BRFR Cake Stop 'breaking news' miscellany

[Ian H]

The difficult bit is when you assume you are using "normal" words. Many years ago at Uni, when I walked into the pub to see my friends, there was some whispered conversation when someone went off to the loo. I said "what's with all the subterfuge?". Only to be greeted with blank stares and a "what? why can't you use normal words?".

I was absolutely baffled. I thought everyone would know what subterfuge was!

I did suggest that some people should read more books...

Our neighbours across the road were amused by my description of someone as discombobulated.

On the other hand, a malapropish friend described the picturesque settlements along the South Downs as 'inquisitive English villages' (work that one out).

 

[briantrumpet]

The difficult bit is when you assume you are using "normal" words. Many years ago at Uni, when I walked into the pub to see my friends, there was some whispered conversation when someone went off to the loo. I said "what's with all the subterfuge?". Only to be greeted with blank stares and a "what? why can't you use normal words?".

I was absolutely baffled. I thought everyone would know what subterfuge was!

I did suggest that some people should read more books...

Indeed. What is normal for oneself (it's normal because one's linguistic environment has normalised it) can be quite atypical (I can remember being teased for using the word 'penchant' amongst bellringing friends when I was in my teens, not realising it wasn't commonly used outside of my family environment - my mum especially was a 'wordie').

As I've got older, and especially working with children and young people (ages c. 7 - 21) in education, I've got into the habit of trying to pick up clues for when I've used what's an unknown word for others... I'm sure I've recounted the story here of asking two separate – and intelligent – pupils on one day, what 'melancholy' was: one thought it was a vegetable, the other thought it was a fruit. I must admit I laughed on the second one.

Occasionally I'll use a fancy word to expand pupils' vocabulary with a useful word/concept, sometimes for the fun of the word, but sometimes I might be just discussing something and I see a furrowed brow...

I'll admit I do try to get pupils inquisitive about language, as I think it's one of the wonders of the universe (along with human brains), and to think of it merely as a tool risks missing something about what makes us human.

 

[PurplePenguin]

Indeed. What is normal for oneself (it's normal because one's linguistic environment has normalised it) can be quite atypical (I can remember being teased for using the word 'penchant' amongst bellringing friends when I was in my teens, not realising it wasn't commonly used outside of my family environment - my mum especially was a 'wordie').

As I've got older, and especially working with children and young people (ages c. 7 - 21) in education, I've got into the habit of trying to pick up clues for when I've used what's an unknown word for others... I'm sure I've recounted the story here of asking two separate – and intelligent – pupils on one day, what 'melancholy' was: one thought it was a vegetable, the other thought it was a fruit. I must admit I laughed on the second one.

Occasionally I'll use a fancy word to expand pupils' vocabulary with a useful word/concept, sometimes for the fun of the word, but sometimes I might be just discussing something and I see a furrowed brow...

I'll admit I do try to get pupils inquisitive about language, as I think it's one of the wonders of the universe (along with human brains), and to think of it merely as a tool risks missing something about what makes us human.

Melancholy is a word that goes before "and the infinite sadness".