HOW TO USE THE LATINOMETER

The Latinometer™ allows you to package your message in the right kind of box. By choosing a word from the Germanic or Latinate vocabulary, you are sending two messages: the content of your message and its packaging. Choosing the style of your message controls how it will be received.

Do you sound pretentious? Click on a blue, purple, or red word. It will take you to thesaurus.com, where you can find a Germanic substitute.

Do you sound uneducated? Click on a green word. It will take you to thesaurus.com, where you can find a Latinate substitute.

Usually, “Unidentified” words are typos. If you feel it belongs in the word list, send it to me, and I will add it.

WHO CAN USE THIS?

EDITORS: Keep your writers below the Mary Bennet line of 43%.

NOVELISTS: Vary the diction of your characters so they sound different.

ALL WRITERS: Try to stay around 30%. That is where most people are comfortable.

Great writers, like Jane Austen, use Germanic and Latinate words like a camera,

• They zoom in on a scene or image with Germanic words

• they use Latinate words to pan out, giving the big picture

Inexperienced writers often use words from only one vocabulary.

Good and Bad Associations of Latinate and Germanic Vocabulary

Latinate

Germanic

Good

Bad

Good

Bad

self-control

hypocrisy

sincerity

emotionalism

upper class

obscure

clarity

lower class

reason

coldness

warmth

blindness