Random Thoughts.....What Are You Thinking?

What the f*ck actually is a verbal component?
Like, I get it. Spells in video games can be blocked by Silence, and it gives a mechanical excuse for an enemy to know where a spell originates and makes things loud. I get the imagery of a mage holding aloft a crooked staff chanting some Latin or Elvish or something while swirls of energy coalesce into a spell.

But what purpose does it serve? Why does a spell give a crap about poetry? What happens if you have an accent or are reading a word and mispronounce it altogether? Does it work if you translate it into a different language? Why can't you just whisper it, utter it, or even just think it in your brain? Does it get more powerful if you shout it louder?

Maybe it's a prayer to your god (Cleric) or patron (Warlock), but then to whom does a Sorcerer, Wizard, or Artificer need to pray for a spell to work? And why does it need to be declared to cast the spell when a small portion of other spells need no verbal components at all?

How does the spell associate with the words? Do you need to speak the exact words to conjure a fireball as the mage who created the spell Fireball(TM)? What if another mage came along and made the exact same spell? Would they have come up with the exact same words, or could any words work in theory? If any words can work, then why can't you just cast it by clearing your throat, or without the words altogether? If the words are chosen, then why wouldn't the mage just make it something short like "Fire!" or "You!"? How does a mage learn the spell if they haven't read and memorized the exact verbal components?

Harry learned an incantation in a book and used it without having a clue what it even did, nearly murdering Malfoy. This is made all the more confusing when Snape revealed that he invented it, meaning he somehow put a copyright on a word and assigned it power to all future users. All of that makes zero sense, even in the Potter universe where people fail to utilize simple spells while knowing exactly what they do and the incantation that goes with them.