Abstract world of nouns
Ratna Raman
NOUNS are very important players in language. They support sentences and remain the ‘object’ and ‘subject’ of discussion whenever the composition of a sentence is grammatically analysed. Nouns exist in singular and plural, there are ‘proper nouns’ (names of people and places), ‘common nouns’ (everyday objects) and ‘collective nouns’ which describe a large number of people (team), animals (herd), insects (swarm) and objects (set). The most significant nouns are the abstract nouns, also known as qualitative nouns.
The word ‘abstract’ indicates a thought or an idea with little concrete reality. An abstract noun cannot be quantified nor does it offer itself for identification in terms of any kind of descriptive detail, pertaining to the five senses. It can’t be seen, touched, tasted, heard or smelt. These nouns operate in far more subtle ways and influence individuals, groups, communities, nations, in fact, the entire human world. They name and shape emotions, ideas, concepts, beliefs and attributes that are markers of significant aspects of life. Abstract nouns embody both the positive and negative aspects, and frame the entire spectrum of emotions (grief, sorrow, anger, love, hate), attributes (bravery, honesty, loyalty, courage, cowardice), ideas and concepts (belief, justice, faith, knowledge, information, culture) and events and movements (education, leisure, friendship).
Take, for instance, abstract nouns such as love and hate, which are very powerful emotions and have dominated human lives across cultures from the beginning of time. Emily Dickinson, a lyric poet from the 19th century says, “I had no time to hate, because/The grave would hinder me,/ And life was not so ample I/Could finish enmity.
Nor had I time to love, but since/ Some industry must be,/The little toil of love, I thought,/Was large enough for me.”
Dickinson recognises the enormous power of love and enmity (hate) and chooses love because it is easier to manage. The poem allows us to recognise the complex role played by abstract nouns.
Significantly, abstract nouns can also mean different things to different people. Take, for instance, the word ‘faith’. It collates different beliefs, usually spiritual or religious, in nature. Several million people all over the world follow different faiths. Again, a whole plethora of eventsactivities nouns such as fasts, feasts, worship, meditation, pilgrimages, hymns, gurbani, bhajan, kirtan, adhans, salats and chants are the myriad ways in which ‘faith’ can be expressed.
Abstract nouns also represent human attributes or qualities. The word ‘affection’ indicates a strong regard and commitment to another. This could be reflected in the relationship between a teacher and her students, parents and children, the bond between friends, neighbours, grandparents, relatives and communities. ‘Affection’, in this context, functions as a positive building block in human societies and generates energy; love; trust; hope; optimism; loyalty; health; wellness, paving the way for a just, egalitarian society.
The reverse is true when we look at another usage of the word ‘affection’. Sometimes ‘affection’ can be indicative of an abnormal condition that disrupts functioning. For instance, “A child born with a heart-affection will be subject to medical problems, impairing growth and development.” Excessive affection or its complete absence allows an entirely different set of abstract nouns such as disaffection; dislike; animosity; hostility; prejudice; antipathy; misanthropy; intolerance; and injustice to come into play. Rephrasing Shakespeare’s observations on sorrow, we could say: “When abstract nouns come, they come not single spies. But in Battalions!”
