When I saw the word, I did not feel supercalifragilisticexpialidocious at all. It immediately shifted me into a pensive state and therefore I started wondering – do big words and phrases even matter?
Sometimes they do. For example – toxic positivity. The phrase seems like an oxymoron for a person not familiar with the concept. Therefore, oxymoron-sounding words that has a different symbolic meaning depends on a higher level of linguistic or conceptual comprehension for a person to be able to understand it. It is similar to other linguistic devices like idioms and metaphors.
On the other hand, we might be able to explain the same idea through an easily digestible language. For example, we can explain toxic positivity through the example of Buddha. One cannot adhere to the teachings of Buddha all the time, for we do not even really know whether Buddha’s teachings, as we know of now, are actually his words. To be expected to be like Buddha, therefore, is linked with toxic positivity. Similarly, there are some people in the world who think that drinking tea helps solve all kinds of crises in people’s lives. Again, that’s toxic positivity.
And if you want to make your explanation travel beyond boundaries, all you have to do is put a hashtag cute below or on or at wherever you are explaining the idea in the digital world. At first, you might be agyat about how many people might read it, but if your language is simple and the concept interesting, it is likely that the kinetic force of the internet will work its magic, and perhaps, your idea will be the next ‘internet’ or ‘blockchain’.
**
Translation
agyat: unknown
Ishan Mainali 