Wednesday, September 9, 2015

semantics - Difference between "fluency" and "fluidity"



Fluent seems to most commonly refer to language mastery, but in that context isn't it just saying that its delivery is fluid?



If so, am I communicating something different when using one over another or are they essentially interchangeable?


Answer



I will compare the adjectives fluent and fluid.




The etymologies of the words are shared and so is one of the meanings:




smooth and unconstrained in movement




So, when you speak about movement (literary or as metaphor), it is interchangeable.



Otherwise it is not:





fluent
- easy and graceful in shape
- expressing yourself readily, clearly, effectively



fluid
- characteristic of a fluid; capable of flowing and easily changing shape
- subject to change; variable
- affording change (especially in social status)
- in cash or easily convertible to cash




NOTE:
If you read the etymology entry, you will find that fluent was





Used interchangeably with fluid in Elizabethan times.



No comments:

Post a Comment