I need to make it clear from the start that I’m not in favour of the language police. I know the French have the Académie Française to preserve the purity of their language, but I suspect that no-one pays much attention to it. English is a wonderfully rich language and if people feel the need to use the word ‘chillax’, then I fully support their right to do so. Preferably when I’m not there. I don’t want to come across as grumpy and moany, but, then again, why not? Life is short and we have to enjoy ourselves while we can.
Many slang expressions also have a fairly short life and fall by the wayside pretty quickly. Some people may remember the brouhaha (do people still say that?) surrounding Valley Girl slang back in the early 2000s, but I don’t think anyone says ‘grody to the max’ now. Lots of slang words are quite fun and do last the distance, but I’m hoping that ‘rizz’ isn’t one of them. On the other hand, I think ‘bling’ is a great word and it looks like it’s here to stay.
I struggle more with the odd repurposing of words. For instance, why does everyone suddenly feel the need to have a superpower? Time was when you had to be a large, interfering country or have x-ray vision to claim that privilege, but now we’re all clamouring for a superpower of our own, like the ability to manifest or empathise. It all seems a bit feeble. I mean, it’s not as impressive as being immortal, is it?
I’m also not that fond of therapy speak in everyday life because most of us aren’t trained therapists and have a tendency to over-simplify and misinterpret complex ideas. I have my doubts whether the popular use of the word ‘triggered’ is entirely accurate, and it’s certainly annoying. I do love the idea of establishing boundaries, though, because I think what it really means is saying no. With authority.
Sometimes I just get bored of the endless repetition of bland expressions like ‘happy place’ or ‘me-time’ or ‘safe space’. They all seem a bit self-absorbed and quite dreary. Surely it would be more interesting to hear about people leaving their house, taking risks and interacting with the world. In bed by 9.30 with a cup of hot chocolate might be how most of us really spend our time, but couldn’t we just keep it to ourselves? I am as attached to my slippers as anyone else, but it would be so much more fun if we all just pretended that what we really longed for was a world of adventure.
And then there’s pretentiousness. Why are we all suddenly feeling the urge to pivot when we used to simply change? I particularly dislike the word ‘stakeholder’ because it only ever appears in dry bureaucratic documents and I suspect it is meant to sound impressive while actually meaning nothing at all. Language whose sole purpose is to obscure meaning – perhaps a topic for another blog? Or maybe not. It sounds too much like hard work and I have to establish my boundaries.
My bête noire is ‘anchoring’, as in ‘can I just anchor this thought with you…?’ Unfortunately, someone we speak to often, uses it all the time … my lips are sealed 😅
I’d never heard of that one and now I’m sorry I have!
Have you ever played bullshit bingo?
Yes, but now I no longer have to attend meetings I am blissfully released.