DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas – In Civil Air Patrol, much of what we do has been handed down to us by the U.S. Air Force, in turn inherited from the U.S. Army, a service that evolved from England's military traditions going back to the Middle Ages. The more traditional they are, these early ideas were articulated in the cultured lingua franca of the day: Latin. (The term lingua franca itself – literally "Frankish tongue" – harks back to an old European language that made possible trade and dialogue across the Mediterranean ports; rooted in Latin, it was a mixture of Italian, French, Spanish, Greek, and Arabic.)

So here's today's question. What do "Lecture," "Brief," and "Speech" have in common? In Civil Air Patrol, we are often called upon to deliver one of these; therefore, it would be a good idea to know what they mean, what they are, and how they came about.

The word "lecture" is directly derived from the Middle Latin lectura, meaning "reading." Big deal. Why should "reading" need a name, anyway? As always, there is a reason. When the word was coined, in the 14th century, the ability to read was quite a rare skill, so readers were needed to spread information. Thus, at that time, "lecture" meant really "reading aloud (speaking) in public or to an audience." It was much later that nearly-universal literacy became the norm. If the old lecturers had been charged with reading aloud from other people's writings, the new lecturers now read their own. The spirit of this word is kept in England, where one doesn't "study the law" but "reads the law."

"Brief" enters the English language in the 13th century from the Latin brevis, meaning "short." By 1630 it came to mean also "a short letter" specifically one from the Pope, to distinguish these shorter messages from the longer "Bull" (itself derived from the Latin bula, meaning "sealed document"). In today's military, a brief is – as you would expect – also brief. And so ought to be a Civil Air Patrol brief. In German, ein Brief means "a letter" (in the sense of correspondence).

"Speech" escapes Latin roots, as it stems from the Old English spaec a variant of spraec (that evolved into the German Sprache) meaning "speech" or "language." There isn't much we can say about this one, other than reaffirming that speaking (coupled with listening) is an excellent way to communicate.

Eventually, possibly popularized by poor students who couldn't grasp the meaning of a Lecture, or by others who had to suffer through the painful experience of having a lecture poorly delivered, the expression to lecture evolved into its modern negative meaning (as in "please don't lecture me").

The military were quick in adopting the concept of a brief, as it made sense to tell all that mattered very accurately and quickly, thus enabling the commander to make good decisions, especially when in a tight tactical spot.

It wasn't until the 20th century that Noam Chomsky, Benjamin Whorf, and others contributed to the concept of linguistic relativity, coming to the conclusion that "language itself is the shaper of ideas." So, next time you are bored by a lecture, or worried that you'll have to deliver one, or have the high responsibility of presenting a brief assigned to you, or come out of having heard a speech either impressed or disappointed, think of the long line of thinkers that made possible the creation and perfecting of writing, an invention that led to reading, and gave us a tool capable of synthesizing our thoughts for excellent and quick effect.

What would we do without language (from the Latin lingua, "tongue")?

Maj. Arthur E. Woodgate, CAP