Hey, everyone. I'm going to rant today. If you like positive messages, furry little bunnies, treacle and the like, just skip Snippets & Wisps today.
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Two years ago, I blogged on this topic, but, darn it, I have to do it again!
The world in general, and the business world in particular, creates non-words and uses them mercilessly. It also misuses words with equal disregard for their true meanings. And why do they do this? Because the people involved don't know that perfectly good words already exist for the concepts. Or even if some people know, the non-words have been adopted by The Powers That Be - who are perceived to be too powerful to correct.
Examples:
Solution (as a verb): One of a class of misused words. Have a problem? Does it need a solution? Then, by all means, solve it! [Sheesh, even Vanilla Ice knew that one!]
Doable: The focus of that prior blog post. Feasible is a fine, fine word. But some folks don't know what the word means, so we just dumb down our speech and use this one instead. [Some dictionaries tell me this "word" is really a word. So I will retract my statement that it's not a word. But it is not even close to the best word. And I don't think it's too much to ask that people know the word feasible. I still believe I was taught by good, honest English teachers that doable was not a word.]
Mentee: Why was this word created? It's in some dictionaries now - The Merriam-Webster's online dictionary has it being created in 1965. Why? Why? Why? The word protégé has existed for a long time, and it means "one who is protected or trained or whose career is furthered by a person of experience, prominence, or influence" which is exactly what mentee was created to mean.
Incentivize: Arrgh! Another modern creation with no value. Again, M-W online has it, from 1970. Thank goodness, however, Thesaurus.com does not yet recognize it. [M-W is too lax in allowing new words, IMHO.] Do you want to provide an incentive to someone? OK, do that. What's a verb to describe it? Encourage, or even better, entice them.
Look, the creation of new words has its place. Dr. Seuss needed to create truffula, and Jabberwocky needed snicker-snack and mimsy. Nonsense is a fine reason to create new words. And in the scientific and technical realm, we create new concepts, or new technologies, which also need new words. Fine. Create laser, add a new meaning to web, coin internet.
But in daily life, before uttering a new word, how about ensuring that it doesn't have a perfectly suitable existing alternative?
Would solving the problem that way be feasible? Could we all entice our protégés to agree?
Great. Let's strive for a better working vocabulary, then.
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End of rant. Tomorrow I will return to treacle. Or at least non-ranting.
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