reply to post by roswell1
Roswell1,
Very interesting post for one so young. Well stated.
This awareness of the vocabulary of peoples has caused me to look closer at people in certain settings.
For example I watch women at the stores for what they purchase, what they purchase to read and ask myself the difference in them as individuals.
How they act or conduct themselves or don't act or conduct themselves.
I also watch their children and how they act or don't act as well.
Same thing with the men. What they read or don't read...what comes out of their mouths or not comes out. How they conduct themselves or don't
conduct themselves. Also how they act or react around children or their children. Same thing as the women.
Most of the males I know, when they read a newspaper, tend first to turn to the sports page. This is the portion of the newspaper I first discard.
Little interest in it.
These are little tell tale things about how a person thinks or does not think. Vocabulary has to do with the ability of a person to think and or
communicate this thinking/value system to others.
I understand the concept that there are certain words and even abbreviations pertaining to certain fields or certain diciplines. Most outside of these
fields/diciplines would not understand these cue words or abbreviations. It is so in the world of Ham Radio operators to which I also belong. I tend
not to use these words or abbreviations outside of this arena.
Same with our occupations. Certain words are pertinent to our occupations especially if we must use language to give a proper turnover to an oncoming
shift. If one is not precise and accurate, much can be lost in the turnover. Language abilities can be critical here, particularly in a highly
technical job. The medical field is a textbook example where accurate patient turnovers and documentation is critical. We can easily be talking life
and death here.
I too do not think it is technology which is killing our culture. For technology has made our lives easier, more comfortable, and our labors less
strenuous.
I do think that some of us take technology for granted to the point where we would not know how to function without it. This to me is a symptom of
being dumbed down to where we would not know how to function without technology. We do not have the thinking or analytical abilities to function
without much of it.
I agree with what you have stated Roswell1 in that we will have to bear it. What I do is look carefully in my observations of people. I look for those
with potential to comprehend the ideas we are discussing here. I work quietly to plant a seed of such a concept as we are discussing and then watch
for signs it has taken root. That these people can comprehend and build on the seed I have carefully planted.
I have stated this before in other ATS/BTS posts and have planted this very seed in the minds of several young peoples who have potential. I asked
them how many people do they know personally who cannot describe a concept, and idea, a moral quality outside of some movie or television program they
have seen. Have they noticed that many of these people have television/movie thinking, television/movie values, television/movie emotions. They have
no real original thinking of their own. They obviously live second hand lives. They are on a drug and don't even realize it. They are running a
program. They are like a xerox machine...you punch in 50 and get 50 copies of the same stamped out thinking ..through a movie/television prism. In
like manner to lacking vocabulary skills, this too cannot be accidental.
And we wonder how far this goes with vocabulary. We wonder why we are confronted with so many "drama queens " around us daily.
Find out for yourselves how many of these drama queen, second hand types have an extensive vocabulary.
Well, I am running down rabid trails here.
Good Roswell1 that you are working on your vocabulary and grammar skills. My grammar is horrible but I do like to read. English and math were not my
forte in school. History was more to my liking.
Over my years I have begrudgingly been forced to make friends with math as it has unceremoniously returned to bite me on the backside when I was the
least prepared. And in like manner I have come to begrudgingly respect math as a definite language skill.
Keep up the good work on your vocabulary skills. Look for people in whom you can plant seeds of ideas ..including the necessity of good and extensive
vocabulary. It will reap rewards for all of us in the long run.
Teach others to recognize this trait of vocabulary in others and themselves plant the seeds.
I was in court the other day giving testimony. I was astonished as to how many people appear before a judge and use language at a newspaper level or
lower. Poor language skills is a clue and cue as to credibility of a witness. A lawyer in a predatory manner will pick up on this and come in quickly
for the attack if they detect a weakness. Something to think about in the nature of vocabulary.
A person who has a good grasp of vocabulary has the basics to extend their diciplines well beyond the point of merely becoming "wildlife in its
natural habitat." Much more than a xerox copy of what we see surrounding us daily. Vocabulary is the key to further diciplines in life. It has the
potential, properly used, to separate us from the wildlife out here.
The tell tale proof of this is that in times past an educated person would be asked " in what discipline did you major or in what field were you
educated?" One hardly hears this expression or concept nowadays. It becomes obvious that many peoples today with degrees are not all that
educated..especially in basic vocabulary.
I remember watching an interview with Bebe Netanyahu where he was speaking English and in describing the workings of the Israeli parliament. He used
the expression that the parliament was "reticent" to act on a certain issue. Wow!! Ive never heard our leaders use such a word. What is the matter
with our politicians?? Most of our leaders fall way short of such language abilities. I salute Bebe for this skill.
Thanks to all for their posts on this topic,
Orangetom