A big problem
published: Thursday | July 22, 2004

THE EDITOR, Sir:

WITH GREAT delight, I read Garth Rattray's article 'In defence of big words' in Tuesday's July 20, 2004 Gleaner. 'Penning my opinion in The Gleaner is an honour and a privilege' he writes, and I agree, feeling the same way about my own letters.

However, just as there are two sides to a coin, there are at least two sides to any argument. Although he addresses several possibilities as reasons for not using big words, Garth may have forgotten a most important one. When the average reader, I suspect, regardless of their level of education, seeks another person's opinion, he or she is probably not interested in being made to go to a dictionary and look up words they don't understand. Being told that he or she should, does not help. It may even be insulting.

I dare say I've a fair amount of formal education, yet after having to go look up the meaning of Garth's closing phrase 'piquant lexical insertion', (finding little more than wordiness), I'm reminded of a really 'big' word one of my own, former high school teachers once shared with his class: 'Unhypersymetricaloantiparallelopipedocalistationalographical'. You must admit, as a substitute for the word 'straight', as in 'straight to the point,' for example, it would be a 'big waste' of time.

I am, etc.,

ED McCOYE

mmhobo48@juno.com

Florida