Since talking about the 'mechanics' of writing a little yesterday, the building blocks, the words themselves, have impressed themselves on my attention. I've always liked words, for as long as I can remember - I recall being called 'big headed' when I was only around 7 or 8, by a girl at primary school who seemed to have an issue with the vocabulary I used, an early illustration of the power of words, perhaps. At that time, my reading age was something like 13 or 14, so I just used the words that I knew, without any pretension - I was far too young to have thought of self-aggrandisement in that fashion, and, even subsequently, I've rarely used my facility with words as an 'offensive weapon', although, equally, I tend not to deliberately 'dumb down' my language, so maybe some people might get the impression I'm trying to make them look less intelligent than me, even when I have no such intention.
One of the things I like about words is that there always seems to be something new to learn, new backwaters of the English language to explore. I found a couple of new words yesterday during my peregrinations around cyberspace. One was a slightly obsolete word, chevisance, meaning an achievement or deed, but the other, which I came across twice yesterday after never having seen it before, was kleptocracy, meaning government by thieves, which seems to me to be a pretty good description of much of 'Western' society at the moment, given the propensity of politicians, bankers and their ilk to award themselves obscene amounts of money while the rest of us bump along the bottom, paying for it all.
The way words are put together, into, for example, fiction, can have marked effects, too, of course. I've spent a fair chunk of this morning reading, and given that what I've been reading was to be found on a website well-known for erotic fiction - OK, Nifty! - there has been a distinct physiological effect. Too much information, doubtless, but enjoyable for me to experience, even if not for others to read about!
Love & best wishes to all
Sammy B
I look at people who use language correctly and have a reasonable vocabulary as intellectual equals to me. But I do try, at least a bit, to use the level of language that fits the situation. That's because I, too, suffered at the hands of the less "well read".
ReplyDeleteNice post! Thanks!
Peace <3
Jay
Hello Jay
ReplyDeletePerhaps it's just me, but I feel as though I'm patronising people if I tone down my vocabulary, although I have tweaked it on occasions in accordance with circumstances, for example when speaking to a young child. Having said that, with my daughter, I've pretty much always spoken to her as I would a literate adult, even when she was very young, encouraging her to ask if I said anything she didn't understand. As ever, I guess, it's a matter of perception and approach.
Love & best wishes
Sammy B