A while ago, there was a huge discussion when it comes to reading levels, vocabulary, and such due to a reader complaining about coming across the word "scry" in a book. I initially didn't plan on writing/commenting about it, but as it's now a while ago, I decided I could share my thoughts on the subject.
Let's face it, most of us have encountered words we're unfamiliar with and a six year old kid has a different vocabulary than an adult. Heck, even adults have different type of vocabulary, all depending on their work, background, and what-not. That's not the issue. The issue is when someone rants about a word they come across in a book they don't understand and then expect authors to basically "dumb down" their writing so it's more accessible.
Spoiler alert - if the language in a book is too advanced, there's two options. One is to read books within your reading level, or you can make use of a dictionary (or is dictionary a word that's too difficult for some people?). Shocking as this might seem, reading is a great way to expand one's vocabulary. It's actually possible to learn something while reading books.
Don't get me wrong here. There's after all a huge difference between having a legit reason for struggling with words and reading, such as dyslexia, versus being lazy. Last time I checked, laziness isn't listed as a disability/handicap.
Just to give people an example of how nifty it is with a dictionary, and in general expanding one's vocabulary. My first language is Norwegian, not English. I wouldn't have had this proficiency in English, if I never expanded my vocabulary in English and never used a dictionary. So as a non-native English speaker, it baffles me that there's some people out there who don't bother quickly checking a dictionary. There's after all plenty of good ones online, free to use.
Also, it feels a bit wrong asking authors to dumb down their writing, just to make things more accessible, as there's so many books for different reading levels out there already. It would also ruin an author's specific writing style/voice, if they all dumb it down. If someone wants to read easier books, read easier books. If you want something more advanced and intellectually stimulating, read that. It's the reader's responsibility to find books that suits them, not the author's to write something that "everyone" can read.
As a mood reader, there's days when I want something more advanced, and there's days when I want to read something slightly more "easy", all depending on my mental state that day, but here's the thing - I know it's MY responsibility to pick the right book to read. I don't expect authors to cater me.
Perhaps that's my main point here - instead of readers complaining about reading books that isn't the right fit for them, go find the right books instead of complaining as it's their responsibility. On the other hand, one might learn something new if you read something outside your comfort zone.
Comments
Post a Comment