A Word a Day

Who needs yet another bulk daily email? This one's worth it, A Word a Day. I have a pretty decent vocabulary. Close friends sometimes tease me for using less-than-normal words. More often than not, I don't know the word of the day.

Everybody loves an educational tool like this. Educators use it to liven up their classrooms. The Wall Street Journal likes it for keeping "boredom at bay." The WSJ mentions about a half a million people in more than two hundred countries subscribe to AWAD, that each week has a theme, but doesn't mention the author's delightfully devious use of the daily word to spread messages of peace.

This week features words borrowed from other languages than English, and not the usual ones like Spanish or French. Anu Garg, originally from India, informs us today that 2005 has been designated The Year of Languages in the US. This sly pacifist says the most crucial reason to learn another language is that "once we speak the language of a people, it's much harder to hate them. And once they are no longer alien to us, it's much more difficult to drop bombs on them."

Every day also features a quote which often carries a message of peace.