Reflections of Language

Who you are,
Your education level,
And the kind of people
You associate with
Are all reflected
In the language you use.
It doesn't matter
What country,
Or what part of the country
You come from,
Or what language
You happen to speak,
Educated people tend to have
A much wider range
Of words they use
On a daily basis.
I have heard various numbers
Bantered about,
But let's say that out of
Roughly one million words
In the English language,
A high school dropout
Might use roughly 1500 words
In normal speech,
A college graduate,
Possibly as many as
Ten to fifteen thousand,
A writer or a poet,
Typically as many as
25,000 to 150,000 words.
You should also be
Aware of the pitfalls
Of repeating the same words
Over and over again,
Especially if those words
Are impolite or off color.
They add nothing
To your communication,
And subtract from
Your standing
In the ears of
The listener.
You should also avoid
Punctuating your sentences
With meaningless utterances
Such as "ahs" and "you knows"
Which certainly don't add to
Clarity of communication.
When learning a new language,
Be aware of who
You are learning from,
For you can easily pick up
Words and phrases
Which reflect badly
On your class
Or level of education,
Your language is a mirror
Reflecting who you really are.