From birth to about 5, I spent much of my time with older, educated, polyglot...

From birth to about 5, I spent much of my time with older, educated, polyglot relatives who would sit around and debate philosophy, religion, law, science, history, and their favorite subject, language.

Some were professional translators of ancient texts and Bible translators. Most could understand the Bible in its original languages. They loved debating which language had the best vocabulary for various topics and the etymology of words.

German was our primary language because we are German (Frisian specifically), but it was medieval German (Plautdietsch) because we left Europe a long time ago and were later associated with the Mennonites. They also spoke modern German as needed.

Before going into kindergarten, I was embarrassed because I could only sort of read, depending on the complexity of the book, and I thought that every kid there would be able to read fluently.

It turns out that only one girl could read; she was super smart and lovely, but most of the kids had only a 12-word vocabulary. A few kids were non-verbal, everyone was very friendly.

On the other hand, I would be speaking a mix of English, German, Latin, ancient Greek, biblical Hebrew, and what were likely a few invented words that were used in the family. I was shocked that they didn’t understand me and asked where I was from.

I’ve spent the rest of my life struggling to speak plainly so that the masses can understand me. Sometimes, that was needed. Other times, I must use my full power, especially in personal conversations.

Even now, I often want to express myself in ways that are richer than what others can understand. My wife is Portuguese, so for the first 5 years of our marriage, I would ask, “Do you know this word?” and then have to explain several words before I could tell her what I was thinking.

Almost every day, I teach my son a new word. At this rate, the normies are going to think he has ChatGPT plugged right into his brain.