Half-spoken words

Status
Not open for further replies.

jiho

Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2007
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Spanish
Home Country
Spain
Current Location
Spain
Hi all,

"Half-spoken words" is an expression I have read in several instances, i.e. songs, books, etc., but I am not sure about its precise meaning:
-Words you don't really mean?
-Words you are afraid to say?
-Words you say in a very low voice?
-Incomplete words you say?

Thanks a lot, guys!
 

jiho

Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2007
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Spanish
Home Country
Spain
Current Location
Spain

Rover_KE

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England

jiho

Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2007
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Spanish
Home Country
Spain
Current Location
Spain
No. I've never heard it in my (fairly long) life.

Can you give us a complete sentence?

Sure, my friend. Here you are.

-"Box of Rain" lyrics by The Greatful Dead:
"Your tongue is twisted
with words half spoken
and thoughts unclear."

-Qais Akbar Omar's "A Fort of Nine Towers":
"First, there is the fumf of the launch, then the silence as everyone waits, and then the explosion as a house is destroyed or a school collapses. Then slowly the conversation resumes, sometimes with a half-spoken prayer."

Thank You so much for your kind attention and help.
 

Rover_KE

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
Oh...right.

I've given up trying to make sense of abstruse song lyrics.
 

jiho

Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2007
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Spanish
Home Country
Spain
Current Location
Spain
Here I post some more quotes from a couple of books:

Love's Return: Psychoanalytic Essays on Childhood, Teaching, and Learning, edited by Gail M. Boldt,and Paula M. Salvio:
"There is a half-spoken history associated with this film—a history that speaks of…"
"Poets gathered to present works-in-progress, to work out lines, to listen for the half-spoken image, and to engage in wordplay."

The Bloody Hoax, by Sholem Aleichem:
"And, in her mind, she walked into the theater with them, sat in the seat next to them, followed their every step, listened to their half-spoken words…"
"…with hints and half-spoken words he had given her to understand that she meant everything to him and he was prepared to reveal to her his innermost secret!"

You can easily goople those and read the full contexts.


I have also lived a fairly long life, but I don't think it's too late to learn something new, something I have never heard of, or read of.
And I have not given up trying to make sense of English, no matter how abstruse it might seem at first sight.
That is why I come here to ask a teacher whenever I find some English words that puzzle me.

Thank you anyway.
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
Sure, my friend. Here you are.

-"Box of Rain" lyrics by The Greatful Dead:
"Your tongue is twisted
with words half spoken
and thoughts unclear."

-Qais Akbar Omar's "A Fort of Nine Towers":
"First, there is the fumf of the launch, then the silence as everyone waits, and then the explosion as a house is destroyed or a school collapses. Then slowly the conversation resumes, sometimes with a half-spoken prayer."

Thank You so much for your kind attention and help.

In the first, I'd interpret it as mangled and in the second as whispered.
 

jiho

Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2007
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Spanish
Home Country
Spain
Current Location
Spain
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top