I came across an article titled “How Our Vocabulary Gives Away Our Age” by Delfin Carbonell, and it reminded me of an aspect of fiction narrative that I frequently have to address in editing a novel.
For example, the article says:
We know that older people often command a larger vocabulary, speak better English, sound English, and are more precise in its usage. Younger folks are sometimes sloppier in their communication skills, and some may take a devil-may-care attitude toward language in general.
So true. I’ll add that at times writing by older authors who submit to FtQ has a formal quality in its structure and phrasing that sometimes works in opposition to their story. The story is “dated” from the start, and the impact of the narrative is muted.
Dr. Carbonell, a Ph. D. in Philology, cites examples that include:
Groovy, with the meaning of excellent, charming, nice, was popularized in the 1960s and out of currency by 1980.
Yeah, I miss that one.
Broad has been an unhappy slang term for woman since 1911. In the fifties and sixties all women were referred to as broads. Aside from the fact that it is a very insulting, low-class term, it tells the man’s age and cultural background.
I don’t miss that one at all—but it could be relevant to communicating the age of a character, right? Having a male or female character who was an adult during that period use that term helps to characterize them.
Do your words age your story? I suggest you read the article, it’s brief. Dr. Carbonell has a piece of advice that applies to you and me:
Check your vocabulary and weed out musty, mothball-smelling terms and replace them with standard, sound-English words, especially Saxon words. And keep all the good vocabulary that time has allowed you to accumulate to better express your ideas to the young, and set an example of good English practice to the new generations.
For what it’s worth.
Ray