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Musings on Vocabulary

08 June 2024

Recently, I’ve been reading books written in the mid 20th century. The language is poetic and specific, drawing on a wide vocabulary that never fails to evoke surgically specific images or emotions. I envy the authors’ grasp of the English language. Maybe I’m not spending time with the right groups, or I’m not reading enough true literature, but the frequency with which I was reaching for the dictionary made me hunger for a better vocabulary with immediacy of use.

Maybe I’m conflating real phenomena with my anecdotal experiences, but it seems that language in novels (used as an example for media at large) is narrowing to a common tongue. With the push for convenience, and the profitable aim of having the largest demographic for consumption, plain language trumps all forms of communication. This is not necessarily a negative thing. It makes communication more accessible to all, and people are more likely to accept a message they can understand. I only feel that in works of art, decreasing the specificity of the language loses the nuances of a moment in favour of being able to share it with more people. After reading my mid century works, I’ve been so delighted by the nuances afforded by specific language that I am falling into the camp of “not every piece of art is for everyone”.

This reaction to well written prose has even inspired me to resubscribe to the Merriam-Webster Word of the Day emails so I may learn new words and better understand their etymology.

p.s. I did not use a thesaurus to write this post! This is an exercise in use it or lose it regarding vocabulary!

p.p.s. The books that have been inspiring me are Catch 22 by Joseph Heller and Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold.