Letters to the editor

Vocabulary in bloom

To the Editor:

The piece "Flowery vocabulary not so useful" is a dangerously ignorant opinion, and the author's general attitude toward communication here at Santa Clara is concerning. I agree that platitudes and corporate double talk are annoying, but the message sent in this article seems to have a different tone.

Just take a look at the third sentence of the article: "Speaking with a complicated vocabulary is like getting a manicure as a guy -- only a few people can pull it off."

The logical conclusion to be drawn from this sentence is that having a refined vocabulary is faux pas, never mind the socially ignorant overtones sent by the metrosexual reference.

I think language is one of the ultimate forms of self-expression, words among the most useful tools. And who would limit a carpenter building a house to only a hammer and a nail? So why would one suggest limiting a self-expressive human being to but a few words?

Furthermore, expanding one's vocabulary is as easy as sending a SMS message to 46645 (GOOGL). Just enter "D word" (without the quotes, where word is what you want to define) in the body of the text message, and seconds later, you will receive a text message back with a definition.

In sum, it's not cool to sound like a walking dictionary or thesaurus, I agree. But it's not cool to have to search for words when you can't seem to express yourself due to a limited vocabulary, either.

Neither is it cool when you're on a job interview and your wiser and more experienced potential boss asks you questions using words you don't understand.

And it's definitely not cool to think that expanding one's vocabulary and trying new words on for size should be left to a few guys with manicures.

Devin Holloway

Marketing '08