Words and phrases

Was that a Freudian slip, Phoenix?

My son's Danish partner speaks perfect English most of the time without a trace of Scandinavian accent. You only remember occasionally when she looks puzzled. For example the first time I said "It isn't half hot today, " she looked puzzled and said, "Do you mean it is warm?"
She hasn't looked puzzled since because she learns. She's a lot younger than you, soon.

Some very good points made here, English can be seen as a difficult language, although on paper, as we do not use feminine and masculine differentials for words or objects (anyone else remember la plume de ma taunte est sur the buureau de mon oncle? a thousand apologies for getting it wrong!) it should seem simpler.

Stephen Fry, to the naughty step with you this instant! And write out a thousand times the last paragraph of *absent's" post!

The way we learn is by facing things we do not already know! I loved stories and poems being read to me as a child. I did not always understand all the words but I loved the language! If you only speak words a child knows how would they ever learn...same with adults!

There are at least 250,000 specifically English words, many of them with dual or multiple meanings. Probably the same number of words from foreign languages, such as karaoke and spaghetti, have been incorporated without change into common English usage. In addition, new words are coined to meet the needs of the changing world – streamline when aviation became a feature of contemporary life, for example. Similarly, words become obsolete when they are no longer relevant. No one, not even the those who compile dictionaries, knows every one of them.

In general, people have a sizeable core vocabulary of everyday words that doesn't change much during their lifetimes. Then at any one time they have a usually smaller vocabulary of "favourite" words. The vocabulary of "favourite" words does change and new "favourites" take over.

In addition, there are specialist words used by professionals, such as doctors, lawyers and engineers (among many others). Slang and jargon, which change very frequently, and local dialect words, which tend to stay the same, are further additions.

No matter how highly educated and articulate, everyone is going to encounter unfamiliar words in this richest of languages. That is not a reason to reduce what is said to its most basic, especially if the concept under discussion is a complex and subtle one. Equally, using many words where few are adequate, long or obscure words when one word, a short word or a familiar word is just as good in order to sound important or clever is just pompous.

soon I sincerely hope you're not seriously advocating that we all restrict our language to simple words and phrases? Who does this benefit?
I spent most of my working life at a University. Whenever the overseas students struggled with our language - maybe a misused word, or the wrong tense or pronunciation - I would correct them, gently and always with a smile and they were, without exception, grateful for the help.
Learning is a lifelong process - I love it when I learn a 'new' word, and would hate to read only dumbed down, simple language on here. Goodness, Facebook is bad enough - I come on here to restore my faith in the intelligence of the human race

My second-language students were desperate to master English vocabulary and never hesitated to look up in the dictionary words or expressions that puzzled them. They did not consider that they did not, as you put it, soonto be have much better things to do with their time, than require to constantly on a daily basis, have to look up words and phrases. To fit in in what often seemed an alien society, they needed to be as fluent as possible in their new language.

STB
I agree with Nelliem re dumbing down!
Also are you saying we should not use colloquial English?
I feel your tone is very patronising of 'English as a second language ' speakers.

But yes, STB you are more than articulate when you want to be, I think. Interesting...

No shame in not understanding stuff, soontobe, only in not bothering to look it up. Mind you, I fully accept that not everyone wants to learn. As a former college lecturer I know full well that there are reluctant learners out there!

And again soon

Yet when I suggested googling, you said you were not a child, soontobe...

Soontobe are you suggesting that we should all "dumb down" the words and phrases we use in case someone else does not understand?

How can people improve vocabulary if they only hear people using simple words?
Can you give us some examples of the words and phrases you think are difficult?

As it is, in previous posts you seem to have been quite able to switch between using simple and more complex words and phrases without too much difficulty.

I am not intending to be rude but in the post above you seem to have (reverted) which means "gone back" to the very short sentence mode of a child's reading book.

I didnt think that I did. But I struggle on gransnet.
It isnt anyones' fault.

Ariadne. But you are clearly bright.
Imagine if you were not.
Imagine if you always struggled with english.

I know, I know. People, myself included, can leave if they dont like it.

pompa
I visit people 15 miles away, and hear words and phrases that I just dont hear anywhere else.

I was an English teacher, and taught teachers, but if I want to know something, or what a particular word means, I look it up! If someone has learning problems, then that is a different matter, but most of us can learn as we go, surely? To try is so important.

My iPad is full of dictionaries and translation apps for when I want to know!

Tha' would be good 'o be able 'alk in ooor own dielec'

phrases not faces!

I should think that they have much better things to do with their time, than require to constantly on a daily basis, have to look up words and faces by google or dictionary. I would have thought that their real lives were hard enough in that respect as it is.

Yes it is Ariadne. But on here, I sometimes feel as if it is not!
I thought I had a good education, but it looks as though my english language is not up to scratch.

But I do think that there are lurkers, and maybe even some gransnet members who do not have english as a first language.
And I do think that that should be very much borne in mind.

Is English not your first language, stb? If so, then I take your point. If not, then as I have said elsewhere, it's good to read things that you find difficult, and to take time over doing so, to broaden your perspective and understanding.