Language and empowerment

Edwin Thumboo's poem Language as Power, written for Larry and Braj (L&B) provides the central theme for this paper written in remembrance of Larry. The poem is a composition in two movements, engaging readers aesthetically and spiritually. The poem's first movement is more like a hymn, celebrating the power of the Word. The second movement explores the impact of the phenomenon known as world Englishes. The paper concludes with two personal notes: the first explaining how the meaning-making potential of language – what Halliday calls ‘grammatical energy’ – is employed by the poet to immortalize L & B; and the second, how our encounters with Larry's every good endeavor have enriched our lives and made us better human beings.