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Although some love using dictionaries, most prefer reading prose where that is unnecessary

Business writing tries to be the most accessible, and most readers don’t like to stumble over words.

For the Minnesota Star Tribune
February 19, 2024 at 9:06PM

My last column lamented the need for so many readers to look up unfamiliar words. I said that, in nonfiction communications — say, business or journalism — an unfamiliar word such as adamantine does a reader a disservice, interrupting the smooth flow to understanding.

That prompted a bunch of reader protests. Some samples:

1. “Really? You want to chuck all that richness and diversity of language so you won’t need to look up a word? Who is going to be the standard bearer for that, Gary? Me? The guy at the Taco Bell drive-thru?

“Sure, the intention is to communicate, not to obfuscate, but why choose blunt simplicity over precision or eloquence? Personally, I like adamantine, but I like my dictionary, too.”

2. “I disagreed with your last column. I don’t mind if someone occasionally uses a word I’m not familiar with, especially if the word describes the situation better than a dumbed-down version. I’m 69 and not opposed to learning something new, especially from a writer I enjoy.”

3. “The quote about Hemingway’s never having driven a reader to the dictionary came from William Faulkner, who intended it as an insult.”

4. “I used to hate being driven to my dictionary, interrupting my reading to walk to my bookcase. But now, with Google on my cell phone, in seconds my vocabulary expands.”

Another reader’s view:

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“I appreciate writers who choose words that are precise and colorful. I have less regard for those who send us to the dictionary just to demonstrate their erudition.

“But when I was annoyed recently to encounter an unfamiliar word — gallimaufry — the sound intrigued me, and I enjoyed the trip to the dictionary, where I learned that gallimaufry means a jumble. The author could simply have used a more accessible word — like jumble.”

My response: My column’s assigned mission focuses on helping people write clearly. Every skilled professional writer I know says the same thing:

Almost everyone needs help. Those highly literate readers who took issue with my last column are an exception.

Anyone here who doesn’t need to look up eleemosynary?

about the writer

about the writer

Gary Gilson

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