You may have heard—or
maybe you haven’t—that
given a choice, a writer should choose an Anglo-Saxon word over one with Latin
roots. Or at least that’s what more than one teacher has told me. English words
of Anglo-Saxon origin tend to be “closer to the soil”—concrete and precise, shorter, sharper—whereas words of Norman
French origin (which infiltrated the language following the Norman Conquest)
are more elevated—softer,
vaguer, and longer.
Using a Latinate word isn’t wrong, obviously, but as this
article suggests, word choice definitely plays a role in establishing the voice
of your writing: Word
Origin Influences Your Writing Voice. For example, for both rhythm and
sound reasons, I like to end a paragraph with a strong word, something with
punch. But if an educated person is speaking, he or she may tend to use
Latinates.
Last week I mentioned Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style. One of that book’s
pronouncements is “Avoid fancy words.” This is good advice. To that end: “Avoid
the elaborate, the pretentious, the coy, and the cute. Do not be tempted by a
twenty-dollar word when there is a ten-center handy, ready and able.
Anglo-Saxon is a livelier tongue than Latin, so use Anglo-Saxon words. In this,
as in so many matters pertaining to style, one’s ear must be one’s guide: gut is a lustier noun than intestine, but the two words are not
interchangeable, because gut is often
inappropriate, being too coarse for the context.”
Here is a list
of some common words and comparative derivations. And, of course, a good
dictionary will be a help. Look for words that are from Old English rather than
Old French.
17 comments:
very interesting. "Avoid fancy words"- this is great advice for me. I tend to enjoy words so much that I just make a collage of beautiful words- which in turn crowd out the meaning of what I'm trying to get across.
Excellent post and reminder!
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Learning Anglo-Saxon can enrich a writer’s vocabulary and storytelling depth. Much like how theo james outfits elevate his character's presence in films, mastering this ancient language adds a layer of sophistication to writing. It allows writers to draw on rich historical language, bringing authenticity and texture to their work.
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