The Severely Limited Vocabulary of the Current Generation

[RonaldReagansGhost666]

Much recently, there has been a problem significantly concerning me relating to the state of the current youth of American society: it is the saddening fact that the number of words and terms that they know is much too few than they should have knowledge of. Unfortunately, I have little power over this saddening fact.
I'd have to accredit the blame upon the lack of proper education in the United States, alongside the fact that the majority of young are rather lazy and lacking of care for a proper education.

Now, I ask you, the members of the Atheist Forums community, if you observe a similar trend and if so, why do you believe it is occurring?

[festive1]

I do see a problem with limited vocabulary and younger people. Ultimately, it limits expression. I read something on this issue and the limited content of Word-type programs' dictionaries and thesauruses. Personally, if I'm writing something, I still like my old-fashioned, beat up thesaurus.

[Autumnlicious]

The only thing I see limiting the development of the young generation is their retarded risk-adverse helicopter parents and schools that act more like prisons and less like inspirational gateways to the future.

But yes, let's blame young people without the life experience of us older folk.

That'll sure teach them.

Right?


...

Right??

[Something completely different]

Naa I dont.

I see langauge as a constantly changeing thing, so more modern vocabulary which some might not recognise to be vocabulary will be amongst the words used.

Other than that, people memorise phrases and words all the time and continue to do so until they start to smell.

So it wouldnt be suprising if these young people would know more when older.

[Angrboda]

I'm apparently not exposed to the problem, but then, the only young people I talk to are online.


(I will say it's somewhat strange to hear this issue raised by someone with significant difficulties with grammar and word choice.)


I'd have to understand why people think it's a problem, or more specifically, in what way is it problematic and what is it leading to? I'm inclined to say it's more important what you do with what you have rather than how little you have, but perhaps that's just a pukey plattitude. When I would go to French, German, or Chinese round tables to practice my language skills, I was certainly dealing from an extremely limited vocabulary, but I never felt that detracted significantly from the fun or my ability to communicate, though perhaps I'm comparing apples to oranges.

I guess I just don't understand what you think the problem is.

[RonaldReagansGhost666]

I'm apparently not exposed to the problem, but then, the only young people I talk to are online.


(I will say it's somewhat strange to hear this issue raised by someone with significant difficulties with grammar and word choice.)


I'd have to understand why people think it's a problem, or more specifically, in what way is it problematic and what is it leading to? I'm inclined to say it's more important what you do with what you have rather than how little you have, but perhaps that's just a pukey plattitude. When I would go to French, German, or Chinese round tables to practice my language skills, I was certainly dealing from an extremely limited vocabulary, but I never felt that detracted significantly from the fun or my ability to communicate, though perhaps I'm comparing apples to oranges.

I guess I just don't understand what you think the problem is.

The problem is that most young people will end up scratching their heads if their ears pick up anything slightly formal. Regarding the honors population, they seem to have a slightly more sophisticated vocabulary, yet they still suffer from sloth as much as those in the general population.

[Autumnlicious]

Again, the generalizing.

Why are young people not interested in becoming more like adults?

Could it be due to their so-called "adult" role models not acting like adults?

[RonaldReagansGhost666]

Again, the generalizing.

Why are young people not interested in becoming more like adults?

Could it be due to their so-called "adult" role models not acting like adults?

I suppose.

[festive1]

The only thing I see limiting the development of the young generation is their retarded risk-adverse helicopter parents and schools that act more like prisons and less like inspirational gateways to the future.

But yes, let's blame young people without the life experience of us older folk.

That'll sure teach them.

Oh, helicopter parents... One of the best ways for kids to learn, is to let them fall and help them get back up. When did this fear of failure grip our society so tightly? When did a parent's worth become so mixed up with their kid's success that half of the projects in my first grader's class were obviously not done by the first graders?

[thesummerqueen]

Depends on the young person. I know plenty of people my age who can't fucking spell or write to save their life. My boyfriend is four years younger than me and smart as fuck in maths and physics but despite having a wide vocabulary himself he still has to google some of the words I use. This is because I read books from a three-century time span. I'm going to know words he doesn't, as he reads books mostly written within the last five decades or less. Soon, kids younger than us will be using words we don't know. That's the nature of language.

Meanwhile, when I first met online a man I dated off and on for some years, he was surprised I was 14 years younger than him - he said I wrote much older than I was. I think it's the nature of every generation to assume that their vocabulary is wider than the next.

My generation is the last to remember a time when "muggle" wasn't in dictionaries. Think about that.

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To further clarify - it's reading and writing that help extend a person's vocabulary beyond the ordinary, hence my comment - if you encourage this, you get better results. Our society isn't structured around long emails/letters anymore, so either change society, or figure something else out.