A word for saying things indirectly because you do not know the correct word

Question

Is there a word that describes the act, common of language learners, of using a cumbersome way to say something because they do not know a concise word (almost like I am doing here...).

For example:

That woman is the sister of my father.

Could be more efficiently said as

That woman is my aunt.

But the speaker may not know the word aunt even though they know father and sister.

Answer 1

Circumlocution

^{And by proxy: roundabout speech, circumduction, circumvolution, periphrasis, or ambage}

Roundabout speech refers to using many words (such as "a tool used for cutting things such as paper and hair") to describe something for which a concise (and commonly known) expression exists

^{source: wikipedia}

Answer 2

Teachers will often ask their students, learners of English, to paraphrase the word or expression that they are stuck on, this might also include giving a definition of the said word.

Paraphrase

a rewording of something written or spoken by someone else.
Oxford dictionaries

Answer 3

I agree with the commentator above that "circumlocution" has a connotation of intentionality. I would use "floundering" for the behavior originally described, although that might have more of a connotation of incoherence than intended by the original question.

Answer 4

You can talk around the topic, as per this definition from Thefreedictionary.com:

_2. To speak indirectly about: talked around the subject but never got to the point.

Answer 5

I think that the following terms can be used to indicate a way to express indirectly:

To imply:

• to indicate or suggest without being explicitly stated.

To mean:

• To intend to convey or indicate:

• To be used to express; denote:

Source:http://www.thefreedictionary.com

Answer 6

Verbose: using more words than is necessary.

Answer 7

The word lethologica may be relevant as defined by the Oxford dictionary.

The inability to remember a particular word or name.