In response to the article on the Good English campaign, this letter was published today. The writer defends the use of "grandiloquence", saying that big and flowery words can communicate just as well as good simple English.
My take? Yes and No.
Yes - because big, flowery words in any language, English included, convey the poetic beauty of the language. Many of us enjoy reading good literary works, just because of the style and the message the writing conveys. Reading it out aloud is like singing a beautiful song. The melody of the words is music to our ears.
No - not everyone is educated well. The average man on the street may have read literature in school and learned the few pieces of work well enough to pass an exam, but certainly not appreciate the style. He may even find the writing too difficult for him to understand because of the many difficult words used. To this man, this writing has not communicated anything because he does not understand anything.
Communication is successful only if the listener understands what the speaker is trying to say - that includes sign language, gestures, facial expressions, and other such body language. If my listener appreciates and understands big words, I will use them. If my listener only understands simple English and sentence structures, then I will speak simply. In short, how I communicate largely depends on the hearer. I have to adapt to his comfort level, not mine.
Do I push myself to learn languages well? Certainly. But I will choose the words and sentence structures according to the language ability of my listener. That, to me, is good communication.
Happy communicating!
Fun Language Tools
No comments:
Post a Comment