Letter from my terrace in Palma 16 Keep Calm and Carry on.

                                                                             30 November, 2018

“Keep Calm and Carry on.”   

Brexit is in the air, and the discussions and negotiations continue.  This letter from my terrace gives yet another point of view, which, as far as I know, has not been mentioned before.  It may seem trivial. Perhaps it is, and in no way does it try to explain the referendum result.

Anyway, here are a few thoughts on the subject, my two pennyworth if you like, to stir into the already confused stew.

Ever since William the Conqueror took us into Europe there have been two ways of talking and hence two ways of thinking in these islands. Our language has two distinct threads, and subconsciously we choose one or the other as we go about our business.

Let’s take that phrase “Keep calm and carry on.”  It originally comes from the grimmest days of the Second World War but had another lease of life when its crisp message became popular a few years ago.  It then became only too popular. Part of the attraction is the alliteration of ‘keep’, ‘calm’ and ‘carry’.  But what also strikes us is the change from the word ‘calm’ to the homely ‘carry on’. ‘Calm’ is from across the sea whereas ‘carry on’ is home grown.  ‘Calm’ is from French and ultimately from Greek whereas ‘carry on’ is from Old English, the language of King Alfred. And did he not push back the Danes?

All our expressions of verb plus adverb are home grown. ‘Go down’, ‘go on’, ‘put off’, and so on. We have the French words for the same things of course: ‘go down’ and ‘descend’, ‘go on’ and ‘continue’, ‘put off’ and ‘postpone’.  But the second option, the word from French, is for when we have changed into our Sunday best and brushed our hair.  

Do you remember the ‘Carry On’ films from the 60s?  Would you ever remember the ‘Continue’ films?

With these two sets of words, the home grown and those imported later, we can say most things in two ways.   But isn’t ‘freedom’ more familiar than ‘liberty’?   In the same way, ‘talks’ more familiar than ‘discussions’, ‘work’ than ‘labour’ and ‘happy’ than ‘contented’?

Sometimes we use both sets of words at the same time. What did Dr Watson cry out when he and Holmes shot at the hound of the Baskervilles as it emerged from the fog? “If he was vulnerable, he was mortal, and if we could wound him, we could kill him.” In his excitement Watson changed from French to English.

Going back to Brexit, where we started a few minutes ago, was it just a coincidence that the two options in the Brexit referendum were ‘Leave” and “Remain”?  ‘Leave’ is from Old English, and ‘Remain’ is from Latin.  So the option to continue in Europe was a word from Europe. When choosing between ‘Leave’ and ‘Remain’, which felt the more known and familiar? Why wasn’t the word “Stay” used instead of ‘Remain’?  ‘Leave’ or ‘Stay’. That would have made a level playing field.

I am not arguing any cause and effect here. I am just making an observation.

Anyway, the date of Brexit is looming up. We are leaving not remaining and, come what may, we must tackle the change as best we can. Let us all keep calm and carry on.