Should a non-native writer try to use complex English words?
I am a non-native English user and whenever I write something is it better that I use simple words or some rare and seldomly used words? I mean native-speakers should surely understand basic English and simple everyday words, maybe except for a few difficult ones, but will they understand a text containing rare words which are seldomly used in writing, speech and everyday English?
On one hand I wish to have a text that can be easily read by most users of English without having the need to look up most of the words in the dictionary. On the other hand I want to have an elaborate style of writing with as many elegant and "sexy" words as possible, thus displaying an excellent knowledge of English.
This troubles me since I'm not sure which is better.
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Most native english speakers will probably have a mastery of the english language superior to your own. I'm a non-native english speaker myself and, since I read a lot in english (and somewhat struggle to write in it, too), I can tell.
Just imagine the equivalent in your own native language. In the course of your life, you've been exposed to a great number of words in your mother tongue: most of those have been common-use words, but surely you know a lot of seldomly used words, or phrasal verbs, or sayings, and so on. Even if you wouldn't use those in your everyday language, you will rarely need a dictionary to get the meaning.
For native english speakers, it will be the same. The real question here is:
Should your style be simple, or should it be more elaborate?
In my humble opinion, this is up to you and to your confidence in your use of english. Style also has to do with the kind of story you're telling, so that should be taken into account.
I wouldn't worry too much about english readers having to open a dictionary at every page of your book, unless you are actively searching for the most intricate, old, exotic words intentionally. Don't do that. If it doesn't fit your story, and if you have to bend your mind in attempt to impress some very-literate english reader, chances are that
- Your readers will be annoyed, rather than impressed, and/or
- Your style will feel clunky or unnatural, and/or
- You'll misuse some of those words since you are not familiar with them, too.
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Thinking deeper, speaking in terms of the "trouble" as you said, that/this might be the realm of serious psychological/mental health applications of your question logic. What Discovery Channel's Mayday calls "human factors" can apply to single words alone.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avianca_Flight_52 (from Mayday) is a technically good (emotionally bad) example: "This dire situation was not recognized as an emergency by the controllers because of the failure of the pilots to use the word "emergency"."
"The captain asked the first officer to "tell them we are in [an] emergency."
"The captain once again asked whether the first officer had advised the controller of the fuel emergency, and the first officer replied, "Yes sir. I already advise him"
"...informing him that the flight had "just ah lost two engines[,] and ... we need priority please."
From personal experience, the same applies to the normal (which can still feel foreign and rare) words used to report problems according to the law, where there is an intersection between words that you may not even know, and words that if you do not say, there will be the trouble of self-censoring and/or knowing nothing. To give your question another perspective, is being heard as saying "sexy" may mean "abuse" given such a Mayday equation, and that effect being a native speaker too, often a topic of literacy efforts that is felt impossible to dictate (or even educate) and describe because of the liability just explaining "Sexy"/Abuse, or Priority/Emergy.
Triggers "Priority" and "Emergency" being the examples of simple versus compex words we all can apparently at any age say/omit (because of literacy, social pressure, or otherwise) that can determine if I know what you mean by "trouble".
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Using words wrongly or awkwardly sounds much worse than having a restricted vocabulary. Therefore, your best bet is to stick to words you know well and are comfortable with. If that includes a wider variety of words, great! But if that restricts you to simpler words, so be it. It's entirely possible to build an impressive, elegant style entirely out of simple words.
I have recent personal experience with this. I'm working on a book aimed at a middle-grade audience. When I made the choice to switch to a first-person narrator I had to go back through the book and simplify my word choices. But in many cases that resulted in stronger, more vivid or less cliched sentences.
Salting your language with fancy words rarely produces the desired impression --instead it gives the impression you are trying too hard. If those words are actually part of your fluent vocabulary, you won't need to try to use them.
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/39021. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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The answer to your question depends on whether you're writing fiction, or non-fiction.
Non-fiction
If you're writing non-fiction, particularly if you're writing an academic text, being understood is the first goal you should strive for. You're presenting complex ideas. Don't make those ideas even harder to understand, don't make your writing hard to follow, by using rare fancy words. (Same goes for overly long sentence structures.) Technical terms relevant to the field are necessary, I'm not talking about those. But using "complicated" words for the sake of using them doesn't make you appear smart. It makes your text less readable. Go for clarity instead. If you can explain your idea in simple words, that makes it easier for everyone, and proves you actually understand what you're talking about. (Also, less students would be inclined to imagine you being introduced to the Spanish Inquisition.)
Fiction
The language you use for fiction would depend on the general style of what you're writing. The first-person narrative of a modern child would differ from that of a Victorian-era gentleman. In third person too, if you're modelling your story after medieval ballads, you'd be using different language than if you're imitating the crisp style of a newspaper. (Those are all examples. The variety of styles you might be choosing from is infinite.) In some situations, fancy words can be out of place, while, as @ChrisSunami points out, simpler words might provide for stronger imagery. In other situations, using more complex language is harder to avoid. In that case, however, a few words won't do the trick either - you'd need to study the overall tone you're going for.
In either case, "a few" fancy words in an otherwise simple text stand out like a sore thumb. It is better to use the same register for all the text. Also, make sure you use fancy words correctly, if you choose to use them. Each word has its shades of meaning. In particular, "fancy" words tend to be more specific than simpler, more common words. For example, 'dirk' is not a fancy word for 'knife', but a specific kind of knife. (Made that mistake, rather hilariously, when I was 12.) It is better to use a simpler word correctly, than to make a mistake with a fancier word.
Language is a toolbox in your hands. The more you expand your language, the more versatile your toolbox becomes. Any time you feel limited by the language, study more, read more, practice more. In the meantime, I'd use the tools I'm comfortable with, rather than those that are kind of a new experience I'm not 100% sure about. One exception: the texts you write to practice and learn the language. In those cases, go ahead and use all those words you're less comfortable with. Then let a native speaker review your text.
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