I was twenty years old. It was 1960. I never will forget Mr. Fields, my professor of Speech. He taught me to love words. He taught me to make lists of vocabulary words. He taught me to enjoy learning the nuances of word meanings and derivations. His method of assigning end-of-semester grades was to send out post cards to each student. Each card had one word it. The initial letter of the word indicated the grade he assigned. My postcard said “Acumen” – now, understandably, one of my favorite words.
Many other words are my friends. Last weekend I sat down with one of my old vocabulary lists. Out of the 1,000 words on the list, these twelve words stood out: acumen, amenable, concomitant, edification, efficacy, ephemeral, erudite, dearth, ineffable, inexorable, obviate, and plethora. Why these words? Why did I mark them while going through my list? Perhaps because I have used these words in situations that have given me the greatest enjoyment.
Going through my mind, while I was perusing the vocabulary list, was the question, “Why is it that I don’t use more of these words in my writing and in my everyday speech?” The answer to that question might be related to my response to another question, “Where do you live?” To that question I usually respond, “I live in “Town A,” when I actually reside in “Town B.” Town B has a more affluent ring to it than Town A. In both the case of my vocabulary use, and my residence, it appears that I don’t want my audience to think that I am “too ritzy.” Perhaps I want to be “understood” by my audience. Too “rich” a vocabulary, like too “rich” a neighborhood, might not only intimidate my listeners, but also weigh against their “understanding me” clearly.
So, here’s the conundrum. I enjoy my friends, the vocabulary words, and I enjoy communicating clearly with people who may not enjoy the same vocabulary. How can I reconcile using certain more common words in place of my vocabulary friends?
My answer: I am inexorably inclined to preclude more abstruse words and, concomitantly, to obviate more erudite sounding words, in deference to my audience. I will assiduously wax amenable, and engage my ephemeral penchant to translate. The efficacy of this exercise? Who knows? My edification may come through ineffable channels. The juxtaposition of a plethora of certain words and a dearth of others may lead to acumen not even dreamed of.
Mr. Ebsen may be contacted at robertebsen@hotmail.com
