This is an article I had read many years ago, in the newspaper named ‘The Hindu’. The precise date of publishing was 20 Sep 1994. I liked it so much that time that I kept a cutting of the same. Now when I read this again today, I was prompted to blog it because it is as relevant today, as it was then. This is the exact adaptation and nothing is my contribution.
“There is a tendency among our people to use big words and roundabout expressions.”
“It is impressive to use big words.”
“It is impressive to the person who uses big words but not to the listener or reader. Lionel Trilling, a great critic, once said: We are fast loosing the ability to say clearly and simply what we want to say. A time will come when people will be unable to say: ‘They fell in love and married’. They would say: ‘Their libidinal impulses being reciprocal, they activated their individual erotic drives and integrated them within the same frame of reference.’
“I like it. It is impressive”.
“it is impressively unintelligible. You will have to read the sentence several times to understand what it means. Some are addicted to this kind of language. Alexander Haig, a former U.S. Secretary of State, apparently was much addicted to it. The story goes that one of Haig’s aides asked him for a pay increase, Haig could not say ‘no’. Instead he replied: ‘Because of the fluctuational predisposition of you position’s productive capacity as juxtaposed to Government standards, it would be momentarily injudicious to advocate an increment. ‘ The perplexed aide replied: ‘I don’t get it.’ Mr. Haig replied: ‘That’s right’. When someone was asked to give advice on how to be a successful public speaker, he said: “Well, in promulgating your esoteric cogitations and articulating superficial, sentimental and psychological observations, beware of platitudinous ponderosity. Let your extemporaneous decantations and unpremeditated expatiations have intelligibility and veracious veracity without rodomontade and thrasonical bombast. Sedulously avoid all polysyllabic profundity, pusillanimous vacuity, pestiferous profanity and similar transgressions.’ “
“Do you understand what is said?”
“No. It is impressive, though. What does it mean?”
“It means speak simply, naturally and do not use big words.”
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