Mark Twain said, "A man's character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation." Do you agree? What are....
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M$6 Answers
Of course, words alone don't make the person. But I think you can tell a lot by someone's words if you don't use them to jump to easy assumptions. Twain's quote reminds me of one by playwright and actor Anna Deavere Smith (who was also Nancy McNally on The West Wing!): "If you say a word often enough, it becomes you." Smith said this to describe a project where she interviewed people who experienced or witness traumatic social events (like the violence in LA in1992) and used their language to create a performance; the idea is that people use language to present themselves to the world, and so if you listen carefully, language will tell you a lot.
As for Twain, I think adjectives are important because mostly people use adjectives to _evaluate_, to remark on something in a positive or negative light. So by seeing what adjectives they use to evaluate, you can see what terms they use to measure how good or bad something is.
For example, I know someone who mostly thinks in terms of how intelligent people are (she's a lovely person, but has some old-fashioned ideas about this topic). So whenever there's something she doesn't like (a politician on TV, a badly designed and inconvenient parking lot, an infomercial product that is obviously unnecessary), she says, "How can anyone be so stupid?" or maybe uses the word "idiotic," etc. Because to her, stupidity is to blame, and so she uses that word a lot.
I know someone else who uses the word "somewhat" all the time. He also uses "maybe" a lot. Okay, they're adverbs, but you get the point. He doesn't like committing to one stance, and his words reflect that.
Me? I use awesome, cool, crappy, when I'm with family or friends, but at work I use excellent, challenging, intriguing, etc. What does this say about me?
I think it says that I am a bit pretentious but I try hard not to be that way around people I care about. And that I'm naturally kind of blunt but that I try hard not to be so blunt and loud-mouthed at work.
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M$For example, I know this one person who has a great vocabulary and is very smart. However, he is also addicted to cocaine and is drunk almost all the time. He also has an explosive personality: he can be nice, but he will freak out over minor problems.
Conversely, a person can be very bright without having a strong vocabulary. Scientists might not have a strong grasp on grammar or vocabulary terms, but they know more about certain things that most others.
Thus, the way a person speaks can often be misleading. People can draw positive or negative conclusions about a person based on the adjectives they use. But such conclusions can be (and usually are) far from accurate.
Hope I helped; have a great day!!!
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M$
I get what you're saying @matthewh, but intelligence and character aren't related. For example, even though a scientist may be intelligent yet lacking in vocabulary, he/she could still use words that gave insight into their *character.* The quote isn't really about the words a person knows, but more so, about which adjectives they *choose* to use. For example, most everyone knows the words "good," "great," and "fantastic," but does the one you choose to use most often reveal anything about you?
Mark Twain states that you can learn about a man's character by the adjective he uses habitually in conversation. He doesn't say that those adjectives define a man's character.
You cannot jump to conclusions about a person just because they use sophisticated adjectives, verbs, etc. Period. It shows the person has a knowledgeable vocab. But as for character (AKA personality), it is just not true.
I agree that the way a person speaks can be very misleading. For example, I really alter my vocabulary and phrasing based on my audience. If I'm trying to blend into the background, I dumb it down and turn monosyllabic. And I grunt. If I'm really trying to impress someone I dig deep in my vocabulary. And there's everything in between depending on my audience.
I think it could, but not accurately (for the most part). The adjectives they choose to use is limited to their knowledge or understanding of vocabulary. You can conclude that a person is bright from their choice of adjectives, but as for whether or not the individual is a good or bad person is hard to do simply by knowing what adjectives they use.
They sound good, but when you examine them for awhile, the foolishness come through. You can not determine a person's character by the adjectives that they use, or their skin color or the way they walk or any other such thing. You can only tell about a person's character from their deeds. That is why a close examination of their lives will always leave Washington looking much better than Jefferson.
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M$
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M$Some of the adjectives I use regularly:
Amazing
Phenomenal
Bitchin'
Unbelievable
Gigondor
Stinky (hey, I have a two year-old!)
Fabulous
Hella-cool
I guess that either this means that I like to paint a conversational picture that is grandiose and over-the-top....or I have one out-there kind of life. I'm just noticing that all of my "favorites" are mostly extreme adjectives. There's no boring, blah, dull, vapid. Those are all pretty expressive and emotional adjectives.
Hey, wait! That's me!
Expressive and emotional!
Darn, you're unbelievably, gigondorously, fabulously hella cool, Mr. Twain! Cheers.
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M$
Ah.......... there are some adjectives! Yes, I use them. Most often exclamations of excitement, such as JOY, WOW, AWESOME, and THAT's GREAT!!
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M$
