Why is “the” so long a word? asked Paul Mathis. The Australian was annoyed at the little word, not so much for its 3-letter length, but for its hegemonic prevalence in our sentences.
Thanks to Mathis, the word “the,” which appears in 80 percent of English-language sentences, now has a new alternative: “Ћ”
Frustrated with “the,” Franklin, Adams and Jefferson went through a lot of paper in drafting Ћ Declaration of Independence.
OK, even if this is Change of Venue Friday and your quality-demand meter is way down, you may not be convinced. But take a look at the compelling evidence as seen in the following sentences:
“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”
Quite the time-suck, right? Now, try this streamlined version:
“When in Ћ Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve Ћ political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among Ћ powers of Ћ earth, Ћ separate and equal station to which Ћ Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to Ћ opinions of mankind requires that they should declare Ћ causes which impel them to Ћ separation.”
Impressive and concise, right? Had that been the opening graf of the letter sent to Great Britain, I’m pretty certain the Crown would have capitulated without the need for war.
You may disagree, but at least have Ћ open-mindedness to watch Ћ video below that explains Mathis’ thinking. It may change Ћ world as you know it.
Have a great weekend.
Hat tip to a PR Daily article for alerting me to Ћ radical proposal to change an article.
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