This Text Might Surprise You
This Text Might Surprise You
“When you speak and write, no law says you have to use big words. Short words are as good as long ones, and short, old words like sun and grass and home are best of all. A lot of small words, more than you might think, can meet your needs with a strength, grace and charm that large words lack.
Big words can make the way dark for those who hear what you say and read what you write. They add fat to your prose. Small words are the ones we seem to have known from birth. They are like the hearth fire that warms the home, and they cast a clear light on big things: night and day, love and hate, war and peace, life and death.
Short words are bright, like sparks that glow in the night; sharp like the blade of a knife; hot like salt tears that scald the cheek; quick like moths that flit from flame to flame; and terse like the dart and sting of a bee.
If a long word says just what you want, do not fear to use it. But know that our tongue is rich in crisp, brisk, swift, short words. Make them the spine and the heart of what you speak and write. Like fast friends, they will not let you down.”
Richard Lederer, The Miracle of Language
Did you notice anything?
All the words in the four paragraphs above are one-syllable words.
It’s what I keep saying: we don’t need big words to sound intelligent.
By using small words, we are able to express our ideas more clearly and precisely.
And people will understand us more easily.
It just needs practice.
What do you think?
