In English , most often short words are as good as long ones, and simple words like "bright sun," "fresh air," and "sweet home" are best of all. Though small, these words can meet our needs with grace, charm and strength, and can cast a clear light on big things like : war and peace, love and hate, and life and death.
As has been said in THE MIRACLE OF LANGUAGE by Richard Lederer, many of the pithy proverbs use very simple words in the expression of excellent ideas, "Where there is a will, there is a way" , "Rome was not built in a day" , "Two heads are better than one", to name only a few.
Many of the ancient potes and orators recognized the power of small words in making a straight line between two minds. Several hundred years ago, William Shakespeare used small simple words in his play KING LEAR . "And my poor fool is hang'd ! No, no, no life ! Why should a dog , a horse, a rat have life, and thou no breath at all ?..."
In the Bible, with which many English speakers are familiar, the short words which describe the beginning of human life sound like this: And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good.
Modern great leaders or poets have also been using simple English words in their speeched or writings. During World War II when Hitler was nearly occupying the whole of Europe, and many people thought the end of mankind was drawing near, Winston Churchill responded in his ringing words : "Let's fight by sea, land , and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us." A tit-for-tat struggle was forged, and Hitler was defeated. And now let's hear what Robert Frost said in his poem THE DEATH OF THE HIRED MAN, "Home is the place where , when you have to go there, they have to take you in ." Even more terse words are probably ten two-letter words by William H. Johnson when he described his secret of success, "If it is to be, it is up to me."
Many of us tend to use long words to speak our minds, if they say just what we want , that's okay. But if big words make the way dark for those who hear what we say and read what we write, we might as well use small words. Like fast friends, they won't let us down.