Complicated words vs Simplicity: A personal take.

It was brought to my attention that perhaps I should explain the most complicated words for my A-Z Challenge, instead of the simpler words. I smiled at this and shook my head.

“No, no I shouldn’t.”

You see, I am not writing this to teach anyone anything. In fact, I am re-connecting with the purity of a language without the convolution of technical replacement terms, phrases, and words. It has become quite evident to me, that not many people truly appreciate the impact of their ‘everyday words’, nor do they understand the true meaning of such words. At least, that is my experience, and I share this truth based on my own mindset.

So caught up have I become in finding ‘better’ words to express myself with, that I lost all sense of emotion in my writing. This was the very thing that I myself, truly enjoyed about words. To use the word ‘morose’ and not ‘sad’ is to exclude people from other languages and ethnicities who are NOT all that familiar with the English language. It is to force a break in their enjoyment of a story by sending them off on a hunt to find the meaning of this word. It is to insist on an academic achievement I myself have yet to reach.

Instead, I chose to pick my favorite, everyday words, and learn where they come from, the various ways they can be used, how they impact on emotions and why they are important to me. I re-connected with the roots and foundation of a language that is beautifully poetic in its simplest form, even though it can be just as adventurous in the more complex forms. While I understand the ‘need’ for expanding my vocabulary, I have often asked the following question to the natively speaking English:

“How can you use such complicated replacements, when you barely grasp the roots of your own language on the basic and simplistic levels? You are raised with this language, shouldn’t you nurture it to grow, rather than infiltrate it with pretentious injections of grandeur?”

Of course, many felt insulted by the question, and many more insulted me for asking it. The truth of the matter is that there is a time and a place for everything – and it is not all the time and every place. I embarked on an adventure to discover and regard with utmost respect, the simplicity of language. Not just English, but various others I am capable of understanding [if not read or write it.]

For me, to try and undermine the native influences of a language in its most rudimentary form, is to create a canyon-like divide between emotional connections with the average readers, and technical accolades of academics. Sure, the technical and complicated words are definitely in need of explanation and expansion – but I personally prefer to savor the simplest of words for all the weight and impact it carries, than substitute them blindly because I am an ignorant learner.

I will not apologize for my posts, or my choice. I will not hold my opinion in higher regard than yours – I will simply state for the record that I do not always see the value of a complicated substitution when I wish to convey my raw thinking, with clarity and an open invitation to anyone who reads it.

Feel with me, when I thus say:

Barefoot Romance is … That moment when You found the lyrics to your personal joy because you learned to play the instrument of love.

And don’t expect me to replace the word ‘joy’ for any other in order for you to feel you are in the company of an intellectual equal or a worthy mentor. For I am neither. I am a person of a different language, learning to express myself in the most powerful, yet simplistic way, by learning the fundamental basics of your language.

Adri Sinclair.