:: Saturday, April 19, 2003 ::

Vocabulary

I just spent forever writing an entry about my hatred of the word contrived.

After about half an hour of writing, rewriting, editing, wondering whether or not the entry would offend people, and then wondering whether or not I cared, I realized that the entry itself could only be described by the very word it was criticising.

To cut it short: my hatred of that word is silly. It is just as silly as my hatred of the words moist and copious, and as my love of the words spatula, altruistic, and feces. Yes, I like the word feces... doesn't it just roll off your tongue so nicely? C'mon, say it out loud a few times... yeah.

I guess all writers are connoiseurs of words. We look for clarity. We assess their intensity and freshness. We roll them around in our mouths, determining to what degree they are sweet, bitter or acidic. We swallow and we wait, examining the aftertaste - how long it lasts and if it's good or bad. And of course, we do not all agree. The connotations that I get from the word contrived are based on all the experiences I've had with it over the 19 years I've been alive - and it doesn't sit right on my palate.

I hate the word because, much like the word soul, for example, it's hard to use without sounding trite. And generally speaking, words as overused as these tend to lose their meaning.

But hey, I've been known to be wrong. Maybe you love that word. If so, by all means, use it.

Not so long ago I hated red wine, and now I drink it like juice. Maybe one day contrived will sit better too.

:: Katy 11:42 p.m. [+] :: ::