<p>I'm writing my essay and it involves my memere (french term for grandmother) and I'd like to use that word because it sounds more interesting than grandma, but if the adcom that reads my essay doesn't know what memere means then I would be screwed.</p>
<p>thoughts?</p>
<p>did you know what a Memere is?</p>
<p>(pronounced mem-ay)</p>
<p>I had no idea what a Memere was, and I’m French to boot. I think saying you’re “screwed” if they don’t understand what it is at first glance is a little much. The people who will be reading your essay won’t be stupid. They will probably pick up on it based on the context. </p>
<p>If it makes you feel better, you can find a way to incorporate an explanation of the meaning in your essay.</p>
<p>Are you bilingual or of French descent? In that case, you could use the word by italicizing it the first time and putting the translation in parentheses after it, as in:</p>
<p>I went to visit my *memere<a href=“grandmother”>/i</a>.</p>
<p>However, if you want to use the word just “because it sounds more interesting than grandma,” my advice is DON’T. It’s more likely to come across as pretentious, rather than interesting.</p>
<p>yeah you’re right haha I wouldn’t be rejected based on the fact that an adcom might have to google it.
I’m not bilinugal, just of French-Canadian descent.
I have always called her my memere, it’s like her identity haha
memere just sounds more affectionate to me than grandmother.</p>
<p>Memere and Pepere, grandma and grandpa?</p>
<p>How about beanie babies?</p>
<p>Clarity is one mark of good writing. Don’t make them have to Google it.</p>
<p>An admissions officer wouldn’t spend too much time on an individual application, especially if you’re applying to a place which is competitive with a lot of applicants. Don’t create extra work for the admissions officer.</p>
<p>I second the parenthesis idea</p>