Bigwords bug people

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When I use big words (which isn't too often), people seem very impressed by it. Especially coming from someone they often think is just twelve (they don't know just how wrong they are).

When I was a kid, the adults loved the way I talked and the kids hated it.

Why don't people simply ask the definition when someone uses a big word? Some kind of pride issue, maybe?

Decimation was a form of military punishment used by the Romans. An offending military group had every tenth man put to death.

The nadir of overuse, however, comes in the word "devastated" being associated with emotions. For example: "Janet's fluffy bunny was flattened by a concrete wagon — her friends and family are devastated". But that's going off on a tangent...

I use big, academic words all the time. It's a part of my personality and I am not going to change it just because some dumb folks don't understand it. May they label me arrogant or whatever they wish...

Actually, the original word for July -- Quintillus -- was essentially just saying "the fifth month". And August (I'm guessing) was Sextember.

But yes, January = Janus, February is named for an annual Roman festival, March = Mars, April (Not sure), May (Not sure), June = Juno.

As for big words, words are my playthings. They are sometimes all that stands between me and total boredom. If I use big words and someone doesn't know what I mean, they can always guess. Or ask. There's never any real harm to it.

I've recently (maybe two years back) taken to using more archaic language. Like, "methinks" is one of my favourites. Or something very grammatically correct.

This has completely baffled me since the day I discovered it... we live in a culture where being "brainy" is bad. I can understand why they might pick on an someone who is not fluent in the social graces, but stigmatizing intelligence makes no sense at all.

Actually here we call it "Tall Poppy Syndrome"

Ultimately, the purpose of language is to convey meaningful ideas. If people are having trouble comprehending, then you may want to revise your word choice.
It's not so much 'dumbing things down' as being tactful, I think.

After meeting people on many forums, and even moderating a few, I've come to better appreciate that not everybody is interested in the same things, and a passion for English is one of them. There are many subjects I find bland and uninteresting that would be... offputting to say the least, if people kept inserting them into conversations.

Reading is one of my many passions, and I love seeing new words in use, figuring out what they mean through context, looking up how to say them, and eventually incorporating them into suitable conversations. Particularly when a word has so much more flavour than others. I can definitely relate, and I hate dropping a word that feels so right, so natural, in place of something vague and tasteless. So I don't, generally.

I just mean to say that I don't think people are stupid or small-minded because they lack the fervour to really embrace a given subject, even one so prevalent in their lives. Not that anyone has said that.

As for slang, even at its most excessive, I've come to just let it be. English, and many (read:most) other languages, haven't been the way they are now always. If someone were to travel back in time, if they could be understood at least somewhat, people would probably find them uncultured or even offensive for their 'butchering' of the language.
But the spontaneous creation, modification, and innovation of language is inherently wired into humans, and one of the main traits that separates us from 'lesser' animals. Saying that we should 'draw the line here, and go no further' completely goes against the nature of language, and of humanity.

If saying " IM GOING 2 B L8" is the future for English, then so be it. I don't have to like it, and I really don't, but if it's functional, even if it's so different from what is in my comfort zone, then I have no right to criticise it.

Is that not a virtue we espouse as a community for autists? Different =/= Inferior.

Well agreed that Different =/= Inferior, but in this particular example, Inferior === Inferior. Resisting the dumbing down of a generation is not the same as resisting change. When I first met my youngest daughter (by marriage), I thought she was a complete moron because she spoke in l337sp43k.

MercuryAvatar, that was a very good post. You have an excellent opinion on language, and I share many of those views.

There are obviously, many words that might sound "better-knowing" or academic to small-talking neurotypicals. In many cases, these words are one of a kind and there is no simpler substitute one can use in order to simplify conversations. When talking about certain interests and obsessions, I am using subject-related words. If I am in a conversaton about music, I am going to use terms as "polyrythm", "glissando", "allegro" just to name a few. While less obsessed musicians converse with easier words, I prefer to use the word that describes what I am talking about most precisely.

Yes, that's exactly it. What boggles me is that the culture-- and here I speak of American Culture, but I would be surprised if it were not true to some extent elsewhere as well-- seems to have an enforced imprecision to its speech. I speak in long drawn out sentences (that contain lots of parenthetical phrases) that state precisely what I'm saying. I can understand getting testy when I wander off the point (I will resist doing so at length here, other than to say I have this perverse obsession with context), but if I am staying on topic and not saying anything I don't mean, why is this a negative thing? Generally, when I open my mouth, you know exactly what I'm saying. Every once in a while, I overshoot the mark and no, they have no idea what I'm talking about because they don't have the educational background to follow it.

I can see that as being mildly embarassing, but to be fair, I would not have tried to discuss such ideas with you if you did not come across as the sort who would be able to grasp it. It's a compliment. And I have long since learned to stop trying to clear up the confusion by launching into a short dissertation to try and get them to catch up. That really seems to honk some people off, and I guess I get that.

But I recall one of my "friends" telling me once that I shouldn't use certain words in conversation. While everyone knew exactly what the fracking words meant, it was considered a bad thing to sound that intelligent. I think I told the story elsewhere of the ditzy cheerleader I shared classes with who was turned out to be at least as knowledgeable and intelligent as I was, but played extraordinarily stupid to call attention away from it. I can't decide whether to respect the fact that she had the world convinced she was dumber than a box of rocks, or pity her for it. And sadly, when I use the word "pity" there is an implied contempt. I will say that she always seemed to get what she wanted, but wasn't relying on it, because she was taking advanced classes.

I'm not going to say that it's an NT thing, because I know NTs that are not like that. Ordinary people of ordinary intelligence, even. I've met several rednecks that can discuss politics with clarity... they may disagree with me, but they have actually taken the time to pay attention to things and form their own opinions. There's a guy I work with whom I can have lucid and frank conversations on the subject of race-- and mind you, most of the time I'm just listening to him talk, because hearing an intelligent black man talk about race is a learning experience. I'm what is known as "painfully caucasian."

But there seems to be an aspect of the culture that views intelligence as a negative thing. It's woven into the culture. Think about it. BRAINY FRACKING SMURF. A lot of episodes followed this formula: Smurfs get idea. Brainy Smurf points out, quite rightly, that it's a bad idea. Brainy Smurf is then seen flying through the air and landing on his head, breaking the glasses. They used the exact same footage every bloody time, with a different background that implied he'd been thrown or hit with enough force to land out of sight. Smurfs then ignored Brainy's advice, get in trouble, only to be bailed out at the last minute by Papa Smurf, who that rat Brainy managed to get to just in time to keep them from being [insert dangers they could never get away with on TV today]. Papa Smurf would then say exactly what Brainy had told them, and they'd listen. The fact that Brainy is having to sell blood to pay for the dozens of prescription eyeglasses he has to replace each year because of peer violence is never mentioned.

I'm not saying that the Smurfs were propaganda to remind us that intelligence is bad. They re-used the footage as a running gag because it saved production time in a time where computer animation was limited to video games like PAC-MAN. [Long tangent about technology omitted. See? I can learn.] But they were only able to re-use it because it was generally funny every time. Everybody hated Brainy. How could you not, with that grating voice? But the point is that it was not only culturally acceptable to beat the living crap out of this guy for the sole crime of providing advice that you needed, but it was funny. I knew it was funny, but at the same there was this vague discomfort of being reminded of my place.

I hope that made some sort of sense. I understand that some of my habits and perspectives are seen as conceited and/or condescending, and I get that. Some of my habits are very aggravating, such as my tendency to wander off topic, flog a dead horse until the flog breaks, and/or wander right back on topic without pausing for breath. Sometimes all three. I truly do understand that much of my problems in dealing with NTs are rooted in me. Even those NTs that seem to be able to communicate with me have no problem dealing with the larger community of enforced mediocrity. But for the life of me, I can't understand it.

Usually people say that "frugal" is a big word, and I say "yeah, its brobdingnagian!" it's only 5 letters, lol.

I said "generic" the other day, not a big word...and the response was what does that mean....Speak English!

If I want to use big words, I will. However, when people use obscure words and patterns of speech it can get a bit frustrating.

Catalyst,

The crazy thing is I couldn't live with a stupid person, and even "average" seems too inane now! And I am talking about how I felt for over a decade. I don't have that great a feeling about myself at this point, but sometimes you really DO want beauty at a deeper level.

I should have just given up trying to fit in, and tried to embrace and expand on everything I had.

BTW Try to keep that black friend. Too many blacks are not willing to believe that whites CAN refer to their skin color ONLY to help others indentify the black person, or identify with them. If he is SMART, that is even BETTER. Take it from another "painfully caucasian" person. I'm about half irish half german also, so that is even WORSE! I got the quintuple, or is it sextuple, whammy! 8-( HEY, I'm proud of my heritage, but many view me in the wrong way because of it.

dgd1788,

BTW Who said "big words" had to be big? I would gauge them based on obscurity, not length. To many, frugal IS a big word. It is probably one of the shortest and clearest having that meaning, but it is still considered big because, in many circles, it is obscure.

Still, I don't blame you for being upset. I had the SAME feeling when I would mention RAM, and people would accuse me of trying to be haughty or boastful. Some even asked me to explain it. HEY, it's memory! If they don't know what 100ns RAM is, RUN! If it is not SIMM(I would show them what it looked like), RUN! It is ok if the number is smaller, but don't get higher! If I started explaining that RAM meant Random Access Memory, and the ns was billionths of a second used here to indicate memory cycle time, or spoke of caches, interleaving, etc.... Their eyes could glaze over! And I almost felt like LYING, and saying NO when asked things like "can I change it myself?". A lot of people treat them like playing cards, and a bit of static could destroy them. Heck, a lot of people can't even properly change a tire, or jump start a battery. There ARE little mistakes that could cause the car to be damaged, or the battery to explode, and MOST people make them!

fresco,

WOW! They NEVER heard of GENERIC drugs? GENERIC brands? That is BAD! It hasn't really been obscure for over a decade in any adult circles. OK, MAYBE with kids in school, but otherwise I doubt it.

Steve