Language matters, doesn’t it? How we express ourselves says so much about who we are. Maybe more than we realize. I guess that’s why we should be careful that what we say conveys what we mean to say. If you get my drift.
Years ago when I was first teaching, I taught in an adult high school. What a wonderful way to begin my teaching career. The adults were way easier than teenagers to teach. For one thing they chose to be in my class. Whatever earlier life circumstances which resulted in their leaving school before they graduated usually had resolved in some way, or they simply realized the value of an education and returned to school. Some realized the necessity of a high school diploma, and while still not loving school, they weren’t quite as resentful of it as they might have been at sixteen. Well, most of them, anyway.
I did have one angry young man in one of my classes. Sheesh. He was hard work. I remember consulting with him one day over an assignment he’d written.
Parts of his paper were confusing and unclear. I explained what a particular sentence meant to me, as a reader. He disagreed. That was not at all what he wanted to say. I asked what he was trying to convey. He told me. “But that’s not what this sentence is saying,” I replied, and then explained about the whole subject, verb, modifier thing. Too many modifiers, as I recall.
“Why not write it simply? Why not write what you just said? Why add extra words that might sound impressive to you, but which actually obscure your meaning? Impressive words used improperly don’t impress, you know.” “It’s not my fault that you can’t read my sentence properly,” he rejoined. “Well, actually, as the writer… it is your fault. What’s the point in communicating if your reader doesn’t understand what you mean?”
Sigh. The rest of the conversation went downhill from there.
Conversely, I had a lovely young mum in one class who had come across the word “albeit” and fallen in love with it. She tried her hardest to insert it into every assignment she wrote. “No, nope, no, doesn’t work here either,” I kept writing on her work. She kept trying. Finally, finally she managed to use it properly in a sentence that meshed totally with the flow of her piece. She was over the moon. And when she handed me a thank-you card at the end of the semester, she’d managed to insert it there too. We both had a good laugh at that.
I think I was pretty hard on my students when it came to lack of clarity caused by fancy, fifty-dollar words. I admit that I am a minimalist when it comes to writing style. And I despise writing that is pretentious. Or that seems pretentious to me. A fifty-dollar word is fine when it’s the best word to convey the writer’s intended meaning. But when big words are used simply to impress, they can obfuscate the meaning and confuse the reader. And then they convey something else entirely, don’t they?
Lack of understanding, frequently. Pomposity, sometimes. A desire to impress. Maybe even insecurity.
Of course, using the same simple words over and over and over can be just as bad. Simple words are good. But simplistic words that never actually communicate anything except vague generalities are bad. Not to mention hyperbolic modifiers like great, greatest, biggest ever, worst ever… well… you get my point. Sometimes pomposity and lack of understanding, even insecurity, can be inadvertently conveyed using really simple words too.
Language matters, my friends. We should take care that we are communicating what we want to communicate.
I remember several years ago my vice-principal and I interviewed a teacher for a position in my department. This applicant was sooo impressed with himself. And I was not.
Let me explain.
First off, the vice-principal and I had decided that I would ask the agreed upon questions, and he would take notes and interject when necessary. The male applicant looked at me when I asked a question, and then directed all his answers to the male vice-principal. Every single one.
I asked a few questions to elicit information about his teaching experience. After several vague, wordy, and overly hearty replies we were none the wiser on specifics. So, point blank, I said, “What have you taught?” His reply… “Ah, well, [insert vice-principal’s name here] …what haven’t I taught?” At the conclusion of the interview the vice-principal turned his notebook towards me so I could see that the page was blank.
That interview was years ago. The process is much more defined now, and as a department head I would no longer be part of the interviews. But I still remember fondly the vice-principal turning to me and chortling when the applicant had left the room that day. He said he almost laughed when, in reply to a question on Canadian Lit which was part of our grade twelve English curriculum, the applicant had said that he was a fan of Margaret Atwood’s novel Life of Pi. Which I’m sure you all know was not written by Margaret Atwood but by Canadian writer Yann Martel. “Even I know better than that,” the V-P had spluttered.
So for all his fancy words, the applicant had conveyed nothing much except that he was pompous, disrespectful to women, and that he knew little about Canadian Literature. Language matters. And so does knowing your subject. Ha.
I’m not sure why I’ve fallen down this particular rabbit hole today. Except that my friend and I were discussing words and language as we drove downtown the other day. About using, or misusing, words we think we know because we’ve read them. But we don’t actually, as it turns out, know the dictionary meaning. Oh, there’s a very funny teaching story there that I will tell you another day.
In the meantime, I took advantage of a rainy day yesterday to devour the latest Peter Grainger novel The Late Lord Thorpe. Thanks so much to Dottoressa for the alert that there was a new one out.
Peter Grainger is a favourite around here. His mysteries set in King’s Lake, near Norwich, and featuring ex-detective sergeant D.C. Smith are lovely. The characters are just as one would wish. Admirable, wry, smart, flawed, and filled with wit and good humour. The interplay between characters is particularly good, I think.
In D.C. Smith’s world honour and justice are important. Happiness is a morning walk along the Norfolk coast with one’s dog and one’s partner, a perfectly made cup of coffee, and good grammar.
Language matters to D.C. Smith.
And to Peter Grainger as is evident when you read his books. I love his occasional allusions to literature. In this book I detected a nod to Matthew Arnold’s poem “Dover Beach” when D.C. awakens one night and listens to the melancholy sound of the sea across the “naked shingle of the world.” And a couple of passages, which I could not find again, but which I’m sure sprang from Macbeth. Certainly the themes of power and corruption in the play are echoed in this novel.
The good thing about literary allusions such as the ones Grainger makes, though, is that you don’t need to know the source to appreciate the power of his words. Hubby never gets the allusions and he loves Grainger’s books as much as I do.
Anyway. That’s what I’ve been up to, my friends. See how cleverly I managed to NOT end that sentence with a preposition?
Now it’s your turn. Tell us a story about how much language matters to you.
P.S. The Peter Grainger book link is an affiliate link. If you make a purchase after clicking my link, I will earn a small commission.
59 thoughts on “Language Matters, Doesn’t it?”
That was so interesting & just shows what a good teacher you were , clever & wise . You must be missed . I find words & language fascinating & believe that if people could express themselves better there would be far less friction in the world . We have so many different words available to us but some become massively overused . My pet hate here is âamazing â , very rarely is anything truly amazing . Swearing is another of my bugbears . Some words are far more effective when rarely used . I must say though , I admire your student for plugging away at âalbeitâ . Far better to try a new word , even if it takes some getting used to , than never extend your vocabulary or experiment with our wonderful language . I know I donât always get it right .
Good to hear the new Peter Grainger is up to scratch. My current read â The List Of Suspicious Things â by Jenny Godfrey is excellent ( maybe not amazing ) Set here in Yorkshire , my home town of Knaresborough even gets a mention . Itâs a lovely book & I think youâll like it .
There was nothing more satisfying than “conferencing” with a student who really wants to improve their work. I had one boy in my class who would bring me the draft-in-progress of his big project, we’d discuss, I’d point out good bits, and make a couple of suggestions. And every time, he’d jump up, and exclaim… “Oh, that’s good. That will totally work. Thanks Ms. B.” And rush off to continue his work. I loved that part of the job. I know that some old school teachers thought that was cheating. He should just submit his work and I should mark it. But real writers conference all the time when they’re midstream in writing something. Much better to show a student possibilities and let them reap the reward with an improved mark.
P.S. Did you know that the view of the bridge in Knaresborough was featured in an episode of Landscape Artist of the Year? What a beautiful town.
Thank you ,Wendy,the book is excellent,I’ve enjoyed reading it!
D.
Oh good D , Iâm so glad you enjoyed it . It was rather an odd subject to base the story around but I felt it was handled sensitively . Though older than the main character in the book , I can remember the fear of those times very well & the great relief for everyone when he was finally apprehended .
I cannot comment on how others use language because I know my own way of speaking is a mixture of Gaelic,Ulster Scots dialect and English and the end result might not be recognisable to language purists. I love how I am able to produce exactly the right âword â for the occasion. Itâs a very rich repertoire.
I have just finished the Peter Grainger and it was as enjoyable as all the others.
Heading to Donegal today and â The List of Suspicious Things â is coming with me. Thanks Wendy.
Mary from Ireland
Hope you enjoy it Mary
“Language purists” sometimes don’t recognize that language is always changing. I love colloquial expressions, slang, and odd pronunciations. I come from a part of Canada which has itself a mishmash of language from all kinds of sources.
Words and language. Heaven!
I have days where I fall in love with words. One day it was sernedipitous. Another, gallimaufry. Still another, exquisite. Weird I know, but there you go.
Do try some Antoine Laurain books. Elegantly exquisite!
I will look for Antoine Laurain. Thanks, Prue.
Concurring here. I was very insistent on clear and grammatically correct language in my pupils’ writing, even though they were only 10-11 years old. Why? Because clarity and fluency matter. What was the point of teaching mediocrity and accepting it, why not insist on high standards? Perhaps because I had a degree in English (language and literature), I could not permit slovenliness. This did not always make me popular. And then I went down to the lower years’ area of school and found a wall display saying: Desserts of the World. Featuring sand and palm trees, not ice cream. Strikes forehead in despair…if the staff can’t spell properly, what do you do? I had a few lunchtime disputes with staff about grammar, spelling and punctuation but found I was often regarded as unnecessarily pedantic, creativity being more important than exactitude. My response being: if I can’t understand it, how can it be good writing? Which neatly echoes your experience. Hey ho, funny old world.
Sounds like pedantic describes you perfectly. Pompous might be another adjective to use.
Sorry Sue! I enjoyed reading your post this morning and I usually love the follow up comments, but not so today.
I’ve pondered and pondered how to reply to your comment, Joanna. Annie did say herself that she sometimes came across as “overly pedantic” to her colleagues. But the teaching profession must be made up of all kinds of teachers. That way kids see a cross-section of the real world. And learn to deal with different personalities. As a student I had teachers who scared the pants off me, and others who I thought were kindness itself. When I grew up I found out that not all my friends had the same feeling as I did about the teachers I loved and those I didn’t love.
Having said all that, I don’t think that it’s fair to call Annie “pompous.” She’s actually very witty and good fun to read. She has a blog of her own that you could check out if you don’t believe me. It’s called No Hat, No Gloves.
Do you not think red marks all over oneâs work might be demoralizing to young kids of 9 or 10? It might destroy their love of learning. I guess her comment hit a nerve. My son, about ten at the time, wrote a wonderfully creative story. When he came home it was covered in red circles and marked low. He was distressed! I met with the teacher and asked her did she even take the time to read, really read his story. Not really! I gave it to her to read again. The next day she took the time to praise his storytelling. Teaching higher grades is much different than teaching vulnerable children.
I should have said this to begin with instead of lashing out at Annie. So unlike me.
I agree. The red pen can have unintended negative results. My great-nephew was a bright, exhuberant child who loved school. His grade two teacher has instituted a writing journal for the class. This was a woman after my own heart. She read the students’ work, and sometimes she corrected a mistake, not always and never in red, but she always replied with a comment about the subject matter of the entry. As in “I have an older brother too… etc etc.” My niece used to bring his journal for me to read when I visited because he always wrote that his “aunt sosy from awa” was coming for a visit. I loved that. His teacher really fostered a love of writing by her approach through her subtle corrections, and the conversations she had with her students in their journal.
P.S. Thanks for getting back and explaining. đ
I think that creativity is important too. But there’s a difference between being creative and being a lazy writer. I think we can do both in the classroom… foster creativity and teach grammar. I still have lots of my grade school work, stories about kittens or ghosts complete with red circles around my “creative” spelling. Ha.
I totally agree. Formal grammar and sentence structure doesn’t seem to be taught much here in NZ from what I can see. Often an understanding of English doesn’t seem to appear until a foreign language is studied. I find myself itching to get out the red pen when reading the newspaper which is not a good start to the day. In my first practicum from Teachers’ College over 40 years ago I was marking Biology essays and got told off for correcting the students’ English. I could only correct biological terminology! I wasn’t impressed.
Part of the problem when I was teaching English is the time it takes to teach grammar from the beginning… parts of speech right up to sentence errors. Teachers had to limit the time spent on grammar because we were expected to cover sooo much more than that. And I hear from Language Arts teachers in the elementary system than many of the new initiatives (like teaching a module on anti-bullying) are simply added to their curriculum. Something has to fall off the plate.
P.S. We had a literacy initiative when I was still teaching that asked teachers from all departments to teach literacy to some degree. Even if it only dealt with how to read questions properly, or using correct grammar in lab reports. My friend, a bio teacher, added an independent unit to his senior biology course that involved reading a novel about science. I loved that.
Your words remind me of an interview I heard on CBC many years ago with a plastic surgeon who suffered with Tourette’s Syndrome and often found himself âstuckâ on certain words, using them over and over again in his daily interactions with patients. This verbal tick caused him no small embarrassment when his word of the day happened to be the word âgrotesqueâ! I am imagining his traumatized patients needing counselling after their visit with him that day.
The second incident that comes to mind is when a young grandson of our was learning to speak and his request for âsparkling waterâ came out as âf*@#ing waterâ. What!? My daughter nonchalantly interpreted this to shocked Nana and laughing Pa and assured us that this too would pass, which it did in a few weeks.
Oh my goodness… imagine that poor doctor.
I think awesome and amazing are embarrassingly overused everywhere in Canada these days. There are lots of other adjectives that could be used. I’m disappointed that even CBC broadcasters often can’t come up with other descriptive words. Perhaps they are trying to appeal to “ordinary” people but that seems a shame given the richness of language.
There are so many overused words of exclamation these days. “Absolutely” comes to mind. But I’m not sure that was even any different. I still remember my Mum asking if my teenage brother and me if we would for god’s sake stop saying something or other.
I had a little chuckle after I read your piece. My dad worked in Communications for Kodak his entire career. He was a technical writer and editor, worked with advertising, bought printing etc… Can you imagine what I went through when I had him proofread my papers in high school?! I should have gotten extra credit just for having to run that gauntlet. Also, my grandfather was a writer, MA in English in 1920-something and was in the Advertising business most of his life… I grew up surrounded by words!
I had a student whose dad was a journalist. One day he brought me an article he was writing for the school paper and I marked it all up with changes that needed to be made before we could publish it. I apologized for all the red pen, and he just grinned and said, “Don’t worry Ms. Burpee. My dad is harder on me that that. I’m used to blood all over my page.” I loved that comment.
I subscribe to Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day (online, free) — I’ll skim the word, think I know what it means, try to define it for myself, confirm the definition at the website, and find I’m either completely wrong or have missed some nuance. All those words I intuitively know but can’t quite put into words are, almost always, wrong! It’s humbling.
Oh dear. I’d be worse. Ha.
I vividly remember walking into my childâs kindergarten class and discovering that the teacher had hung a list of do and donât items she had hand-printed in large letters. Evidently she read it to the children each day. Nothing wrong with that, eh? If only she had not printedâDonot run in class, Donot eat in classâ- Donot, Donot, Donot. Never once had she placed a space between do and not or bothered to simply write donât. đ€ŠđŒââïž
It kind of looks like “doughnut” if you read it quickly. Ha.
I read so much (thousands of books from teen years) and so I am often accused of writing essays whenever I do emails. Most relatives send back comments that are in “text” format. Everything anymore is such short form that it is disgusting. I do not do TEXT even though my brother says it is wonderful. As a person of “words”, I find that form of communication to be lacking in detail and clarity. Then I am accused of “way too much detail”. I am obviously not in this new digital wave even though I read real books from the library and even books on my tablet. Who can win????
I hate texting. It takes me forever to say what I want. I prefer e-mail because it’s more like real writing. Still texting is good for organizing a get-together quickly.
Shirley’s comment made me think of a friend who writes beautifully. I always know I’m in for a treat when I open his emails: sophisticated and yet not pretentious, with words carefully chosen and plenty of humour. It’s a lost art.
I have always had an extensive vocabulary, as my retention is strong when I read, but I’m the first to admit that my use of grammar rules was not helped by the weak teaching I received under the whole language paradigm that ruled in Ontario in the 1970s.
My other disadvantage is that a significant share of my life is lived in Italian, since that is the language of my primary relationship. I also need to speak and write in French with my francophone employees. I often imagine (literally) train tracks creakily grinding and shifting as I switch between languages. Moreover, although my Italian has developed over the years, obviously, it’s never the same thing to argue in your second or third language as it is when you have access to all of the emotionally nuanced expressions of your mother tongue.
I sometimes throw my hands up in despair at the mishmash of communication I am able to squeak out, and when I’m tired I’m embarrassed to admit that I sometimes forget English words, with the Italian version coming to the fore, even in my “home” context.
At the same time, there’s also something invigorating in the process of invention and struggle to use new words and different words in new ways. I enjoyed the stories of your students who were struggling in this process of rebirth, which reminds me a little of watching a little baby struggling to turn itself over for the first time. Without effort and experimentation there is no growth.
Ah, the whole language thing. I didn’t teach elementary school, but I was aware of the whole language philosophy. There are always pendulum swings in education. Teach grammar, don’t teach grammar, teach grammar but as an add-on, expect good grammar but don’t teach it, teach group work, don’t teach it but expect kids to know how to know how to work well in group situations. Eye-roll here. Like the Brits say… “swings and roundabouts”.
Thank you for mentioning me,Peter Grainger likes to publish his mysteries mysteriously
J. Godfrey goes to my list
Excellent post,Sue,language (Croatian in my case) matters so much,although it was liberating when I’ve decided to read/speak/write english ( german,italian,french) as I can and just communicate with people,risking to seem/be dumb and/or illiterate ( this is not fishing for compliments,sometimes it is very difficult to express oneself and there are still subjects I don’t discuss in foreign languages ,albeit đ I have an -or more- opinion
So,my apology for past and future mistakes
Dottoressa
I so admire people who speak more than one language. Stu and I have fun when we travel, trying our best to use at least a few phrases. I still remember trying to master “milky coffee” in Croatian.
P.S. English students in Canada can opt for the “bilingual program” in high school. Usually these kids have studied in a “French Immersion” program in elementary school. And they study all their courses in high school in French. But despite becoming very proficient in French, teacher friends who teach social science courses in the bilingual program say that even the senior bilingual students cannot discuss complex issues freely and easily in their second language.
In my work I had to explain legal documents to customers and in doing so learned to keep things simple. When I retired I started working with refugees helping them with their legal documents so this was an easy transition. All of this rambling has lead me to my main reason for this post. You have such a gift of taking words that paint a picture or a story in my mind. Thank you.
Thanks, Claudette. đ
As a retired litigation paralegal I chuckled, and cringed, with your post. I was tasked with the final proof, edit and citation check of the briefs and my red pen-marked drafts were well known but not always well received. So much bluster and heretoforeâing and legal mumbo smoke and mirrors. The attorney I worked for was of the âKISSâ mindset (keep it simple sh@thead). A clean, concise communication about facts.
He also taught me that more people will (lean in to) listen to a soft spoken person than one who thinks they will be heard more if they are loud. So true!
Thank you for a nice post and the lovely rain video.
Ah… “clean and concise”… you’re speaking my language now.
It sounds like you were (and still are) a skilled and motivating teacher. I went back to school as an adult, initially just to finish high school, but ended up going on to a university degree, which I proudly finally finished at 51, and then a post degree diploma in Teaching English as a Second Language. Yes adults are motivated differently when they return to school but may bring bad habits with them. A good adult education teacher may need to help their adult learners break those bad habits without breaking that drive to further their education.
English, reading and language were always strong suits for me, math and science were my downfall. When I started my first university courses and had to turn out 2500 plus word papers in Sociology, English and History, it was so tempting to up the word count with extra words. I caught myself either focussing on the word count at the expense of answering the question clearly, or answering the question and embellishing unnecessarily. Fortunately I had an amazing prof who pointed this out to me early, and helped me to develop methods to express clear, concise, understandable answers to questions. Those skills carried me on into a succession of fulfilling positions including writing for marketing and technical writing.
I really enjoy reading good writing and your blog is the highlight of my Sunday mornings. I have read many of your recommended books and consistently find no matter the subject, the language and how it is presented is what I love. Thank you.
Exactly right, Linda. Our job teaching adults was to nurture their renewed desire to learn. We had something called a “success package” for students just starting back to school. A couple of courses that taught learning skills etc etc that they could pass easily and thus gain some confidence. I remember vividly having a discussion with one woman who wailed that she could not take my class because it involved writing essays and she didn’t know how to write essays. I had to convince her that if she already knew, there’d be no need to take the course. I’d teach her everything she needed to know. She stuck around and did fine. But it was touch and go for a few days. She almost dropped out again.
P.S. Congratulations on your achievements, by the way. đ
This is my favorite post. The reader comments are impressive as well.
I taught Social Studies to junior high students in the US for 38 years. I loved being immersed in this unique cross section of humanity. Thirteen and fourteen year olds are anxious to understand the world and their place in it. Teaching is a satisfying profession.
I loved my grade nine classes. So many high school teachers wouldn’t touch grade nines with a barge pole. But my friend and I used to giggle and say that teaching the grade nines was the best kept secret in our school. We loved them.
As a kid my sister shared this ( red marked) sentence from a writing assignment: “My mother caught a bird while flying around the aviary”.
I also enjoy this classic misuse of punctuation: The giant panda eats, shoots, and leaves.
Love your blog and all your teaching stories. I taught high school Yearbook, as well as Art classes to 9th through
12th grades
Oh, I love that Joan. I used to love teaching misplaced or dangling modifiers. My favourite example was always: “Sitting on the porch six cows could be seen.” And to use Annie’s example about desert versus dessert, my colleague found this in a student’s book review of a survival story some of which took place in a hot sandy environment. The protagonist was “crawling across the dessert.” I recall that my colleague quipped, “That whipped cream can be deadly.” Ha.
I remember being told in high school that my writing was ‘terse’……and I was actually pleased, because I very much adhere to the Strunk & White principle of omitting unnecessary words. There’s nothing quite as lovely as getting lost in a book so beautifully written that you want to slow down your reading to put off the inevitability of it ending……………
Terse can be good. As is getting lost in a book. Ha.
Did you delete my response to Annie? She deserved a response. So pretentious! And pedantic! Her words!
Your space has always been save from those that feel superior in their English language. I, personally, find it hard to read those that mix up words – theyâre or their, mantel or mantle, then or thanâŠBut I donât feel the need to correct people. Please be kind!
I didn’t delete your comment, Joanna. I just “unapproved” it for the moment. It felt a bit unkind. And yet I know that you comment all the time on my blog and are always kind and considerate. I guess I needed some time to think how I should respond.
My lovely teenage niece and her two friends came to stay with me in Italy. I so enjoyed listening to them but it was all “he was like…” ” it was like….” so I started demanding they found a suitable adjective each time: “he was so funny” “it was so embarrasing “.
At first they thought it was hilarious but believe it or not , by the end of their stay, their conversation had improved so much.
I hope it stuck!
Still…there’s something so exuberant about teenage girls talking. Especially when they’re excited.
Great post Sue!
I bumped into a cartoon that said something like this:
âTexting – if you use capital letters and punctuation properly, youâre showing your age.â
I canât help but (try to) use correct spelling, capital letters, and punctuationâŠ. Age 66 đ
I also like a thesaurus!
Thank you
Suz from Vancouver
Me too, Suz!
“Whatâs the point in communicating if your reader doesnât understand what you mean?â
My point exactly! I say it approximately 20 times a day in my job (law drafting, revising official documents). As the saying goes: parla come mangi.
Great post, thank you!
Thanks. I will say that I revise my posts many times before I push the “publish” button. I guess you could say I’m chewing over my words. Ha.
As a young girl, coming out of eight years in a one room schoolhouse, I was so fortunate to have the guidance and encouragement from a nonjudgmental English teacher in high school. She saw a potential and coached me for four years in the art of declamation. My first year, I earned an excellent rating and you have no idea how this helped my fragile self confidence. Thank you Mrs. Johnson. Iâm sure that my composition and word choices donât meet a high standard today but this âamazingâ teacher left me with a more tender heart and empathy for those who may struggle.
Nonjudgemental teachers are gold, aren’t they?
I kept thinking âditto, ditto, ditto.â Educated in journalism and English, I realize how much effort it takes to write to communicate rather than to impress. Iâm retired from a career in what is now called marketing communications (or marcom in business speak). I finally gave in to using the business school jargon so that my younger colleagues didnât peg me as outdated. I still could not and will not use âaskâ as a noun. đ
Ha. Good one, Beverly. I used to hate all the nouns that suddenly became verbs. Made me cringe.
Totally agree – across my career as speech pathologist , adult educator and manager my mantra has been â what you say and how you say it â makes or breaks the communication ! I just love your blog and writings Sue .I share all your passions – fashion, reading, travel to name just three. Cheers from Australia
Cheers right back at you, Jan. đ
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