What exactly is the need for building up vocabulary or knowing new words over and above the common words ? I am not asking from academic perspective but trying to grasp the real need for learning new words. Some say that it helps express oneself better but how that’s not possible with the most commonly used words and rare words are anyways perhaps might not be comprehensible as they are uncommon. Isn’t simple and easy better ? Most books use uncommon words that are not spoken in day to day life. Request your views
I had a similar query as a teenager growing up in India. My mum offered a good analogy to get her point across- why have the color pink when we have red? Or why have light blue when we’ve navy? Words are like colors- they have a distinct meaning- they are like an ingredient in a recipe with distinct characteristic. Now of course the recipe will taste bad if you use too much or too little of an ingredient. So usually when you come across a bad writing it’s the writer and not words you should hate. Most well written books use simple words. Orwells advice on what makes a writing good is followed by many contemporary authors. Clarity is hallmark of good writing so i don’t know what books you’re referring to.
Thank you for your valuable response. It’s helpful. Just to clarify - I don’t dislike new words but am just trying to understand why it’s necessary as someone suggested me to increase vocabulary.