Although universally acknowledged to be important, the relation between language and cognition is far from clear. While this paper also "sidesteps" this relation, it presumes that less elaborate language is linked to less differentiated cognitive activity. The study described here was aimed at collecting data on language usage for children (and some adults) with known IQ, racial, and social class characteristics and investigating the actual degree of differentiation in language usage. Data are presented on the free use of adjectives, and also on rates of verbal production when the amount of such production is largely determined by the producer. From a large survey of Maryland ninth graders, plus smaller samples of fifth- and sixth-grade blacks, middle-class white adults, and lower-class white women, the use of 30 high-frequency adjectives was observed in written productions. It was found that (1) there was no difference in adjective usage (common adjectives only) by race; (2) there were large sex differences in verbal productivity; (3) females use more adjectives than males, even with productivity controlled; and (4) social class differences were minimal. (Authors/AMM)