Advanced vocabulary

Post Reply New Topic

I do that a lot. Nowadays, finding alternatives to the words I originally intended to use has become second nature - a sort of running censor - but it's still early days, because often my friends will stop me (this I don't like, just let me get the damn sentence said) and repeat a word I said, either laughing because I've used such a complex word (but they understand it), or "what the hell is that?"

However, sometimes I'll know exactly what I mean to say, and I'll know there is a word for it and that I know the word... but I won't be able to think of it. This can happen even with simple words like "glasses" or "truck." I'll just stop and go "uh... uh..." even though I know exactly what I mean. It makes me appear to be very slow with language, but the truth is that my brain simply doesn't care anymore, because I've mentally already finished the sentence and have to drag my brain back from wherever it's already gone to finish aloud. Anyone else?

A lot of the time, people think I've skipped a grade or two in school since I look young for my age and I'm fairly advanced. It's nearly impossible to convince them otherwise. So at least no one really misunderstands anything I say. They just think it's cute!

My vocabulary is absolutely massive, mostly because I remember technical terminology very easily and because I read a lot.

Quoted For Truth.

Wow, I'm pleased to see so many versions of this. Finally, people that know what I go through everyday.

If they were TEN, I would still be surprised they didn't know!



YEAH, it is things like this that renew my faith in how I compare to other people that are AS. I mean you hear about some having REALLY bad problems, etc... and then FINALLY you hear things like this. a benefit so many share, and that I have!

When I was eight years old and had my first education evaluation, I wound up having the vocabulary expected for a sixteen year old. The test administer called in her assistant seeing that I knew pretty much every word in the test booklet. After that I reading assessment test, seeing as I struggled with breaking words apart despite my high vocabulary, again the test administer (a different one this time) found that I could comprehend all the testing material available in a kindergarten through eighth grade school, despite being a third grader.
I don't think my vocabulary is at the level that it is today purely because I am an Aspie. The reason that my vocabulary is advanced because both my parents are well educated, bibliophilic, and seem to use words and talk about concepts that at the age of fifteen I still need them to define. I credit a large part of my vocabulary to my parents always being open to defining words I need help understanding, but quite a bit of it is based on my enjoyment of blogs about the history of words.

To answer the actual question 'Is my vocabulary misunderstood?' In regular level high school classes that are not available at an advanced level, yes. Amongst the honors students that I spend my free time with generally no. However they are on occasion flummoxed the first time they hear me casually use words like bibliophilic and loquacious. Some occasionally tell me that we are not in class, there is no need to use those words. I disagree.

My husband gets this ALL THE TIME.

Then people turn around and b***h to me about his superior, snotty attitude. WTF?

My husband can't shift his language to the situation. He talks to everyone like he's discussion particle physics at MIT. When he is stressed, his voice goes monotone, and like a very aggravated posh Englander, which makes it 100 x times worse. (My husband is American, but grew up in the UK. He doesn't have an accent usually).

When everyone is thinking, "arrogant as*hole", my husband is panicking and dying inside. The more stressed, the more upper end SAT test words come rolling out, and now people feel he's patronizing them.

This cost him his job at work and friendships. It took me a long time to realize he wasn't doing it to lord over me.

I wish we could see a speech therapist, but so far we can't find one. They only work with children around here.