOR

Whilst writing for the workplace certainly demands an air of professionalism, it often doesn’t need to be overly formal (unless you’re dealing with legal documents or a very formal audience). Leave the rigid, stilted writing style at home with the tuxedo or high heels, and consider using a more conversational tone.

After all, the audience on the receiving end of your writing is made up of people, not R2-D2 and C-3PO. You want to build rapport with your readers and engage them—not alienate them.

Writing in a conversational style means writing like you speak. For example, feel free to use contractions, to talk directly to your audience, and to infuse your sentences with a bit of personality (while keeping it positive and courteous). It’s widely accepted in the business world for written communication to mirror everyday speech.

4.  REVIEW, REVIEW and (Need We Say It Again?) REVIEW

As even the greatest authors can attest, revision is one of the most important, albeit one of the most painful, parts of writing. Ernest Hemingway famously rewrote the final page of A Farewell to Arms thirty-nine times, Vladimir Nabokov swears he never wrote a word he didn’t rewrite, and Truman Capote claimed he believed more in the scissors than the pencil.

Even in the workplace, reviewing your writing by taking the time to edit and proofread is essential. Careless mistakes, critical omissions, and embarrassing grammar and spelling infractions can undermine all of the hard work you’ve put into a professional piece of writing. Not to mention, it can damage your reputation, authority, and credibility in the long run.

Once you’ve finished writing, put it aside for a while to let it “get cold” (if you have the luxury of time). Then read it aloud, making a point to notice where you’re stumbling over sentences. Check it thereafter for clarity, conciseness, and consistency. Finally, give it a once- (or twice-, or even thrice-) over for spelling and grammar.

Acknowledgement to Grammarly

YOU’VE BEEN VERBED!

In English we can take a noun and change it into a verb and the sentence can still make sense. You can change nouns and adjectives into verbs by adding the suffixes -ate, -ise, -en and -ify.

Here is an example:

verb:     reserve

noun:    a reservation

I’ve noticed a tendency to create neoglisms (newly coined words) by changing nouns into verbs, when discussing the English used on the internet ……

When we change a noun into a verb in English, it usually becomes a regular verb with the -ED ending in the simple past. “Have you ever googled your name?”

Do you say “texted” …. I have my doubts about that one.  It doesn’t sound right somehow.  “I’ve texted her this morning …”  – should it be “texed” …. ?

Very often, neoglisms are taken directly from popular literature or movies.  As an example, “cyberspace,” from Neuromancer by William Gibson … but you can’t be “cyberspaced” as far as I know!

Then there is the often used word, “troll” … and yes, you can be ‘trolled’, thus turning the word “troll” (defined as an ugly cave-dwelling creature depicted as either a giant or a dwarf) into “trolled”, the verb, (defined as anyone who fails to recognise a troll and responds to it with anger or annoyance, especially in an online forum.)

Friending, trending, even evidencing .…. plenty of nouns are turning into verbs.

Mothers and fathers used to bring up children: now they parent their children!

The English language is in a constant state of flux. New words are formed and old ones fall into disuse. But no trend has been more obtrusive in recent years than the changing of nouns into verbs. “Trend” itself (now used as a verb meaning “change or develop in a general direction”, as in “unemployment has been trending upwards”) is further evidence of—sorry, evidences—this phenomenon.

New technology is fertile ground, partly because it is constantly seeking names for things which did not previously exist: we “text” from our mobiles, “bookmark” websites, “inbox” our e-mail contacts and “friend” our acquaintances on Facebook —only, in some cases, to “unfriend” them later. “Blog” had scarcely arrived as a noun before it was adopted as a verb, first intransitive and then transitive (an American friend boasts that he “blogged hand-wringers” about a subject that upset him).

Conversely, verbs such as “twitter” and “tweet” have been transformed into nouns—though this process is far less common.

Many words which were originally nouns have very quickly become established as verbs.  We bookmark websites.  We email, text, message and DM (Direct Message) people.  We friend and unfriend people on Facebook.  We tweet about topics that are trending.  We blog.  And now, at least according to one mobile phone provider, we also hub!!

Proper nouns are also used as verbs …. if we don’t know something, we google it.  We Skype to keep in touch.  We YouTube to watch video clips and we Facebook and Whatsapp people about what’s going on in our lives.

During the recent Olympics in London, several new “sport” related nouns were being used as verbs.  Competitors no longer stood on the podium and won a medal, but podiumed and medalled.  Athletes also finalled (reached a final) and PB-ed (achieved a Personal Best).  Even Lord Coe, Chairman of the Organising Committee, got in on the act when, prior to the games, he told the nation that “The London Olympics needed to legacy” !!

Politics has come up with “to handbag” (a tribute to Lady Thatcher)!

Nor should we EVER forget that magnificent proper noun –  “to Bobbitt”, the verb coined when an irate Lorena Bobbitt took a knife to quite a specific part of her husband’s physique.  And cut it off!

In his book, The Language Instinct, Steven Pinker tells us that “Easy conversion of Nouns to Verbs has been part of English grammar for centuries; it is one of the processes that makes English English.’

So, when I consider changing nouns into verbs, I see it as proof of a vibrant linguistic culture. My only objection comes when “verbification” transforms perfectly good nouns into perfectly awful and unnecessary verbs. Corporate America is the worst “transformer” in this sense. Instead of providing incentives, companies have began to incentivize. Now they also talk about the dangers of disincentivizing. Yuck.

So, the choice is yours – do you noun or do you verb?  Keep your eyes and ears open and see how many examples of “verbing” you come across.  A lot more than I’m aware of, I suspect.  And please share some of your favourites with me.

So, YOU’VE BEEN VERBED!

ABOUT ME

Explorations in Writing, Travel, and Education …. I’m a writer, a teacher and an amateur photographer.  I also love to cook, so I often combine all my great loves, by travelling, eating, cooking and photographing food … from whichever country I visit.

I write stories involving food and illustrate them by taking photographs.

ARTFUL ENGLISH – Improve your Vocabulary

READING!

That is the way to improve your vocabulary whilst learning alone.

Why don’t you simply test the level of your English – using an online test site – and then buy yourself a book which is one level ahead of your level.

In that way, you can be sure of dragging your English to the next level.

Try any site which tests your English level – here are links to a couple of them.

Cambridge University English Level Test

OR

Exam English Level Test

Both of these tests are excellent but cannot be used as proof of your current level in English.  If you need to prove the level of your English, you must go ahead and sit your IELTS examination to get a totally accurate and provable example of the level of your English.

Once you know the level of your English, which is likely to be shown as either A1 or A2 (for beginners); B1 or B2 (for Intermediate levels); and C1 or C2 (for more advanced students).

Your next move should be to add one level to your current level – so if you are currently showing as a B2 level student, you should conduct a search for books which are aimed at C1 level students.

Doing this will allow you to bring the level of your vocabulary up to a higher level.

So follow this link now

Penguin Readers

and find a book which appeals to you, order the book online and wait for it to be delivered.

When the book arrives, read the book, holding your Dictionary and a pad and pen beside you.

When you come to a word you don’t understand, look up the word.  Write it down, write down the meaning, use the word in a sentence.

For the first 50 pages, you will find this a very frustrating exercise but PERSEVERE!  You will quickly start to recognise the words you didn’t understand earlier in the book.  The book will seem to get easier but of course that simply means that your vocabulary is extending.

You can conduct this exercise as often as you wish and each time you read a new book, you will extend your vocabulary.

You do not need anyone else with you when you conduct this exercise – its an opportunity to learn whilst you are alone.

ARTFUL ENGLISH – LEARNING NEW WORDS

English is an art form.  It has to be used and developed to its fullest.  Do you feel its necessary to learn more vocabulary?  Do you need to extend your ability to describe something?

There are several ways to learn to increase your vocabulary but one of the easiest is via “one word each day” – but reading the new vocabulary, and using it correctly, are two totally different things.

There are many dictionary sites who will oblige by sending you a new word each day, together with its pronunciation, its definition and ways to use it.  Try this site:

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/English

and sign up to get The Word of the Day sent to your email.

When you have a few moments, sit down and concentrate on the email – follow the link and use the small ‘speaker icon’ so that you can hear the correct pronunciation.  The dictionary will give you the usage of the word and the definition – but try very, very hard to actually write a sentence using the word, repeat the pronunciation and the definition to yourself pronouncing the word as you listen to it.  If you do all of this, you will only have used up about five minutes of your precious time, daily.  But you will be one more word to the good!

In a very short period of time, your vocabulary will have extended.   If you get one word every day, it will extend by approximately 30 words each month and by 365 words each year.  And your confidence in using English will grow every time you use one of those newly-learned words.

Another way to extend your vocabulary is by reading a book with your dictionary by your side.  For the first two or three chapters, you will barely put down your dictionary.  But after that time, you will start to recognise the words as they are written, and understand their meaning immediately.

Always buy books which are one standard ahead of your capabilities right now … because that is the only way your English will be dragged along to another level.

More about reading choosing books to increase your vocabulary the next time ………..