Wednesday, July 01, 2009
i don't know why this one has been so difficult. i know what i want to talk about, but i keep false starting. i have been distracted, but that is no excuse for this post since the idea has already been percolating. so, lets get too it
vocabulary. this is something of a two piece issue, although they are linked and hopefully everything will flow together naturally. my vocabulary is admittedly very strong, but i believe the reason for this is often misunderstood. people assume it is because i have a vast store of words in my head, which is true, but it isn't the reason. you can memorize all the words you want, but adding those words into a functional vocabulary is different that simply knowing what they mean. i think it is because i try to use words as representations of their meanings, instead of trying to pigeonhole them into their definitions. they are more ideas than concrete facts to me. you can use many word combinations to convey the same idea, but each one will subtly shift the context of what you are saying. that is what i am playing around with anyways in my writing, metaphor and context. i am usually working via metaphor to some degree anyways, and it is usually a conveniently playful word choice that sends down that road. it isn't so much the word itself as what the word represents in relation to the content it is bound to. most of the time when i use a particularly vocabularyish word, i am using it in a way that slightly skews its definition to invoke the feeling behind the word, not so much the definition itself. so many of my word choices are little self contained metaphors in themselves that when i do get to use a good word in the context it was actually meant to be used in, i am quite proud of myself, because it is a much more rare occurance.
i guess my feeling is that there are probably a lot of people who have these words floating around in their heads but are too afraid to use them because they are so focused on using them correctly. to me, there is no real correct usage. i use fancy words to pare down my writing. to make it more efficient, sharper if you will. so, when i use these words, especially when i use them in place of another word and slightly out of their normal context, i can express several thought processes at once. you can put across the meaning of the word, but also subtly implant the difference between the word and the word you are replacing in the back of someone's mind, and also the difference between the actual meaning and the intended meaning. so really, a lot of times i am leading the reader down a path to discover the true intention of what i meant without having to spend the boring time of expanding it all of the way out. when i use a particularly esoteric word, i usually try to use it in conjunction with another, similar word that the reader can immediately identify with, so the awkward word choice won't distract from the flow of the prose, but simply trigger the above thought processes in the background. take one of my favorite word choices of the last few months. i used the word ameliorate in the little story i wrote about finding connections running under the surface of society. on its own, it is an overly flowery word with a simple meaning, to better or to enhance. both of those are fine words and thoughts with very evocative meanings, so there is really very little reason to use it. but in my story, i was looking to convey a sense of mysterious, divinely inspired enlightenment. i wasn't looking to overplay the divine aspect, i wanted that to hover below the surface. in fact, in the story the connection to the divine was somewhat disappointing, it didn't really reveal or enlighten in itself. it turned into more of a story about self discovery and self awareness, so i really didn't want there to be a divine aspect as the sudden explanation for what was transpiring. but there was a definite divine connection happening. so i used ameliorate in combination with enlighten, because he was expecting this connection with the unknown to immediately enhance who he was, and for some reason to me ameliorate has something ethereal quality to it as a word, and an ethereal enlightenment seems somewhat divine to me.
of course, all of this is explaining a thought process that happened fairly quickly in my head. i didn't sit there and think all of that through while i was writing. it was more of an intention, and in hindsight, those were the reasons behind the intention.
not to be too jarring here, but lets move on to the second half of this conversation, because it ties directly in to the way i shift words across different uses. if you want to expand your functional vocabulary, this is definitely an easy way. everything has its own set of words you use to describe and talk about the ideas encompassed by it. the more complex the idea, the more complex the vocabulary. take molecular biology: there are specific word combinations used to describe different ideas and processes. everyone studying molecular biology tends to learn similar, if not identical word structures to explain what they mean in order to be able to communicate on a functional level within this discipline. in fact, i would contend that those with a true understanding of the base thoughts and ideas underlying the basic premises of the discipline will manifest themselves in the ability to apply different, if subtly, word choices to these ideas to add a further level context. this language of ideas in any discipline forms a new vocabulary that can be applied to anything else, no matter how unrelated. so, you can take something you know intimately and find parallels between it and whatever topic is at hand. then you can transpose that vocabulary onto the new topic, and there you go, you have a whole new set of words and ideas to expand your thoughts with. it can work for anything, really. you probably notice me do this mostly with climbing, or driving, those things that tend to spark my interest in an almost nerdily obsessive way.
oh, and i have no qualms using thesaurus.com if the word i am mulling just doesn't seem right. sometimes the word is right there at the front of your brain, but you just can't rip it out. most times, you can find it there, or something better and more impressive. if not, you might as well swallow your pride and use your original word because it isn't worth stressing over.
vocabulary. this is something of a two piece issue, although they are linked and hopefully everything will flow together naturally. my vocabulary is admittedly very strong, but i believe the reason for this is often misunderstood. people assume it is because i have a vast store of words in my head, which is true, but it isn't the reason. you can memorize all the words you want, but adding those words into a functional vocabulary is different that simply knowing what they mean. i think it is because i try to use words as representations of their meanings, instead of trying to pigeonhole them into their definitions. they are more ideas than concrete facts to me. you can use many word combinations to convey the same idea, but each one will subtly shift the context of what you are saying. that is what i am playing around with anyways in my writing, metaphor and context. i am usually working via metaphor to some degree anyways, and it is usually a conveniently playful word choice that sends down that road. it isn't so much the word itself as what the word represents in relation to the content it is bound to. most of the time when i use a particularly vocabularyish word, i am using it in a way that slightly skews its definition to invoke the feeling behind the word, not so much the definition itself. so many of my word choices are little self contained metaphors in themselves that when i do get to use a good word in the context it was actually meant to be used in, i am quite proud of myself, because it is a much more rare occurance.
i guess my feeling is that there are probably a lot of people who have these words floating around in their heads but are too afraid to use them because they are so focused on using them correctly. to me, there is no real correct usage. i use fancy words to pare down my writing. to make it more efficient, sharper if you will. so, when i use these words, especially when i use them in place of another word and slightly out of their normal context, i can express several thought processes at once. you can put across the meaning of the word, but also subtly implant the difference between the word and the word you are replacing in the back of someone's mind, and also the difference between the actual meaning and the intended meaning. so really, a lot of times i am leading the reader down a path to discover the true intention of what i meant without having to spend the boring time of expanding it all of the way out. when i use a particularly esoteric word, i usually try to use it in conjunction with another, similar word that the reader can immediately identify with, so the awkward word choice won't distract from the flow of the prose, but simply trigger the above thought processes in the background. take one of my favorite word choices of the last few months. i used the word ameliorate in the little story i wrote about finding connections running under the surface of society. on its own, it is an overly flowery word with a simple meaning, to better or to enhance. both of those are fine words and thoughts with very evocative meanings, so there is really very little reason to use it. but in my story, i was looking to convey a sense of mysterious, divinely inspired enlightenment. i wasn't looking to overplay the divine aspect, i wanted that to hover below the surface. in fact, in the story the connection to the divine was somewhat disappointing, it didn't really reveal or enlighten in itself. it turned into more of a story about self discovery and self awareness, so i really didn't want there to be a divine aspect as the sudden explanation for what was transpiring. but there was a definite divine connection happening. so i used ameliorate in combination with enlighten, because he was expecting this connection with the unknown to immediately enhance who he was, and for some reason to me ameliorate has something ethereal quality to it as a word, and an ethereal enlightenment seems somewhat divine to me.
of course, all of this is explaining a thought process that happened fairly quickly in my head. i didn't sit there and think all of that through while i was writing. it was more of an intention, and in hindsight, those were the reasons behind the intention.
not to be too jarring here, but lets move on to the second half of this conversation, because it ties directly in to the way i shift words across different uses. if you want to expand your functional vocabulary, this is definitely an easy way. everything has its own set of words you use to describe and talk about the ideas encompassed by it. the more complex the idea, the more complex the vocabulary. take molecular biology: there are specific word combinations used to describe different ideas and processes. everyone studying molecular biology tends to learn similar, if not identical word structures to explain what they mean in order to be able to communicate on a functional level within this discipline. in fact, i would contend that those with a true understanding of the base thoughts and ideas underlying the basic premises of the discipline will manifest themselves in the ability to apply different, if subtly, word choices to these ideas to add a further level context. this language of ideas in any discipline forms a new vocabulary that can be applied to anything else, no matter how unrelated. so, you can take something you know intimately and find parallels between it and whatever topic is at hand. then you can transpose that vocabulary onto the new topic, and there you go, you have a whole new set of words and ideas to expand your thoughts with. it can work for anything, really. you probably notice me do this mostly with climbing, or driving, those things that tend to spark my interest in an almost nerdily obsessive way.
oh, and i have no qualms using thesaurus.com if the word i am mulling just doesn't seem right. sometimes the word is right there at the front of your brain, but you just can't rip it out. most times, you can find it there, or something better and more impressive. if not, you might as well swallow your pride and use your original word because it isn't worth stressing over.
