Garth RattrayPENNING MY opinions in the Gleaner is an honour and a privilege. I resolved that whatever I submitted would not be self-aggrandising or egotistic. Instead, it would be educational, thought-provoking, sometimes entertaining but always of public interest and reflect the needs of the many.
I have never before responded to criticisms because we are all entitled to our opinions. However, the letter to the Editor, of Friday July 9, 2004, rebuking my use of, what the writer calls, "a flash flood of obscure (when not downright archaic) words", craves my attention.
This letter compartmentalises columnists and prejudges the ability of our readers to comprehend. It seeks to limit contributors to a certain style of writing and therefore to rob them of the golden opportunity to introduce unusual words/phrases, to teach and to expand the knowledge base of the general public. It underestimates everyday Jamaicans by assuming that most are incapable of understanding unusual words even when they are used in the appropriate context, making them self-explanatory.
STIMULATED
I sometimes come upon weird, exotic or unfamiliar words when reading the offerings of other contributors and it gives me a thrill to try to fathom the meanings on my own or to consult a dictionary whenever I want to know more about them. Like so many people, I learn best when stimulated. It must also be remembered that columnists are read extensively by our large population in secondary and tertiary learning institutions. Aspirants after higher academic pursuits need to have subject matter presented to them at an appropriate level on occasions. We're not writing solely for children.
I recall, in my days as a Junior Resident to an eminent surgeon, hearing him say to a middle-aged working-class patient, "We are going to have your arm x-trayed and then put in a plaster polish". I was taken aback and wondered why this brilliant surgeon assumed that his ordinary-looking patient would not understand the words 'x-ray' or 'Plaster of Paris'. He was denying his patient the opportunity to learn. We should never underestimate our bright, intelligent and inquisitive Jamaican people. Our politicians have repeatedly done just that for years with serious consequences.
NOTHING OBSCURE
There is nothing obscure (indistinct/hidden) or archaic (no longer in common use) about words like 'fulminant' (explosive), 'congeal' (make solid), 'nebulous' (cloudy), 'susurrations' (like the Jamaican words sussu and suss meaning mumbling/whispering), 'funambulist' (tightrope walker) or 'alpha males' (strong, controlling personalities/ persons in charge). Given the limited space in which they have to express themselves, columnists/contributors must often choose words that convey entire ideas in an effort to condense their essays.
The writer admits to calling and complimenting me on, in his words, "a particularly felicitous phrase", but, as I read the piece I wondered how many understood the word 'felicitous'. Everyone that I interviewed thought that it sounded and looked like 'felicity', meaning 'merry' or 'light-hearted' but in fact it can also mean 'apt' or 'well-suited'. It is obvious that many were confused by 'a particularly felicitous phrase' because the word 'felicitous' is ambiguous.
CASTIGATED
The writer also ran the risk of being castigated for using an uncommon word when a simpler one would have sufficed. The writer further demonstrates a penchant (capacity) for negativism that we all share from time to time. He complimented me in private but criticised me publicly in print. All this for six out of the 681 words found in just one single article. Too often we are quick to publicise the things that we see as negative but fail to comment on the positives.
As for the concern that big words may render the subject matter difficult to understand and beyond the reach of many Jamaican people; everyone should try to learn new words, read holistically (by seeking out the ideas being communicated) and pay close attention to the last (summary) paragraph. I'm not defending my article or myself; I am defending the right of our people to be exposed to variety and to be stimulated to learn. As always, I will spare readers trivial, circuitous articles but not the occasional piquant lexical insertion (there I go again).
Garth A. Rattray is a medical practitioner with a family practice.
