Interesting. You are American and I suppose well-educated. I’m Russian and here the word “graphomania” is more-or-less known even for people who are not educated really good. By this, I don’t mean to offend you, what I mean is the difference how words are known or not known in different languages.
The most striking word in this respect to me is “собеседник” (sobesednik). It means “a person to whom one talks to”. When you and I talk here, I’m your sobesednik, and you are mine. In English, “sobesednik” would be interlocutor. “Sobesednik” is quite a common word in Russian. Not that we use it every day, but every young person knows it. Yet, the only time I saw “interlocutor” in English text was the Cambridge translation of Schopenhauer.
In Spanish “interlocutor” is pretty common too, although I had never encountered “grafomanía” --just checked the dictionary and yes, it exists. Languages are amazing!
Not to worry, I don’t offend easily and I understand what you are saying. I’ve just never run across that word, and I I’ve a lot and read a lot. The nice thing about this forum is how much we learn from each other! I rather like the word vituperation meaning a sustained railing, though I never run across it.
I hightly recommend “Why Do Languages Change?” by Larry Trask. The book is mainly about English, but not only. Mind you, just few centuries ago both green and blue were called “urdin” in Basque. There was no distinction between green and blue in the language itself.
I’ve just never run across that word, and I I’ve a lot and read a lot. The nice thing about this forum is how much we learn from each other! I rather like the word vituperation meaning a sustained railing, though I never run across it.
