seddik

It is true that some words are so catchy alone such as secrecy... I tend to find that when words work together they become more compelling. That is what I do to grab the attention of my potential audience when I plan a talk. Here is a generic catchy title that I have come up with and used before: PowerPoint to Empower your point.

It happens to the finest speakers and the most inspiring orators. Even Homer sometimes nods. This can be useful if we look at the bright side of things. Not much so during examination. When it happens, I usually say: how can I say? or gesticulate to articulate and use my body language. This normally generates a powerful reaction and a slew of words. Then, in place of 'loss' I have an abundance.

The ability to spot mistakes is tantamount to an immunity system for one's language. Grammar makes us immune to making such mistakes. The ability to catch such mistakes means that your immunity system is strong.

As a linguist, I concur. They do help. The word linguist comes from lingua, Latin for tongue. If you have no tongue, then you are unsung. See! People who talk more often are more fluent. Flexing your linguistic muscles. However, without thinking it could lead to falling into the habit of verbosity, prolixity and talkativeness.

That is an awesome question. I dream in at least two languages that I have a splendid command of. Remember a preposition is not something you end a sentence with. But that is not our proposition. I even learn new words in my dreams. My big dream is to 'dream' in ancient Egyptian.

I believe that if you can speak one language well, you can speak many -- that is your proof and you can take it from there. However, the decision to master a new tongue is a brave one. Learning a new language is not picking up few greetings as a tourist. It is a lifetime project. When someone decides to learn or not to learn an x language, it is a worthwhile decision and it is not always right or wrong. That, I believe, is the reason why some people can not learn a new language, they can, but they do not want to.

Here I harness the power of a metaphor for the sake of hilarity, clarity and jocularity. Words are like currency. If you use big money often, i.e., big words often, you run the risk of overwhelming your audience. Your ostentation gives you the look of a nouveau-riche. Translate that back into words as a lack of erudition...

Less is more and the three Cs do make a sea of difference. When one is keen on using sesquipedalian sentences, the mound of sound is bound to confound the reader.

A slew of awesome ideas here from translating to reading the dictionary which I do by the way and it worked. I have managed to expand my vocab phenomenally. Let me add a couple! One great method is what we are doing right now. Whenever you encounter a great orator or an erudite professor, ask her how she managed, you are likely to reveal a practice unknown to you. Practice makes perfect.

Let me at the onset take note of the quintessential seductive onomatopoetic beauty of many of the examples cited here. I find this discussion inspiring and conducive to an epiphany. Perhaps, the quintessence of some of this beauty has to do with their onomatopoeia, in so far as the word or I should say the phenomenon onomatopoeia testifies to this. You see onomatopoeia is the genesis of many wonderful words.

I would like to advance my Italian. The shear musicality of this Romance language is unbeatable. Imagine if I can speak con amore! Let alone, as a colleague mentioned here, when you have a firsthand access to classics. In the process, I might even refine my Latin, then I will be granted a passport to the past.

Let me add to all these fine explanations about acronyms. I have no intention to get into an acrimonious debate. Acronyms in the register of UNESCO are in a class by themselves. That is to say, they have made it into words. That is why, people do not worry much about their former acronym status. Those, by the way, are the most successful acronyms. They blend in and we tend to forget their roots. Another good example from this category is SCUBA.

More portmanteaus: Dramamentary for drama and documentary. Now, let me cast you back in time with the hope of meeting what might prove to be one of the more ancient portmanteaus. The word pharaoh seems to be an ancient portmanteau of phar which means a house and aoh which means great. Assuming that we can apply this modern term to such an ancient civilization. Therefore, a pharaoh means a great house. Really? :confused: Because the pharaoh was living in a great house.

I quite like the word cantankerous which probably comes from contentious and rancorous. That is beside the point. I think we can magnify the fun, in a manner of speaking, if we combine it with other words. Let me use a word you have just used here, encounter. Then we can speak of a cantankerous encounter.

When poetry is formed at the highest point art, it is not breaking the rules of grammar, but rather upholding them. When you break a rule knowingly then you recognize the rule. You the poet and your audience are acutely aware, I hope, of the broken grammar. However, there is now a new grammar. A grammar of thought that surpasses the grammar of the words. Grammar serves the thought not the other way around. When grammar ceases to serve the idea it takes a break -- no pun intended. That I believe is what happens in poetry.

Here is one of my favorite quotations about language and my own quotation both combined: Language is the dress of thought, said Samuel Johnson and I complete this by saying: Grammar is the dresser.