This is one of those things where you think you’re making a justified complaint about a publication using unnecessarily esoteric language that you feel alienates the reader. This is something that has the possibility of being a legitimate complaint. There is a good argument for not talking over your audience’s heads.
But everyone who read the article just sees a guy who can’t read…
My partner is English as second language and I never dumb down anything I say to her. She asks me the words she doesn’t know and I explain them as best I can or we look them up on my phone when I’m not certain I can articulate the meaning accurately enough to provide a good example. I think reducing the vocab that I use with her vs english-native friends and family would be insulting to her. Same as how I wouldn’t dumb it down speaking to a 10yo (it’s different for toddlers and those not much older, obviously).
This is one of those things where you think you’re making a justified complaint about a publication using unnecessarily esoteric language that you feel alienates the reader. This is something that has the possibility of being a legitimate complaint. There is a good argument for not talking over your audience’s heads.
But everyone who read the article just sees a guy who can’t read…
My partner is English as second language and I never dumb down anything I say to her. She asks me the words she doesn’t know and I explain them as best I can or we look them up on my phone when I’m not certain I can articulate the meaning accurately enough to provide a good example. I think reducing the vocab that I use with her vs english-native friends and family would be insulting to her. Same as how I wouldn’t dumb it down speaking to a 10yo (it’s different for toddlers and those not much older, obviously).