Since it's Latin in etymology, people learning English who are native Romance language speakers might have a good idea of what it means even without full English fluency.
As for native speakers, come on, did you never watch PBS as a kid? "Diurnal" was used often on nature- and science-type shows.
Hmm, no number-of-comments image? Is that because this wasn't crossposted because there was a poll in each? I wonder if it's possible to edit the image in manually.
I had been thinking that it would have been third-grade vocabulary, introduced in a pair with its opposite, nocturnal, although it doesn't see much actual *use*.
The "not much actual use" is probably the issue; 'nocturnal' I think I picked up by osmosis rather than actual study - as far as I know, it was never "word of the day". :p
I would never judge someone just because they didn't know a word like "diurnal" or whether they "should" know it. If they don't know what it means, it's possible they've just never run into it and that they haven't had enough exposure to Latin word components to make an educated guess as to its meaning.
Case in point: I was watching "Judge Judy" some time ago (yes, I know, I know XD ), and she was harping on the defendant for not knowing what the word "complicity" meant even though he (surprisingly so) had a college degree. Well, guess what? I got a fairly decent score on the verbal SAT (590, and this was back in the early 1990s before they changed the test), got a 2-year degree in college... and until that program episode, I had never heard of the word "complicity" either (I thought at first she said "complexity").
Your average person with a good vocabulary will generally ask the definition of a word they don't know, and then assimilate it into their own vocabulary if they find it to be useful. This guy made a big deal about how since I knew this word, I must be OMG A WRITER.
So yes, I'm judging him, but less for the specific gap, because everyone has some weird ones, and more for his subsequent behavior.
Ah, I didn't know about that context. See, that changes everything right there. His reaction was uncalled for, especially since he was being defensive about it. =P
ETA: And just to clarify, I still wouldn't judge anyone on not knowing a word per se. Some of the ticky boxes, like "your neighbor is a moron," implied that he was being judged for not knowing the word, which was what I thought you were aiming at. ^^;; But I would definitely consider him a moron for his behavior, too (unless he was merely doing it in jest and wasn't obnoxious about it).
I thought the first question should have been multiple-tickiable as well, though, because I wanted to say both SAT passed should know it, but only a writer or scientist whose field touches on the concept would drop it in casual conversation, because both are true. I know the word, but I don't generally *use* it.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
azurelunatic) wrote2010-02-19 02:08 am
no subject
As for native speakers, come on, did you never watch PBS as a kid? "Diurnal" was used often on nature- and science-type shows.
Hmm, no number-of-comments image? Is that because this wasn't crossposted because there was a poll in each? I wonder if it's possible to edit the image in manually.
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
Case in point: I was watching "Judge Judy" some time ago (yes, I know, I know XD ), and she was harping on the defendant for not knowing what the word "complicity" meant even though he (surprisingly so) had a college degree. Well, guess what? I got a fairly decent score on the verbal SAT (590, and this was back in the early 1990s before they changed the test), got a 2-year degree in college... and until that program episode, I had never heard of the word "complicity" either (I thought at first she said "complexity").
YMMV.
no subject
So yes, I'm judging him, but less for the specific gap, because everyone has some weird ones, and more for his subsequent behavior.
no subject
ETA: And just to clarify, I still wouldn't judge anyone on not knowing a word per se. Some of the ticky boxes, like "your neighbor is a moron," implied that he was being judged for not knowing the word, which was what I thought you were aiming at. ^^;; But I would definitely consider him a moron for his behavior, too (unless he was merely doing it in jest and wasn't obnoxious about it).
Sorry for the confusion on my part there.
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject