sesquipedalian \ses-kwuh-puh-DAYL-yuhn\ (adjective) - 1 : Given to or characterized by the use of long words. 2 : Long and ponderous; having many syllables. (noun) - A long word. "Because my father was a professor, I early picked up a sesquipedalian way of speaking." -- Damon Knight, 'A Science Fiction Argosy' Sesquipedalian comes from Latin sesquipedalis, "a foot and a half long, hence inordinately long," from sesqui, "one half more, half as much again" + pes, ped-, "a foot." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Is it always desirable to use large, complicated, obscure or technical terms? While having a large vocabulary is important for good communication, it isn't always effective to use. Here are a list of circumstances in which it is NOT effective...
June is Effective Communication Month so, to celebrate, Art of Eloquence is hosting a contest here on the blog where you could win free Art of Eloquence studies of YOUR CHOICE! Here's how it works: CONTEST RULES/HOW TO ENTER: 1. Submit a family-friendly, funny or sweet story of miscommunication. The story could have happened to you in "real life," you could have heard about it happening to someone else OR you could write one out of your own imagination. It can be funny like a Foot in Mouth Man episode or a sweet and inspirational story. Preferably just a few sentences or a paragraph, but there is no limit to the length if it's a good story. 2. Post them...
Those of you who remember my weekly internet radio show on the Communication Comedy Network will remember my character Professor Wordsmith. She (I) did the Word of the Week segments. In 2011, I'm going to be bringing back some of the old characters I played on the show as YouTube videos. I thought I'd bring her segments here to Communication FUNdamentals for Word Wednesday. This week's word is something most people do associate with communication: speech! But as we'll see, speech is much more than a formal recitation of gun control or abortion rights. According to Merriam Webster, speech is: "1a : the communication or expression of thoughts in spoken words b : exchange of spoken words : conversation 2a...
By JoJo (What does the "D" and the fence mean?) Tabares [This week's Word Wednesday post is brought to you by the word "obvious" and the number of times it isn't.] I'm five foot nuthin' so when someone doesn't notice me standing in front of the sales counter, I don't always blame them. I'm easy to miss. Last Sunday at church, I saw a young man who was drawing some amount of attention at the entrance. As my father has been known to say, he had a serious case of TALL! I think I came up to his belt buckle. ;D At five foot and no inches, I'm not so obvious. But as I'll share with you in just a...
