The Quotidian Word

The Power of Words

epeolatrist — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 07:10:59 +0000

From where does the craving for vocabulary expansion stem? Is it the desire to communicate more efficiently? Most likely not, since the average person will typically know enough words to communicate a typical experience. While guesses vary wildly, rough estimates put the average person’s vocabulary at around 10,000 to 30,000 words. Of course, if you can count past 30,000, you know a few more words than you think.

Is it for pure bombast and the opportunity for pedantic display of linguistic prowess? Sure, many people choose to use $100 words in conversation, but unless in the company of like-minded peers or Quotidian Word ~~victims~~ audiences, these enlightened folk are looked down upon and labeled as sesquipedalian cockalorums (although in much more laconic, four-letter terms). Is the layman afraid of big words or learning them? More likely he is scared of appearing intellectually inferior to the palaverous speaker and must thus make a sneering comment rather than inquire about the meaning. Some may also nod their heads and blink as if they understood the word and are hoping that it wasn’t critical to the essence of the sentence, but this, too, is fear.

Personally, if someone says a word to me that I haven’t heard, I immediately interrupt them and have them explain what it means (and then tell them about Quotidian Word, of course!). This is because I am one of those who loves learning. Asking doesn’t make you appear dumb; not asking makes you look like a fysigunkus. However, there are those who will mention a word simply so they can be asked what it means, but you’ll know who they are by the curl of smug that hangs off the edge of their lips.

What many people do not understand is that words carry a latent power, just like anything else, and their relative use and ubiquity defines their power. Also, their shade of meaning is influential in their power. For instance, everyone knows what a meteor is, but do they know what a bolide is, and what the difference between them may be? How about the difference between something hairy and something velutinous? To know these words and use them correctly empowers one as a communicator to speak descriptively and precisely.

Of course, your communicative efficiency is always determined by the vocabulary of your audience, and therein lies the rub. However, if you offer to gently inculcate them, you may find that not only are they getting smarter, but to them you become less of a, oh, what’s the word, pompous douchebag.

Why do you love new words?

Names

agathokakologigal — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:29:51 +0000

In a troubled time where people (frequently notable celebrities) find it acceptable to name their children Apple, Blanket, or Pilot Inspektor, let’s take a moment to review what goes into creating-or simply borrowing-a name. It interests me to consider that the English language, providing via sheer vernacular volume more vocabularistic opportunities than any other terrestrial language, is accompanied by a name popularity contest, with every year seeing a new “unique” name rise dramatically to the top of the baby-naming charts. Think McKenzie, Brayden, Sophia, Grayson, and all the wonderful alternate spellings associated with said names.

As the bearer of a triune of seemingly disparate names-Chani (demonstrably a Punjabi name for males and females, but technically acquired because my parents are into sci-fi), Jo (presumably a Southern moniker affixed to my first name, but actually named for my father, Joseph), and Hodonsky (you have to scroll down a bit, but if you do, you’ll discover that I’m not Polish!)-I am often fascinated by the names people choose. Car (or hard drive, iPod, etc.) names, pet names, superhero names: anything onomastically meaningful usually catches my eye (or ear, as it were).

So if you could name someone or something (appliances, pets, and people [sobriquets only, please... if you want to name a baby, there are a bazillion other websites out there to talk about it] are all appropriate in this forum) whatever you wanted, what would you choose? Would you try to find an aesthetically pleasing combination of your favorite phonemes? Are you so sick of people getting your own name wrong that you’d prefer to go the George Foreman route and name everything in your life the same thing? Would you be willing to eternally associate one of your favorite words with a pet or musical instrument, given the possibility that it wouldn’t work out? Are you one of those people that adds a bizarre pronunciation to a previously quotidian term to “make it your own”?

Where Did The Votes Go?

epeolatrist — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:53:41 +0000

If you’re here, you’ve probably noticed that we’ve hidden the vote counts next to the current word’s sentences. “Why is that?” you may be wondering. Well, in this experiment we call Quotidian Word, we noticed a bit of favoritism towards sentences that already had votes next to them and feedback from users concerned that the voting system was unfair in that respect, even though points don’t really mean anything and the site is for fun and education. So we decided the best way to counter this effect is to hide the total vote counts for a sentence until the voting for that word is over.

This does three things:

It eliminates the ability for a sentence to “gain momentum.” The best sentences will get the votes because they’re the best, not because everyone else thinks they’re the best and you’re unsure of which to vote for.
It encourages more people to vote. We noticed some people wouldn’t vote on sentences because they knew the vote counts of the other sentences and knew that their vote would either make or break a sentence’s lead. Since you no longer have that information, all you should do is vote on the sentences you like best!
It adds a little mystery and excitement to the site. If you check back often during the day, you typically have a pretty good idea of who is winning and who is going to win, unless there is some late-night surge in voting. This way, you really don’t know who is winning or not until winners have been determined!

You may notice if you have submitted a sentence that you are able to view your own vote count. We felt that knowing your own vote count is not detrimental to the voting process. You may also still check your votes via text message if you have registered your phone number.

What do you think about this new voting system?

Supercilious Sunday!

epeolatrist — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 14:24:03 +0000

As you can see, Supercilious Sunday has arrived! Since Sundays are much slower internet days in general, we figured we’d toss a really crazy word out there worth big points for those loyal QWers who visit the site quotidianly.

The rules are simple: You post your sentence (only if you actually said it), but you don’t automatically get a vote. Someone has to really believe that you said what you are saying you said. Voters are extra critical, posters are extra awkward. You have to try to end your sentence with, “Mrah!” because that’s what a snooty person would do (like the guy in the watermark).

What do you think about Supercilious Sunday?

POLL: Should Vote Counts Be Visible?

epeolatrist — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:02:26 +0000

We’re always trying to improve the user experience at Quotidian Word, and one of the issues that has come up has been voting. Even though the site really isn’t about voting and winning (everyone’s a winner when you expand your vocab!), the voting process adds a little fun. In order to maintain said fun, we’d like to propose a little user poll to see how people feel:

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Text Messaging Now Integrated!

epeolatrist — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 08:00:18 +0000

You may have noticed by now that people are posting sentences with a little phone icon next to them (text!). How do you get that icon next to your sentence? Why, post your sentence via text message, of course!

When the idea of QW was conceived, we had no idea that it would take off like it has and become so pervasive in the lives of its users. One of the issues we kept hearing about was that if the users were actually supposed to use the word they learned in conversation, they most likely had to do so away from the computer. This made it hard to post your sentence if you weren’t able to get to a computer relatively soon. Thus, in order to counteract this issue, we’ve gone ahead and integrated SMS text messaging into the website!

The FAQ page has a full disclosure on texting your sentence to the website. We have also built in a few other texting features that will enable you to stay on top of the QWOD, such as retrieving today’s word, getting an example sentence, and checking the votes on the sentence you submitted.

Are there any other features you can think of that you would like to see be accessible via text?

Necro-Sentences

epeolatrist — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:46:23 +0000

If you are an active participant of this site, you’re probably not just using The Word once the day it appears, post your sentence, and forget about it. If you’re anything like me, you’re actively trying to insert it into your ever-expanding vocabulary. One thing I noticed about this site after I first built it is that it wasn’t necessarily friendly to words once they had had their day in the sun. Vocabulary is augmented through rote and re-use. Additionally, new users are less likely to go back and use learn the words because they have no way to record their usage.

Enter Necro-Sentences. For those who don’t know, “necro” is a prefix meaning “dead” or “death,” and for those familiar with internet forums or sites with user-generated content, to “necro-post” is to post on an old, or “dead” thread or topic. My thought was, why should I restrict users from continuing to use the word after the word is “dead?” I have since lifted that restriction, and you can even earn points from posting your necro-sentences!

The way it works is very simple: use a word that is not today’s word, find that word (try the Archives or check your user profile under “Word Usage” if you recorded your usage) and post a sentence. Voting is disabled on necro-sentences, but you may post as many as you like. At the time of this writing, for every 10 necro-sentences you post, you earn a point. While the lion’s share of your points will be derived from sentences and votes on the current QWOD, at least there is still some pointeriffic motivation (should the motivation to expand your vocabulary not drive you enough!) to continue using the words on the site.

On the discussion of features, what features would you like to see on this site? I’m in the process of working on a very nifty and useful one that should be done soon…

Welcome to the Quotidian Word Blog!

epeolatrist — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:52:34 +0000

That’s right, we have a blog now. Check back here every so often to see what’s on our minds, what’s new with the site, and some random interesting tidbits about words. We’ll also occasionally use this section of the site for discussion on words and other various topics. Feel free to join in on the conversation!

When a new entry has been posted, you should see the “Blog” link light up.