[tempest67]

"If the goal of communication is having other people understand you, why would you deal in words that are notable precisely because they are difficult to understand?"

One important value words have lies in their discriminatory capabilities; the more exact and fine-toothed your toolset is, the more precisely you can express yourself. Sure, it doesn't matter if you're wearing mittens on your vocabulary for most exchanges -- but it sure is nice to be able to take them off once in a while, and say exactly what you mean.