So I learned two new words tonight

from the Caesar's Footprints book:

chador--noun, a large piece of cloth that is wrapped around the head and upper body leaving only the face exposed, worn especially by Muslim women.
atelier--noun, a workshop or studio, especially one used by an artist or designer.

Not bad for one chapter. Nine more and an epilogue to go.  I like his writing, and it really puts me back when I was studying Classical languages and history.

How do kids get a great vocabulary? By adults using words around them

(and reading, of course).

How ‘Shrek’ Persuaded Me to Let the Words Fly

“Shrek” inspired me to let the words fly around my children. Nope, I’m not talking about the movie “Shrek”, but about William Steig’s wonderful picture book “Shrek.” And I’m not talking about using curse words around my children, but about using a more sophisticated vocabulary in ordinary conversation.

The vocabulary in “Shrek” is extravagant. It’s so baroque that I did some research to find out why Steig had included phrases like “shady copse,” “churlish knave,” “rosy wens,” and “fusty fens.” Had he picked words at random from a dictionary and challenged himself to work them into his story? Did he have pet underused words that he was determined to bring back into favor? (I myself have waged a losing campaign to popularize “chirk.”)

I love words, especially those which have unfortunately fallen out of favour these days. And I have never understood why we talk down to children who are capable of handling words that have more than five letters or two syllables.

I learned a lot of my vocabulary through reading, as opposed to hearing folks talk. I didn't always get the exact meaning, and a few things I terribly mispronounced the first time I used them. I used to read dictionaries for fun, too. YKWIA insists that I have an idiosyncratic use of words at times despite that. That may be. But the best way for kids to learn is to hear the words used (correctly). And in an era of mangling language online (I read instances of 'my advise' rather than 'my advice' yesterday in comments on a news story, for example, and I'm beginning to wonder if anyone can use 'loose' or 'lose' correctly these days, their misuse is so ubiquitous), it is terribly important to reiterate the importance of words.

Weeding words

Speaking of the English language, the following words are being purged from Britain's Collins English Dictionary as archaic and obsolete to make room for new entries. I figure as long as they're in the OED, they're still official. And as you've no doubt noticed, I have a penchant for archaic words and spellings anyway. :)

Abstergent, Agrestic, Apodeictic, Caducity, Caliginosity, Compossible, Embrangle, Exuviate, Fatidical, Fubsy, Griseous, Malison, Mansuetude, Muliebrity, Niddering, Nitid, Olid, Oppugnant, Periapt, Recrement, Roborant, Skirr. Vaticinate, and Vilipend

For lots of 'obscure' words, try Luciferous Logolepsy, a great site devoted to them.

A couple of quizzes between jobs

Your Vocabulary Score: A+

Congratulations on your multifarious vocabulary! You must be quite an erudite person.

How's Your Vocabulary?

And because I just had to take my semi-annual alcohol training:

You Are Guinness

You know beer well, and you'll only drink the best beers in the world. Watered down beers disgust you, as do the people who drink them. When you drink, you tend to become a bit of a know it all - especially about subjects you don't know well. But your friends tolerate your drunken ways, because you introduce them to the best beers around.

What's Your Beer Personality?

Which is funny, because I don't care for any beer but very stout, but can't drink enough of it to get drunk because it's just too much. Maybe a half-pint of Guinness is for me. I was very disappointed that O'Neill's didn't have them.

I'm just not an alcohol person anyway. If I drink, it's usually something fruity like a dacquiri, and really, what's the point of the alcohol at that point? What I really like is the smoothie taste. :)