A couple of months ago I noticed something rather peculiar in the English language. I was at the time, I should add, searching for peculiarities within the English language, and so whether this is a coincidence or not, I will leave up to you. But, during that initial observation of this anomaly, I recall the lesson I learned in the process. And yet only a few moments ago, when revisiting this discovery, I learned an entirely different lesson- and from that new lesson, and the recognition that it differed from the last, I learned an even more valuable lesson. This secondary, more significant lesson, is what I would like to share with you.

Some context

To give you some context, my brother had just told me over the phone of a video on language I may find interesting. As a selling point, he mentioned that the video suggested the word "beautiful" - when spoken out phonetically - sounds like "be you too full." The video then supposedly implied that many words and common phrases sound like we are saying different things, and that these words that are heard phonetically by all on a subliminal level throughout the day. were giving power to the language that we remain ignorant too.

I have not yet found the video and repeatedly forget to ask my brother, but after that phone call I closed my eyes and tried to see if I could find anything similar. It made sense to me that if this was true, and that if the sounds leaving our mouths are intentionally hiding another language within our language, then surely the most common things we all say will be the most likely culprits to be hiding such a secret in our language? It did not take me long to arrive at "My name is."

The discovery(?)

"My name is" is a phrase that all of us have very likely said a lot of times in our lives, and if we are very sociable people, potentially thousands of times over our lives. When you say "my name is" out loud at the speed you would naturally, you might observe that it sounds like "minimus." I did, and I tried very many times in very many accents, to find that in the vast majority of cases, it sounded like "minimus" to me.

I guessed straight away that this was Latin for minimum, and upon looking it up found that it was. Though minimum was mentioned the first definition was "least." I also stumbled across another definition for minimus which is very interesting.

minimus
[min-uh-muh s]
noun, plural min·i·mi [min-uh-mahy] /ˈmɪn əˌmaɪ/.
a creature or being that is the smallest or least significant.

The Romans conquered England and occupied the territory for 400 years. They heavily influenced the English language, and it seems possible that they could have been smart enough to pervert the language in such a manner that it pacified the people and made them easier to control. If every Englishman were walking around saying "My name is so and so," then so and so would find that with each introduction they make, they unwittingly take a blow at their own confidence.

For me, this only makes sense if the users of the language possessed the knowledge of what "minimus" meant in Latin. I cannot see it doing any damage to one's self esteem saying something that sounds like "minimus" directly before your name, unless you know what minimus means and are therefor able to have your subconscious mind notice you are saying "I am the least significant so and so."That would most certainly be damaging to the psyche, and would make a conquered people, occupied by the very empire that slaughtered their ancestors, have no confidence in their ability to fight back.

The first time I noticed this a few months ago, I remember thinking that it probably doesn't effect us today, but very much did for the Englishmen who were occupied by Latin speaking Romans in the past. But with the Roman influence so prevalent still in the world today, which suggests to me that the empire is still running just under a different name, the lesson I took home from this at the time was that our enemies are too fucking clever and we are too dumb. I wondered how the fuck can we defeat an enemy who has us speaking a language they gave to us, and with us having no way to communicate easily without it?

That was a shitty lesson to learn from that observation. I realised that when I paid attention to the more important one. We humans are so fucking powerful they need for us to speak a language that cultivates insecurity. No one would be willing to spend the amount of time necessary to think up all of these harmful double meanings, and then go to whatever methods necessary to spread the use of that language, if it was not absolutely necessary. And it would not be absolutely necessary if we were not unstoppable when we are who we would be without their restraints.

Language is just one of those restraints, and I suspect there will be similar findings in all commonly spoken languages today. But we who have been paying attention know that there are countless ways that they impact our mental and physical health, our opinions about ourselves and each other, and any other aspects of our being that keep us in high spirits.

What lesson did I learn today when I thought of the word minimus? I learned that this is just one of ten thousand ways they keep us doubting ourselves, and I realised that it would simply not be necessary if we were not incredibly powerful when of sound mind and body. That, however, is not the significant lesson. I have learned that one many a time before and I am sure I will forget it again and have to be reminded, but it is the second lesson I learned today that I shall not forget, and that will be the very tool I use to remember the lessons I forget in future.

The larger lesson at play here is that we have the ability to choose what lessons we learn. Our emotions or mental state during any given observation will try to dictate what lesson we take home. But we cannot allow it do so. If ever we learn a lesson that does not inspire us to do better or be better, then no matter what that observation was, we can reflect on it until we find the lesson contained in there that is healthy for us.

No.