The Softness of the German 'Trost' opus 745
| 16 January 2026 0125 Hours | | Linguistics, Communication, Philosophy, Psychology, Switzerland |
I was chatting one evening on the phone with Marianne,
A Swiss-German speaker; her mother tongue.
Somehow the word 'Trost' came up and
She could not remember its English meaning.
After some discussion, we sussed out its meaning.
COMFORT -- general relief from distress.
CONSOLATION -- for something that alleviates.
SOLACE -- a formal poetic term,
finding peace in religion, nature, or art.
When spoken, this word is soft in its feeling and sound.
There are those who claim German to be harsh--
Not true and if spoken from the heart as if to a lover,
Elicits passion, and depth, and solace to the listener.
This is a word to be spoken by any and many
And if correctly understood, would bring peace
As well as compassion for the world.