Jules Feiffer once drew a strip cartoon in which the down-at-heel character observed that first he was called poor, then needy, then deprived, then underprivileged, and then disadvantaged, and concluded that although he still didn't have a dime he sure had acquired a fine vocabulary. There is something in that. A rich vocabulary carries with it a concomitant danger of verbosity
In a comic strip, Jules Feiffer humorously portrays a character who, despite remaining destitute, finds his situation labeled with increasingly complex vocabulary. From "poor" to "disadvantaged," the character shows that language can evolve, often resulting in a more elaborate expression of hardship. Although the character ends up with no money, he gains an impressive array of terms to describe his plight.
This commentary highlights a paradox: while an extensive vocabulary can enrich communication, it may lead to excessive verbosity. In his book "The Mother Tongue," Bill Bryson discusses how language development can carry both positive and negative implications, emphasizing the balance required to communicate effectively without overwhelming the audience.
