It is not uncommon for close synonyms to be understood to share the same meaning. The difference between words like “hard”and “difficult”, for example, goes tragically unnoticed.

Take for example the following sentences: 1) The test was hard. 2) The test was difficult. Is there a noticeable difference between the at all? If not, what would be the point to having multiple words with the exact same meaning? While many close synonyms share similar, if not the same, dictionary definitions, the feeling or mood they convey is utterly singular, if there is indeed a difference between words like “hard” and “difficult”, what is it?

To begin, “hard” is pragmatic and realistic, firmly grounded in reality. On the other hand, “difficult” is civilized, willing to make the effort necessary to appear polite. Furthermore, “hard” is more likely to be used in casual, in formal circumstances. It is used without pretense, and does not maintain a feeling of being overly concerned. In terms of daily usage, “hard” may be employed by an exhausted brick mason (石匠) when posed with the question, “How was your day” Conversely, “difficult” may be used by a military general upon explaining to his or her superior the progression of a particularly taxing campaign.

Now, let’s look at the synonyms, “happy” and “glad”. Take for example the following sentences: 1) Tommy is happy because he got a new bike. 2) Tommy is glad because he got a new bike. Again, upon consulting a dictionary, one will find highly similar, if not the same, definitions. But these definitions lack the feeling, the unique emotional charge that these words convey. The word “happy” conveys a sense of a carefree attitude. The thought of someone who is “happy” conveys the image of a bright-eyed, ruddy, smiling face. One is “ happy” on the morning of his birthday, discovering a new puppy bounding into his bedroom. On the other hand, the word “glad” conveys a sense of relief or contentment. The thought of someone who is “glad” conveys the image of a man standing crossed-armed, nodding gently.

Granted, the notion that close synonyms can be used interchangeably is prevalent among English speakers. However, using the examples and insights described above, one may come to recognize these subtle, yet crucial,differences.

In 1947, the province Bengal of Pakistan was divided into two parts: the western part became India and the eastern part is known as East Bengal which was later known as East Pakistan. At that time there were many economic, social and cultural problems. In 1948, when government announced Urdu as the national language, it caused the protest among the Bengali speaking majority of Pakistan. The protest got out of control and ended with the death of four protestors of the University of Dhaka who were shot by the police on 21st February, 1952. The students’ deaths during the fight for their mother language are now remembered as The International Mother Language Day (IMLD).

Each year on Feb 21, UNESCO holds the event to draw attention to the disappearance of the world’s languages: dozens of them are disappearing each year. What happens when a language dies out? Something huge is lost -- not just sounds and marks but the way that people make sense of the world and communicate with each other. And it is through language that we have culture and tradition. Kill a language and all this is killed too.

Through IMLD, more people are becoming more aware of the destruction of linguistic (语言的) diversity in modern times and trying to stop it. The Myaamia Project is a kind of effort. This is an attempt to revive (复兴) the language spoken by the Miami and Illinois tribes (部落) of the US. Project members work to encourage people to study and communicate with this language, which formally died out in the 1960s.

This is why we should remember the wise words of Nelson Mandela: “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to a man in his own language, that goes to his heart.”

When “irregardless” was included in Merriam-Webster dictionary, it caused wide disagreements. “Irregardless” has been in widespread and near-constant use since 1795, when a newspaper called The Charleston City Gazelle of Charleston Ga first used it. “We do not make the English language, and we merely record it,” the dictionary’s staff wrote in “Words of the Week”.

The word’s definition, when we read it, would seem to be without regard. However, Merriam-Webster defines “irregardless” as “nonstandard” but meaning the same as “regardless”. According to Merriam-Webster, “Many people find ‘irregardless’ to be a ridiculous word, as the ir-prefix usually indicates negative meaning; however, in this case it appears to make the meaning of ‘regardless’ stronger.”

“It’s not a real word. I don’t care what the dictionary says.” responds author Michelle Ray, who teaches English in Silver Spring, Md. And she says she’s still planning to mark “irregardless” as incorrect on her students’ work.

An American newspaper the Baltimore Sun published the word in editor John McIntyre’s commentary on Saturday: “‘Irregardless is too a word; you just don’t understand dictionaries. People get upset about the dictionary because they think it is some sort of official document. But actually, it’s not. It’s just lexicographers identifying words that people use and trying to find out how they are spelled, how they are pronounced, what meanings they have and where they came from.”

“The dictionary’s recognition doesn’t enroll a word as correct in the English language,” McIntyre says. “It just says this is a word that a lot of people use in English. And here’s what we know about it.” So it’s a word, but its use is still discouraged in formal writing.