Writing

English is an accomodating language. Some dictionaries have recorded considerably more than half a million English words. Some authorities believe that there will be more than a million English words when the recently developed technical terms are included. However, one study indicates that most of us accomplish most of our communication with fewer than a thousand words. English allows us to develop new words to express new thoughts. Although English facilitates communication of complex or new thoughts, effective communication is a challenge. Consider the following sentence.

Tom hit a home run.

That sentence is simple and understandable. It is simple and understandable if you are a native English speaker who is acquainted with the game of baseball. Tom hit what? Tom swung a club (baseball bat) that struck a ball that landed outside the outfield boundaries of the baseball playing area. A full explanation of a home run would require several sentences. We understand the simple English sentence because of our background knowledge. Consider the following sentences.

E = MC² appears to be a simple equation, but appearances can be deceiving.
H2O represents the molecular composition of water.

The number (²) that appears in the first sentence is called a superscript. In the first sentence the superscript indicates that the number represented by C is to be squared. In the second sentence the number (2) is a subscript and indicates that water is composed of two molecules of hydrogen and one molecule of oxygen. Readers who are acquainted with chemistry, physics, or mathematics will read the sentences correctly. Other readers may not interpret the sentences correctly. There are many treatises that are understandable only to readers who have training or experience with the subject matter being addressed even though the English expressions may be flawless.