Tuesday, March 3, 2009

A mouthfull

I am constantly amazed by the English language. I prefer to listen to people speaking Spanish or even Italian. The romance languages just do it for me. But since I don't speak either Spanish (I can ask where the bathroom is in like 4 languages though) or Italian I am stuck with good old English. Maybe one of the reasons I love reading is that I get to expand my vocabulary. Most of the words I learn I would never use in daily conversation, even though at times I ache to.
There are words that just feel good in your mouth when you say them out loud. Pie, for instance, is a really fun word to say. Not only is pie a delicious confection, it feels good to say. Seriously, try it. Obfuscate, serendipity, thrust, confabulation, kleptomaniac, and somnambulist are others that spoken (especially when spoken with an affected British accent) are a hoot to pronounce. I occasionally say big words in the shower just to say them out loud and not have people look at me funny. Because, really when are you going to have the chance to use the word plenary in conversation?