Jeff Russell

If I may jump in (on [1]), you're describing something I keep beating my head against in Greek—the adjective δεινός, which means "awful" in the same sort of archaic sense you mention in the blog post: anything that inspires awe, whether it be adoration, wonderment, or abject terror. (Aphrodite's beauty may be "awful" in the first sense, or seeing the ocean for the first time may be "awful" in the second sense, or Hades' three-headed fire-breathing monster-dog may be "awful" in the third sense. None of these are "awful" in the modern sense of how the lazy kid did on his math test.) There doesn't seem to be any good fit for δεινός in English, any more, and literal Greek translations tend to be a little tortured because of it (and words like it).

English is a very versatile language, but the more I look into other languages, the more its failings become apparent to me, and it's frustrating. I long for the day where I can finally speak without words...