Some people hide behind big words and some people are afraid of them. I can understand both.
If you have ever read something like a scientific journal, a government publication about taxes, a university paper, or a political speech, you will have seen something cluttered with extra words and littered with big words. People use big words to sound important, educated and sometimes to confuse their readers so no one will know what they really did say. Often people just give in and agree cause they want to be nice (or don’t want to seem stupid/ ignorant) but don’t really want to figure out the big words.
Being suckered by big words in this way does make people have a fear of them, if not a respect for them as a danger, something to beware of. So in this way big words do become intimidating. It’s a shame, cause they are just words. But words can be used in all sorts of ways, not all of them friendly. The pen is mightier than the sword. I think this really came into practice during the times when most people were illiterate. Language really was used against them.
Where do you stand on using big words? I don’t think it’s is a bad thing to use them. But, it’s all in how they are used. Do you use them to dominate, intimidate or trick your reader? Or do you just enjoy the language and desire to see it used?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I am for using the right word for the job.
I have a naturally large and varied vocabulary thanks to my reading life. Twenty-nine years of books will do that to a person.
As long as I can remember, I’ve found myself in the uncomfortable spot of having to explain my big or uncommon words. It is always words that I don’t think of as unusual in the least. Trust me, it is just as bad to be the smart and snobby one as the stupid or ignorant.
Still, small simple words are effective in communication. I have learned to judge when and were it is appropriate to pull out the two dollar words better than I did as a socially inept teenager. I think anyone who aspires to write, be it blogs or books, should read a little Hemingway. With a background in newspapers, he hardly used a three syllable word in full length novels. But his writing is clear.
We must always remember our audience. And that the primary goal of writing is to communicate.
Big words can be used for obfuscation, or they can be used to hide behind (“Look how smart I am!”), or they can be used for precision.
We only need to look to Harry Potter to see how simple language and constructs make for easy and enjoyable reading (as well as cutting out all the boring unimportant stuff — which J.K. Rowling did pretty well) — at least the first 3 books — I haven’t read the others (yet). The only padding / fluff I found in her books were about the Dursley’s and Quidditch.
Complicated sentence structure can arise because (1) the person needs to clarify and explain every little detail (they need to learn to trust that their audience is intelligent and knowledgeable), (2) it gives them a way to wrangle out obtuse interpretations (my wife, a lawyer is horrible at this — simple sentences are not in her ken), (3) this is writing, so, for crying out loud, it has to be pompous and obtuse.