How large is your passive vocabulary compared to your active vocabulary?

[Ken g6]

I use big words whenever possible

This.


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😛

 

[IronWing]

I hear that more with corporate speak, and people trying to sound "official". One of my biggest peeves is the use of impact to replace affect. People think it makes them sound intelligent, but it only showcases their inability to differentiate between effect and affect.

Grad students are the biggest offenders. They really want to show they are on top of their game so they string together their new learned technical jargon until they parody themselves.

From one student talk I attended:
[The spike in our data values is the result of] a meteorically derived hydrogeologic forcing event.

 

[lxskllr]

From one student talk I attended:
[The spike in our data values is the result of] a meteorically derived hydrogeologic forcing event.

It rained? :^D

 

[IronWing]

It rained? :^D

Yeppers.

 

[W.C. Nimoy]

How large is your passive vocabulary compared to your active vocabulary?

My active is greater than my passive. I simply inject as many obscure words into my speech as possible, even if I don't know what they mean.

 

[sdifox]

The moment you think about a particular 'passive' word it becomes 'active'. Thus I have 0 in the passive vocabulary pile :whiste:

 

[Dr. Zaus]

I'm so clever sometimes I don't understand any of the words I say.

 

[CZroe]

Me use big large words all time.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Either Brobdingnagian or Lilliputian depending on the ordering of the antecedent and consequent terms.

 

[FeuerFrei]

...

But there's a subset of my vocabulary that I rarely if ever use in writing or speaking in any context, that I've acquired over decades of reading. The "five dollar words" some authors use to make their prose more interesting. Perfectly cromulent words that add spice to their text while making it harder for the casual reader to understand. Yes, me book smart!

I don't really approve of authors that throw in farfetched words. If you're trying to make a personal statement, congrats, job done. If you're trying to communicate effectively, you failed. Now, there are limits. For instance, if the reader doesn't know what "transparent" means - may God have mercy on his soul. 🙄

Writing advertising would suck. I think they shoot for 6th-grade level comprehension.

 

[zinfamous]

The dichotomy strikes me as odd. You use the words appropriate to a given situation, otherwise what is the point of a large vocabulary to begin with? I don't think I buy the "passive" vs. "active" vocabulary idea. You either know what a word means, and have it available in your kit bag, or you don't. There are words you use more often, certainly. I don't have a reason to say "polymorphism" very often, but that doesn't mean my knowledge of the word is somehow more passive than my knowledge of some other word.

I actually have to say/read about this every one every day. 😀

 

[BrokenVisage]

"You would be punctilious in assuming that"

 

[edro]

Risk versus reward.

There is always a simpler word to choose.
Why risk using a rare word when a simpler word will do?

Risk = the listener won't understand, the listener might think you're stuck up, you might screw up its meaning or pronunciation.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Me use simple language.
Me not enjoy perplexing linguistics.
Me say Simple is most good.

 

[KeithTalent]

My vocab and grammaticals are pretty craptacular these days. I blame teh interwebs.

KT

 

[pmv]

Grad students are the biggest offenders. They really want to show they are on top of their game so they string together their new learned technical jargon until they parody themselves.

From one student talk I attended:
[The spike in our data values is the result of] a meteorically derived hydrogeologic forcing event.

You don't require a meteorologist to be cogniscent of the current direction of local tropospheric advection.

 

[lxskllr]

You don't require a meteorologist to be cogniscent of the current direction of local tropospheric advection.

 

[pmv]

Was thinking more Mr Zimmerman, but yeah, the subterranean meteorological society.

 

[lxskllr]

Was thinking more Mr Zimmerman, but yeah, the subterranean meteorological society.

They took their name from the song lyric :^)

 

[BladeVenom]

Between words that only seem to be used in literature and technical terms, I doubt I use even 20% of my vocabulary on a regular basis.

 

[Dr. Zaus]

You don't require a meteorologist to be cogniscent of the current direction of local tropospheric advection.

The discursive space developed by the socio-linguistic group sets in alterity those for whom this language becomes thingly.

Said more precisely, the particular inter-textual meaning flowing through the dialogic sharing of epistemic states that occurs in the previously reference social group evokes what Wittgenstein called a "word game" wherein particular common meanings are occluded; this is why to be a meteorologist is to be within the meaning of 'rain' that is beyond simply saying 'it rained' and while one may know what differing forms of localized advection in the troposphere may look like, the specificity of meaning that is shared outside of 'it rained' is lost to all but those within the identity group/tribe that calls itself 'meteorologists'.

So while you are right that some level of cognition vis a vis specific meteorological terms is possible; until you become a member of the tribe you can never understand the depth of what is being implied.

 

[rudeguy]

I hear that more with corporate speak, and people trying to sound "official". One of my biggest peeves is the use of impact to replace affect. People think it makes them sound intelligent, but it only showcases their inability to differentiate between effect and affect.

Don't get me started. We promoted some lady on the west coast to handle simple things. She is a moron but she tries to use big words in her emails even though she has no idea what she is talking about.

Did I mention she is a serial reply all and forwarder? She sends out stupid amounts of stupid emails about stupid things. Today I snapped. She is in town, in our office, sitting 2 feet away from everyone with our office messaging system. She was still emailing and forwarding stupid things. I suddenly had to leave early.

 

[destrekor]

I try to use as much vocabulary as possible, but I also will rarely go out of my way to make an opportunity to do so.

In the event I can work in a word less frequently heard, I like to, but it's not a big deal for me. I'd rather try and simply sound natural. Sometimes, when you appear to be attempting to use as many words as possible, you sound far less sincere and look like a snobbish dick.
But if you use grammar correctly, in a conversational manner in a way that MOST SUCCINCTLY but MOST ACCURATELY describes that which you wish to inform someone, it will appear to flow and feel familiar without alienating anyone.

I've never felt like anyone thought me a dick for using rarer vocabulary, but I've been known to feel that way of others when it feels less than sincere and conversational. When it sounds/looks like an attempt to prove mettle/worth, it makes it look like they are condescending and wish to inform others of how much better they are.


That said, while I enjoy reading and enjoying learning as much as possible, more of my knowledge seems to be taking in random facts that are presented conversationally, as opposed to seeing a varied and dynamic vocabulary. So I don't have a large vocabulary, not of the range, at least, that I wish I had attained by this point in my life. Which, however, does make me feel good, because I've only recently passed the quarter centenarian mark. 😉 I've known many my age and younger who could wipe the floor with me using grammar, but I've also always felt bad for them. 😛

 

[kranky]

I don't think much about specific words, but I do try to tailor what I say and how I say it to best communicate with my audience. The specific words aren't as important as the way the whole narrative is put together to get your point across to the specific audience.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Hard to quantify, but I would say my passive vocab is 10-15X larger than my active. Maybe more. Between my job (patent attorney) and my education (chem and law), I know an awful lot of legal, science, and technology terms. I've basically spent the last 13 years reading technical and legal journals and writing a new technical paper (a patent application) every 3-4 days. Have pretty good vocab in chemistry, biology, math, cryptography, software, optics, classic and quantum physics, some EE, materials science, etc., but I would not say I use those terms in everyday speech.

I was also a state spelling bee champion back in the 80's. That helps build passive vocab quite a bit.