tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post8244775664275420469..comments2024-03-28T16:21:30.329-04:00Comments on Patricia Abbott (pattinase): Building a Vocabulary One Word at a Timepattinase (abbott)http://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-9847937431308962612009-01-19T08:23:00.000-05:002009-01-19T08:23:00.000-05:00Somehow I feel you know all the words already, Kat...Somehow I feel you know all the words already, Kathe. Are you coming to Michael Zadoorians's readings?pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-13933898067540150512009-01-19T07:31:00.000-05:002009-01-19T07:31:00.000-05:00I would be thrilled if someone left me a new word ...I would be thrilled if someone left me a new word on my bedside table every morning. That's the ultimate luxury-turndown service!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-10828265517902070872009-01-16T16:22:00.000-05:002009-01-16T16:22:00.000-05:00My mother, grandmother and great-aunt bought my br...My mother, grandmother and great-aunt bought my brothers and I books with which to increase our vocabulary. By reading different topics and different levels of books, one garners new words.Barbara Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00610140328527165017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-827320045730194252009-01-16T06:21:00.000-05:002009-01-16T06:21:00.000-05:00I once heard a story from some guy I used to know....I once heard a story from some guy I used to know. He played around in rock bands and everyone used to get drunk everytime they played. They had this roadie who was always drunk and when he was drunk, he got irritating. One time he passed out on the floor and the other guys, bored at him, zipped close his jacket and nailed the jacket to the floor. When the guy woke up, he couldn't get away. <BR/><BR/>Never heard how the story went on from this. <BR/><BR/>Patti, when I told my wife the sewing story, she asked whether you opened your husband's backpockets.Jurihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03021010310386744591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-10454951769384151982009-01-15T18:18:00.000-05:002009-01-15T18:18:00.000-05:00Sewing down an abusive husband is the subject of a...Sewing down an abusive husband is the subject of at least one old English ballad...Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-55359922747392067712009-01-15T17:41:00.000-05:002009-01-15T17:41:00.000-05:00maybe not as bad as Willie's wife, but not good.maybe not as bad as Willie's wife, but not good.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-5055585928699475312009-01-15T17:36:00.000-05:002009-01-15T17:36:00.000-05:00Duh, meant to say, "Sorry I forgot to tell you tha...Duh, meant to say, "Sorry I forgot to tell you that Clarity of Night..etc.etc."<BR/>John McAuleyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-63216703396482947822009-01-15T17:33:00.000-05:002009-01-15T17:33:00.000-05:00Patti, not that you'd do such a thing but your sew...Patti, not that you'd do such a thing but your sewing reference reminded me of a story Willie Nelson tells--apparently he came home drunk for the umpteenrh time to his umpteenth wife. She'd had enough of it so she waited until he passed out before patiently sewing him up in the bedsheet...then commenced to beating the hell out of him with a broom. On The Road Again indeed.<BR/>[Psst,sorry, I forgot Clarity Of Night was having another shindig. Sandra Seamans has a wonderful wee story there. And one of the funniest three word phrases I've read in ages.] <BR/>John McAuleyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-88424367836669312812009-01-15T14:48:00.000-05:002009-01-15T14:48:00.000-05:00John, I think you're absolutely right. It is a sty...John, I think you're absolutely right. It is a stylistic choice and readers will gravitate toward the writers with styles they enjoy. <BR/><BR/>I misspoke and have rethought what I said about a dumbing down effect. Thanks for helping me clarify my thoughts.Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00665632105920753931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-60608678262522236622009-01-15T14:40:00.000-05:002009-01-15T14:40:00.000-05:00Here I am, grandson gone and interesting to see ho...Here I am, grandson gone and interesting to see how much a two-year old loves words. Especially two or three word phrases and I wonder if he realizes at 26 months that it is a bunch of words and not one. Like "here we go." Throw a phrase like upsy-daisy at him and he loves saying it. <BR/>The pocket story later. If I have the nerve to tell it.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-26828822841235405072009-01-15T13:20:00.000-05:002009-01-15T13:20:00.000-05:00Oh, there's a lot of reverse snobbery and outright...Oh, there's a lot of reverse snobbery and outright anti-intellectualism these days, but I would argue that a simpler vocabulary in fiction doesn't necessarily mean dumbed down. It's a stylistic choice.John McFetridgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09442198820998606682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-30103441679924551332009-01-15T12:24:00.000-05:002009-01-15T12:24:00.000-05:00I think we pick up our vocabulary from wherever we...I think we pick up our vocabulary from wherever we're exposed to language. If it's through conversation, reading, movies or television, we learn the words that we hear. Ever since I started reading Proust, the dictionary has been my constant companion and I love noting so many new words. Many of them I've seen, but rarely seen used, some I don't think I've ever seen and some I've seen often but now that I'm so quick to look up a word, I've gone back and looked up lots of words where I assumed a meaning and was close, but not quite right.<BR/><BR/>Lots of people resist the use of an expanded vocabulary but do it anyway, they just do it in the form of neologisms and slang. There are so many words that we don't much use because possibly people perceive them as being pretentious, but they are so much more precise than the common words we recycle all the time.<BR/><BR/>I find a book that uses a reasonably sophisticated vocabulary (and I don't mean one full of archaic language) to be far more interesting than one that's been dumbed down. <BR/><BR/>There's a bit of reverse snobbery in our culture, I think. We have a great language with thousands of words we hardly use. I'd prefer to run into more words that have fallen out of common use and less slang any day.Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00665632105920753931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-80662589801820590642009-01-15T11:45:00.000-05:002009-01-15T11:45:00.000-05:00Well, if tailors sew pockets closed (as some do).....Well, if tailors sew pockets closed (as some do)...<BR/><BR/>My youthful problem was in reading words and gathering a good or excellent knowledge of their meaning and connotations, but being too lazy to look up their received pronunciation. I had few peoople at various times to bring up such in conversation.Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-68693286826174718122009-01-15T11:18:00.000-05:002009-01-15T11:18:00.000-05:00Is a smaller but well-understood vocabulary really...Is a smaller but well-understood vocabulary really a bad thing? Isn't this just word inflation? Lake Superior State is right, the problem is too many words and a lack of clarity in what people say.<BR/><BR/>We see it most in business, where we make fun of it all the time, we make fun of it in government statements, but we admire it in literature? I don't get it.<BR/><BR/>But I would like to hear the story about sewing the pockets closed.<BR/><BR/>With however many words you chose to use (or utilize, if we're in business).John McFetridgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09442198820998606682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-79745270906288706812009-01-15T10:44:00.000-05:002009-01-15T10:44:00.000-05:00The Hardy Boys and S.E. Hinton taught me more abou...The Hardy Boys and S.E. Hinton taught me more about vocabulary growing up than any of my vocabulary lessons.<BR/><BR/>Now that I'm older I don't necessarily like learning new words while reading all the time. Sometimes I think the really big words, that are rarely used, can be a distraction; especially if the entire text is littered with them. I like to be sucked in to a story and not be distracted by words that I have to look up just to understand what the writer is trying to say. <BR/><BR/>Sometimes you want to watch Benjamin Button but sometimes you just want to watch Batman kick some ass.Jacob Weaverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07065333777660021975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-12106905510749848072009-01-15T10:42:00.000-05:002009-01-15T10:42:00.000-05:00My wife and I read every night to our son. The fir...My wife and I read every night to our son. The first long-form book we read was one of those Big/Little books with Tom and Jerry. I remember the first night, when I only read chapter 1, when my looked at me as if to say "Aren't you going to finish?" Now, we're branching into actual novels: Spiderwyck (Christmas present). My mom read Wizard of Oz, Hundred and One Dalmations, and others (Ben and Me) back in the day.Scott D. Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293540073601809197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-36533592604775556842009-01-15T10:39:00.000-05:002009-01-15T10:39:00.000-05:00One thing that helps is not speaking "baby talk" w...One thing that helps is not speaking "baby talk" when they're small--and never "talk down" to them, either. Read to them every day. My oldest daughter started kindergarten with a sixth grade vocabulary. Her little sister starts school next year, and it's the same with her.Patrick Shawn Bagleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14832860010935241958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-1062328510896646962009-01-15T10:20:00.000-05:002009-01-15T10:20:00.000-05:00Reading is essential. I used to read with a flashl...Reading is essential. I used to read with a flashlight. I think most of us did. Especially comic books, which were easier in the dark.<BR/>The pocckets story is too looney to admit to. <BR/>Corpulent is a good after holiday word. Maybe a love of language can be instilled even as late as college.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-51789498613764622932009-01-15T10:16:00.000-05:002009-01-15T10:16:00.000-05:00We're doing a word a day in our writing class this...We're doing a word a day in our writing class this year. First class, first word was segue.<BR/><BR/>Today's word is corpulent.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-910345300191892902009-01-15T10:09:00.000-05:002009-01-15T10:09:00.000-05:00I, for one, would like to hear the story about you...I, for one, would like to hear the story about you sewing your husband's pockets closed. I read to my children every day. By the age of three, my son could read. By the age of four, my daughter could read. They seemed to pick it up by osmosis from my reading to them. I suspect we build vocabularies from reading. It's no surprise that poor readers have poor vocabularies.<BR/>--George KelleyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-1504144787352564512009-01-15T09:28:00.000-05:002009-01-15T09:28:00.000-05:00Hello Pattinase,I used to burn my sheets with ligh...Hello Pattinase,<BR/><BR/>I used to burn my sheets with lightbulbs, by accident, as a child while reading. <BR/><BR/>I never achieved asbestos skin, but my word count increased proportionally with the cotton scorch marks in the bed.<BR/><BR/>The challenge I found was that I was, and am, accused of using $5 words, and am told that 10 (hmm, European keyboards do not have the cent sign anywhere...) cent words would do. <BR/><BR/>I never understood this relative valuation of words. <BR/><BR/>Why would some words be cheaper or more expensive than others? And why would someone deliberately use a lower value word?<BR/><BR/>I enjoy words like meretricious. <BR/><BR/>I have no idea why everyone would not want to use words like this.<BR/><BR/>I am with WSU and find myself distinctly opposed to the actions of LSSC.<BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/>ChrisSepiru Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08600130405222535830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33110302.post-49018163204230088522009-01-15T09:15:00.000-05:002009-01-15T09:15:00.000-05:00My parents flooded me with story books as a child....My parents flooded me with story books as a child. They read to me every night at bedtime the same Curious George books and then introduced me to The Hardy Boys.David Cranmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04749857752139212888noreply@blogger.com