Quynh
Region: US
Thursday 25 June 2026 16:52:49 GMT
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Déborah :
I'm brazilian and I would say that 99% of my English vocabulary was acquired in solitude. Reading books and articles, consuming content, listening to podcasts, time spent scrolling on social media apps. So yes that makes sense. I have yet to read Susan Sontag but it's been on my list forever.
2026-06-25 22:30:04
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olebile🏂 :
interesting. makes me think that saying “you know what i mean”, and meaning it and knowing it to be true, might secretly be one of the most intimate things one can say to another
2026-06-26 09:14:27
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shootmyboot :
Reading a lot as a child can make you a better speaker and writer. I think it’s the earliness and breadth of exposure that gives us a good command of language
2026-06-25 22:08:28
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girl_electric_ :
For anyone wondering where this quote is from: Susan Sontag, As Consciousness is Harnessed to Flesh: Journals & Notebooks 1964 – 1980
2026-06-29 14:18:16
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Marzipan Pig :
I sort of ageee, but I also don't think being alone with a book is true solitude. You're communing with the writer and the characters, and this is the fertile soil out of which eloquence grows
2026-06-26 11:44:36
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SJ Gage :
I also wonder how much being neurodivergent vs neurotypical effects both one’s “forced solitude” as well as ultimately their language. I hadn’t even considered that much of my childhood was “forced solitude” but your description of your experience really resonated with me. (I’m not Asian; just grew up autistic and undiagnosed in an emotionally volatile and chaotic household and reading was my escape/ sanity/ coping skill/ love/ joy.)
2026-06-25 18:23:38
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Jheni Ribeiro :
Language is the limit to our shared reality. Artistic expression might be the closest one can come to “invented individual speech.”
2026-06-26 10:13:10
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Bella :
I love this so so much! I think being articulate & verbally expressive is such a high blessing and underrated skill, especially in a world of ChatGPT. Even language itself expresses cultures in different ways like how sometimes there’s no English equivalent for a certain phrase or word! ALSo the way you speak reminds me so much of Eileen Gu!!
2026-06-25 19:42:48
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almondpretzel_ :
This is soooooo fascinating. Love this take
2026-06-25 18:08:23
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terrible angel :
my little ASD self would carry a dictionary around when I was small because no one understood me, I thought if I had the right words maybe people would hear me... spoiler... it didn't work and now my vocabulary alienates people haha
2026-06-26 17:01:10
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meow :
i love language learning and the whole process of it fascinates me, its true that we use such basic vocabulary in daily speech that the way we mostly learn more advanced vocabulary is by reading
2026-06-25 18:14:07
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Eliana🌴🌳✨ :
That’s exactly what happened to me, having a chronic illness I experienced long periods of forced solitude in my formative and early adulthood years. It’s funny because I was writing a lot about solitude in 2019 and 2020 reflecting back on my own experience and then Covid hit & so many people were forced into solitude at that time. It was very interesting to observe the changes in the collective consciousness after this period.
2026-06-25 22:00:17
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🪴 :
me and my partner often communicate in random sounds that are not words
2026-06-26 11:58:29
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Zro :
the hearth idea is interesting and i'm having a mental back and forth. It's attractive in the sense of having a community of people with shared experiences so you don't need as careful of language to know you are being fully seen and understood. On the other hand, the desire for that simplicity and alignment through movement and shared voice reminds me a lot of religion, and how they take advantage of that presumed togetherness and lack of articulation. Like, you're feeling something positive so you assume the organization feels and acts positively as well, and their ambiguity of language paired with emotional safety allows you to make that assumption easily without questioning it.
2026-06-25 19:24:16
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Nobaddie :
Yes maam, solitude leads to self actualization and discovery 🥰
2026-06-26 22:06:22
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mprs :
Yes, spent lots of my time as a child alone. I also feel like I had to build my communication skills out of necessity and (hate to say it) trauma and unconscious need to want to be understood, and even defend myself. Otherwise, I’ve been subject to lots of projection, blah
2026-06-30 13:42:22
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er.en :
i don't know Quynh, but you always present me with a new perspective everytime i saw you video, and i love that 🥹💝
2026-06-27 17:10:34
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Iryna 🪴 :
Woah this actually makes so much sense!
2026-06-25 18:36:41
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sophia garcia :
As an only child I can relate and I also consider myself not that articulate at all but get the “oh I forgot how corporate and detail oriented you speak” a lot 😂
2026-06-25 20:02:31
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Max :
True understanding is being able to take the complex and make it simple. It’s a milestone on the way to mastering all forms of art, language, and craft. The scenic route is pretty but the straight path gets us there faster!
2026-06-26 11:43:21
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Taylor :
I’ve noticed that only children often speak more articulately, also. They don’t grow up rushing to get out their thought before a sibling interrupts them
2026-06-25 19:14:05
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Leila :
I totally relate!!
2026-06-25 17:00:40
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emmayacheng :
Thank you quynh and sontag
2026-07-26 18:10:34
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xxxxx :
i'm an only child, raised by a single mom who was already 37 when she had me, worked in child healthcare and understands a lot about child development: she talked to me since i was a baby, never used any kind of baby voice, made me love to read. i became so eloquent that now i'm a teacher.
2026-06-26 14:33:59
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Charakaile :
Never really linked my wordiness all to the time I spent in solitude until now!!! Wow
2026-06-27 06:03:57
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