Shakespeare, by himself, probably created as many commonly used words as this entire generation of kids.
pseudotriton ruber ruber writes:
> I think there was a modicum level of expression, a minmum requirement if you
> will of formal discourse, that we simply lack. Any babbler can get a book
> contract, and spew tape-recorded nonsense that someone cleans up the worst
> rambloings from ('uh’s and 'like", 'you knows", etc.) and that’s a book. Once
> that level of disourse declines, the level of speech becomes less lofty.
> Eventually, we’ll be reduced to grunting and pointing, I think.
This is an anecdote and not research. In 1906 the level of literacy was significantly less. I don’t know of any research showing that the average level of articulateness was any greater one hundred years ago.
I think the whole public speaking thing had declined. take policticians-they don’t deliver coherent speeches anymore 9try listening to one of Sen. Ted kennedie’s ravings, for example). I also think that people think more and more in terms of sound bite-little bit of info that can be digested peacemeal. Also, most people don’t like florid speeches anymore-they figure that they are being lied to, so why listen to the blather?
You should read some of the speeched in the “Congressional Record”-most of them would put you to sleep.
This could simply be by definition. The average guy or gal is not particulary eloquent; he or she is simply. . .average. 
Assuming that eloquence conforms to a normal distribution, half of the population is below average.
To take another tack, however, may require a weigh-in from a speech pathologist. The issue you describe sounds like a very, very mild non-pathological form of aphasia, which is caused by brain damage such as a stroke. There is also a speech disorder where the person can recognize people or things but just can’t retrieve the word; I don’t know if that is a symptom of aphasia or some other disorder.
This may also be related to the communication between the two sides of the brain.
From this article:
Considering that flux is another word for “diarrhea,” this is a fantastic transition.
Sailboat
At the museum in which I work, I’ve read a lot of letters from between 1800 and 1946. My purely unscientific observations are that “common folk” writing a letter to Sis to catch her up on the news didn’t use the flowery, verbose language of, say, a politician writing to express their views.
You have to consider the purpose of the communication as well. Some letters are notes to relatives catching them up on the gossip, or reminding them to bring something with them when they come to visit. Except for spelling, those aren’t much more articulate than you’d see today.* Other letters were intended to be read aloud to friends and families, a cherished recreational activity in the Victorian times. Those are much more eloquent, almost an exercize in creative writing.
The upper classes tended to be more eloquent, but this could be partially attributed to economics during some periods. In the 1820s and '30s, postage was often charged by how many sheets of paper the sender had used. (Cross-hatching was a deplorable custom that arose from this. I despise it because it’s so hard to read.) Poorer people simply couldn’t afford to be as verbose as the wealthy, nor did they likely have the kind of leisure time needed to compose an eloquent missive.
*Computer shorthand is another matter.
Yes, excellent observation!
When I know exactly what I want to communicate to someone, I have few problems doing so, clearly and … well I want to say “articulately”, which is technically correct, but kind of a mouthful. Uh, loud and clear.
But when I’m still thinking about something, and trying to speak at the same time, it can really be a mess. Or if I’m just not 100% sure what it is I’m trying to communicate, my speech will also suffer.
I read more old books than I speak to human beings. As a result, when I do speak, my speech patterns are formal and arranged well - albeit in an old-fashioned manner. As you might imagine, this just makes folks think I’m weird. Someone recently complained that they had to look up a word that I used in a conversation, yet I don’t remember ever using any elaborate words when speaking to co-workers. I try to keep it brief, businesslike, and to the point.
So speaking like Frasier Crane gains you no advantage at all. If I spoke like Jerry Mahoney’s “Knucklehead” character, I’d probably get a lot more respect!
I can’t believe no one’s told this one yet–
So a guy is trying to follow the directions to a party at a house he’d never been to, and he gets lost. He sees this old man out in his yard putting a letter in the mailbox, so he pulls up next to him and says, “Excuse me, can you help? I’m trying to find Elm Street.”
“Elm Street, eh? That’s back that way. You’ll have turn on…uh…You’ll have to forgive me, son, my mind ain’t what it used to be. What’s the name of that plant?”
“You mean elm?”
“No, that’s where you’re trying to get, I remember that, but there’s another plant, a smaller one…”
“Juniper?”
“No, it’s a kind of flower; it’s red. And it’s got thorns on it.”
“Rose?”
“That’s it,” says the old man as he turns to the house and yells, "Hey Rose!!! Come tell this young fellow how to get to Elm Street!
The OP has not heard a serious case of this unless he is a ham radio operator. Many HF (“shortwave”) operators use a VOX circuit (voice operated switch) to switch between recieving and transmitting. This is built into almost all modern gear. This circuit will deactivate if the operator pauses too long. So, umm, many, umm, operators,um, umm, umm, develope the, umm,umm,habit, of, um…so that the VOX doesn’t drop. In my mind this is one of the single greatest contributers to the continued use of morse code by hams.
It seems that the local university radio station trys to keep it’s jocks from saying “ummmm”. Instead, they punctuate thier speech with a string of inappropriate "and"s. I think somewhere in excess of 90% of the sentences will start with that word: <tune fades>…And that was Carlos Santanna, And the title of that tune was…and we’re coming up on 5 pm and don’t forget to call in your pledge of support and we’ll have the local news next, and that will be hosted by…
Purely speculation here, from my own anecdotal evidence, but I always assumed that my recent devolvement – if that’s still a word with the suffix added – into doing this frequently stemmed from a previous nervous breakdown and then consequent diminishment of memory skills. It seems now that I can’t speak as eloquently because (as noted) the nouns hide from me when I need them. And the longer I search about, the more the pause grows so that I try to fill it with the occasional “um” to prevent appearing more of an idiot than I feel for not being able to articulate a simple word, like sandwich or some such.
However, I’m not sure if this is the case or just wishfulness that since it’s come about in latter years (I’m 38), it has to be due to something rather than nothing.