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