Unconvenient Vocabulary

   Words that I use daily seem to elude the general population, or at least my class. One of the most shocking of these was during my drama class. We were supposed to all say one good thing about the play we watched. I said, "I enjoyed the segue between musical numbers and scenes". Of course none of them knew the definition I was thinking of (to proceed without pause from one musical number or theme to the next), instead they just thought of the vehicle segway.
   The worst part is when a person hears a new word they try to guess at what it means. This is probably why some of my friends can not understand me half the time. Seeing some people guess the meaning to some words can be hilarious, especially when they try to use it in a sentence themselves.
    As per usual I have an explanation on why youth vocabulary seems to diminish every year. I think it's in the children shows. A plethora of children's shows use simple vocabulary so they can understand. Don't do that. Try to challenge your children instead of just mindlessly entertaining them. If they stop liking television because of this, is that really a bad thing?
   The worst thing you could do for your children is baby talk to them. Children and babies are impressionable, so impress a good example. Don't ask if they want wa-wa ask if they want water, or if you want them to like science ask them if they want Di hydrogen oxide. Speak how you would to anyone else, maybe even try to throw in a couple words you wouldn't even use normally. This is how my mother raised me, and now my vocabulary is excellent, although I admit my grammar is still terrible.
   The effort does not stop when they grow up. Support your children to take an English course every year. With the schools lowering their standards I wouldn't doubt if English soon became an optional course. During the summers try to entice your child into reading or writing. If they do not like reading find a book that fits their other interests and bribe them to reading it. Tell them you'll cook or bake them something special, just give them an opportunity to read. It only takes one good book for someone to get hooked.
    If you try to interest your children in English they will not end up like the people in my drama class. Take the time and teach them how to properly speak their own language. In the end, the time you spent will be worth it.

What's the Word 

hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia: The fear of long words, coincidentally one of the longest words I know. Good luck reading this if you have this fear.