Not long ago, I listened to a woman making use of her good vocabulary during a prepared speech she was giving to her peers. I did not feel she was being at all showy. Nevertheless, it did not surprise me when I later over-heard people saying they thought the speaker used too many "...big words..."
Some of you may be familiar with this advice often given to public speakers: "Speak to express, not to impress". This can be a useful guideline. At the same time, I have seen this advice work against people who have a strong and natural command of words both in public speaking situations and otherwise. They sometimes begin second-guessing themselves. Instead of using "garrulous", they stumble to find "talkative". Are they perhaps worried about others thinking they're using "big words" even though both have the same number of syllables? Or, is it possible that speakers who dumb down their good vocabularies are not giving their listeners enough credit? What is your view on this? What are you inclined to do when someone you're not close to uses a word you don't know?I admire speakers -and authors - who use simple words well. I also love when someone challenges me to be smarter. Consequently, I like when people use words they have naturally at their disposal, even if a word is unfamiliar to me. I'm a big boy and welcome taking responsibility for my own learning.
So funny that you write about this because I just came across this William Carlos Williams poem "A Sort of Song" in it he warns against language that is too lofty and abstract.
ReplyDelete"No ideas but in things" he says. Such good advice for us word nerds!
Regina; Thanks for the comment and Williams quote. Although I wasn't thinking of lofty or abstract words while writing this post, I guess even how one person vs. another perceives which words would be considered lofty or abstract makes this whole thing even muddier. Yikes!
DeleteGoing back to high school, the principal once advised me: "Never use a $10 word when a $5 word will do." This works for me.
ReplyDeleteBill; Thanks for the comment. I remember that expression as well. I'm still trying to parse the difference between $5 and $10 words. How much is garrulous going for these days?
DeleteI once attended a graduation ceremony where the speaker was obviously trying to impress with her command of the language. Unfortunately, it didn’t work very well at all, and the audience was lost! I’ve also heard speakers using those $10 words who were very comfortable and familiar with those words. And they were very effective! I suppose if you’re going to to be garrulous, you should know what it means (and probably also be able to spell it!)
ReplyDeleteJane; So nice to see a comment from you. I've been in both the situations you describe. For me, it's about comfort as a speaker; if I'm comfortable using the word, and I give people enough context - even if some listeners may not be familiar with that word - I'm inclined to give listeners the benefit of the doubt.
DeleteHello, Pat. I share the opinion of the other comments in response to your post. Big words are fine, when used correctly and not just to make the speaker make themselves sound more important than they are. Other than that, I have never minded or felt awkward with having to look up a word used that I was unfamiliar with. Increasing one's vocabulary never has a negative result.
ReplyDeleteBe well,
Bob
Bob; Thanks for the comment. I was pleased some infrequent commenters weighed in on this post. All had insightful things to say. (BTW, I purposefully didn't say the comments were perspicacious, though I was tempted)
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