4 ms·

Whilst I appreciate the Plain English Campaign's originally stated mission to discourage the use of unnecessarily opaque terminology, I think this is straying f

Whilst I appreciate the Plain English Campaign's originally stated mission to discourage the use of unnecessarily opaque terminology, I think this is straying from the mark a bit. There's nothing wrong with having a decent vocabulary, as long as you can make yourself understood. Personally I find the 'Newspeak' habit of replacing huge swathes of vocabulary with one or two tired phrases to be a much more annoying trend. eg: "reached out" --instead of 'wrote to', 'contacted', 'emailed', 'phoned', etc. "awesome" --instead of 'good', 'fine', 'great', 'useful', 'helpful', 'thrilling', 'exciting'... or almost any adjective that expresses pleasure. "super" --which, likewise, seems to be becoming the universal adjective to replace 'very', 'extremely', 'rather', 'quite', etc. God help us. Of late, I've even seen a rise in people describing things as "super awesome"!

wrp 4y ago
"Reached out to" currently tops my list of office parlance that I'd like to see go away.
- Normille 4y ago
  'Reached out' is top of my list on written annoyances. Top of my list for verbal annoyances is 'beginning your answer to every question with "So..." which seems to have reached epidemic proportions [over here in UK anyway] in TV and radio interviews: Q: And what is the government's response to this? A: So... What we've said... Q: I believe you've been to France? A: So... I went to France last year... Q: What age are you? A: So... I'll be 45 next August It's one of those things that, once you start noticing it, you can't stop. I actually find myself tensing in anticipation now, when someone is being asked a question. Waiting for the inevitable "So..." in response. On the upside, it does make picking whose side I'm on in a debate that much easier. First person to come out with "So..." is immediately assumed to be a wanker and in the wrong. This is not as shallow as it may sound, as the verbal tic seems particularly beloved of politicians and spokespersons for various money-grabbing organisations.
  - wrp 4y ago
    Yeah, but...like...that's not nearly as annoying as...like, you know...those Americans who...like...umm...do that thing with "like"...uhh...like practically between every clause. And I should know, because...like...I'm American too, and it gets...like...totally grating sometimes.

wrp 4y ago

"Reached out to" currently tops my list of office parlance that I'd like to see go away.

Normille 4y ago
'Reached out' is top of my list on written annoyances. Top of my list for verbal annoyances is 'beginning your answer to every question with "So..." which seems to have reached epidemic proportions [over here in UK anyway] in TV and radio interviews: Q: And what is the government's response to this? A: So... What we've said... Q: I believe you've been to France? A: So... I went to France last year... Q: What age are you? A: So... I'll be 45 next August It's one of those things that, once you start noticing it, you can't stop. I actually find myself tensing in anticipation now, when someone is being asked a question. Waiting for the inevitable "So..." in response. On the upside, it does make picking whose side I'm on in a debate that much easier. First person to come out with "So..." is immediately assumed to be a wanker and in the wrong. This is not as shallow as it may sound, as the verbal tic seems particularly beloved of politicians and spokespersons for various money-grabbing organisations.
- wrp 4y ago
  Yeah, but...like...that's not nearly as annoying as...like, you know...those Americans who...like...umm...do that thing with "like"...uhh...like practically between every clause. And I should know, because...like...I'm American too, and it gets...like...totally grating sometimes.