Does your use of "big words" ever piss people off..? :( - Writers Forum

female_writer · 08-06-2007, 12:55 PM

For example, my sis constantly tells me I shouldnt use such "big" words as it tends to alienate people (though she knows I dont do this conciously) while she simultaneously butchers words like epiphany (she says epiphary) and antithenis (antithesis).. *shrugs*

Charlie_Eleanor · 08-06-2007, 01:10 PM

lol, can't say that people do, but maybe that is because I am the idiot on the other end saying epiphary. haha.

BlackWolf · 08-06-2007, 01:22 PM

Definitively.

playstation60 · 08-06-2007, 01:22 PM

Yes, I am with you Female_Writer. I am yelled at on a consistant basis for using large and uncommon words. The blank stares are a common thing too.

The funniest moment came when I was hammered beyond belief, and talking to a friend online who proceeded to yell at me for using a big word while so drunk. Had to be there, but it was hilarious.

Cran · 08-06-2007, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by female_writer

For example, my sis constantly tells me I shouldnt use such "big" words as it tends to alienate people ...

"beware of generalisations" springs to mind here, female_writer ...
but, that kind of thing can happen ...
if you adjust your written or spoken language to suit a given audience or situation, you shouldn't have that problem ...

many of us do that without even thinking about it ...
the language I use in my research work is useless in other settings -
it's full of jargon and acronyms ...
the same is true when I'm in a discussion with Earth scientists (geologists, geophysicists, paleaontologists, etc ... you know - rock doctors) ...
or drama and cinema enthusiasts ...
or a classroom full of ten year olds ...
or the mob at the local club ...

none of which would help me when exchanging endearments with my lover ...

if your vocabulary is more developed than, or even just different to, your sister's, only you can decide whether it's more productive to educate your sister (and her usual social group), or to simply modify your own communication to avoid the glazed stares and knitted brows ...

effective communication is not about using big words, but about using words that will be understood ...

BlackWolf · 08-06-2007, 01:51 PM

My coversational settings consist of three buttons - witty but nervous quips, politico-philosophical debate, and off. Chances are if you don't show that you can understand me, you won't hear me talk.
I won't dumb down my vocabulary; that's mostly because I don't have anything to say that doesn't require specific terminology, but also partly because I don't know how. I know what I know, I know the words I know, and I can't judge with any accuracy what words other people will know.

female_writer · 08-06-2007, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cran

"beware of generalisations" springs to mind here, female_writer ...
but, that kind of thing can happen ...
if you adjust your written or spoken language to suit a given audience or situation, you shouldn't have that problem ...

many of us do that without even thinking about it ...
the language I use in my research work is useless in other settings -
it's full of jargon and acronyms ...
the same is true when I'm in a discussion with Earth scientists (geologists, geophysicists, paleaontologists, etc ... you know - rock doctors) ...
or drama and cinema enthusiasts ...
or a classroom full of ten year olds ...
or the mob at the local club ...

none of which would help me when exchanging endearments with my lover ...

if your vocabulary is more developed than, or even just different to, your sister's, only you can decide whether it's more productive to educate your sister (and her usual social group), or to simply modify your own communication to avoid the glazed stares and knitted brows ...

effective communication is not about using big words, but about using words that will be understood ...

I understand what youre saying and agree, to a point.
Its important to be "all things to all people" but its also important to be who you are, do what comes natural, theres beauty in that, and we all learn so much form each other in this way.

People who use words, expressly to impress others or even as weapons, are not living honestly and I dont agree with that.

I think the problem lies in the fact that Im not afraid or threatened by big words, rather I am fascinated by them, have been since I can remember.
I want to learn as many words as I possibly can in this lifetime, probably why
I *we* enjoy writing.

Yet, others, such as my sis, dont have this kinship with words so maybe feel like when someone uses a big word that they dont know, they are inadvertently calling them stupid, which is not the case at all with true word lovers.

Sometimes, a word comes out of my mouth that Ive never used before...its that my mind retained it somewhere along the line because its how I am wired.

Just ruminating here I guess

female_writer · 08-06-2007, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackWolf

My coversational settings consist of three buttons - witty but nervous quips, politico-philosophical debate, and off. Chances are if you don't show that you can understand me, you won't hear me talk.
I won't dumb down my vocabulary; that's mostly because I don't have anything to say that doesn't require specific terminology, but also partly because I don't know how. I know what I know, I know the words I know, and I can't judge with any accuracy what words other people will know.

Great Post.

Hodge · 08-06-2007, 06:04 PM

Communication is about using language to inform others, so using big words when they aren't needed around people who won't fully understand them anyway is poor communication.

female_writer · 08-06-2007, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hodge

Communication is about using language to inform others, so using big words when they aren't needed around people who won't fully understand them anyway is poor communication.

Shut up Hodge, I hate you.

(Is that a good example of a base way of communicating, sans big words?)

Hodge · 08-06-2007, 06:58 PM

Shawn · 08-06-2007, 07:20 PM

I only use slightly "bigger words" when I want to shorten a sentence.

Instead of
"Yeah, I don't have any food in my cupboards."
Say
"There is a dearth of food.

SAT level language is fun!

Mike C · 08-07-2007, 03:50 AM

Use the words that fit. Use the words that say what you want to say. To write with the expectation that some of your readers are too stupid to understand long words will demean you, the reader, and the work.

If you use long or uncommon words, make sure you understand them and how to use them. Use them because they're necessary, not because you want to show how clever you are.

08-07-2007, 04:23 AM

I don't have a problem. When I first started working in publishing, an elderly editor pointed out to me: "For someone so pedantic about the English language, you speak attrociously."
I pointed out that no one paid me to talk.

However, while at University a friend of mine ended up working on a building site. On day one he used the word "fundamentally", and was then subjected to abuse for the next three months!

ClancyBoy · 08-07-2007, 05:27 AM

Maybe you should hang out with smarter people.