I like BIG Words

I like BIG words, this I can not deny. I use them everyday, frequently. I do not believe in dumbing down my speech for others. You see I am a wordy. I have always enjoyed learning about languages, learning languages and learning new words. I devoured books from a young age. One of my favorite books as a kids was an children's encyclopedia that had a Geography section that included 5 basic words in each of the languages of the countries featured. I would read and reread those sections over and over.  I relished studying foreign languages and even took extra ones in High School. I studied French, Spanish, Vietnamese and Chinese.  I love that so many of our English words come from other languages. I think that when I discovered the field of linguistics I was enamored. I had found my calling, or so I thought. Studying languages and culture and how they affect each other. Etymology of words, Indo-European language families, but I digress.

I love big words. A rich vocabulary gives richness to your speech.  It allows you to read a variety of literature, to understand and appreciate authors such as Shakespeare, Moliere, Dante. I have been lucky enough to read some of the great works of fiction in their original languages. You just can't beat that.

I believe in using my varied vocabulary all day everyday. I use it with my students, parents and the cashier at Wal-Mart. I believe in exposing them to the greatness in of the English Language. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary estimates that there are about 1 million words in the English language.  Having said that the average person uses about a mere fraction of those. I actually looked for studies on this but they are inconsistent and very few and far between.  But really think about the words you use and those around you use. If you were to take a tally you would find many repetitions throughout the day.

Let us do everyone a favor. Learn a new word a day and use it. Today's word is one of my favorites.
aberration n. Deviation from a right, customary, or prescribed course.