diction

my husband the writer pays attention to diction–whether a word or phrase is “high” or “low.”  whether it is anglo saxon or latinate. in general the current thinking goes that good, simple anglo saxon words are more evocative and effective than long flowing fancy latinate words. so we should be weepy, not lachrymose. we should fight rather than altercate. we should shit rather than defecate. while i agree in principle, i have encountered the pine tree that these cones come from in both english and french. in english this is a scots pine. in french it is a pin sylvestre, after the latin pinus sylvestrus. i’m sorry, but i’m feeling rather latinate this time.

scots pine cones (Pinus sylvestris)