Lately it seems I’ve written way more about politics than language. Sorry ’bout that.
I was thinking the other day about big words. Not big, boring words my friend Natasha reads about in her pre-med classes. Big, potent words that my loved ones slip in to their speech effortlessly and correctly. Irene complained about a blowhard vendor bloviating on the phone to her the other day. Chris said tonight that he isn’t sure how his co-writer will feel about their project tomorrow because he is so mercurial.
Big words are only useful when used efficiently. By that I mean that if you are using a big word just to use a big word, it’s stupid. Use a smaller, common word when that’s what fits the sentence best. But some ideas are so perfectly captured by a big, juicy, multi-syllabic word that nothing can substitute. Here’s what Irene could have said:
“This vendor was talking at length in a boastful and pompous way at me for so long I thought I was going to scream.”
But instead she said:
“This vendor was bloviating at me for so long I thought I was going to scream.”
It’s about efficiency, and also about beauty.
Speak Better Grammar 
Bloviating- gotta remember that one. Even if it sounds like a word Darren would favor.
Comment by filmchris — June 10, 2008 @ 9:51 am |
Bloviating….definitely one to keep on deck….just in case it pops up in a crossword puzzle somewhere….
While I would say that the Baeten household is definitely not as dedicated to the pursuit of grammar and vocabulary as the VanderWal household, it does appreciate the discovery of a new word or two.
I would agree that the use of a big word for the sake of a big word is at its best stupid and at its worst shallow and indicative of a family of more serious character flaws.
I would also concur with your sentiment regarding the “good” use of a big word. The wonderfully placed and perfectly descriptive word, which concisely and eloquently speaks to the communicator’s message.
But I would go one step farther when describing the “artful” or “brilliant” use of a big word. For me, this echelon is reached when the communicator so skillfully entwines the interesting word into the surrounding context that without knowing the word itself, the recipient of the communication can understand the meaning. Anyone who is an avid reader can attest to this phenomenon.
Those who read with great awareness and/or are grammatically inclined often pick up on these embedded words and will do further research to understand the greater depth of their meanings. This of course is wonderful, but can often be attributed more as a positive affirmation of the reader’s curiosity, rather than the writer’s skill.
The truly wondrous thing about great communicators and their use of vocabulary is that even the “less-than- motivated” will benefit from the communicator’s skill. When this type of communication is done well, it is as if the communicator brilliantly and charismatically “tricks” his audience into learning something new.
This level of skill is a common link in all of the “greats:” great writers, great teachers, great politicians, etc. etc.
(I highly doubt that there were many kids that sat down with their Harry Potter book and a dictionary; nonetheless, their minds were expanded and their vocabularies improved.)
Comment by annaandtroy — June 11, 2008 @ 6:27 pm |