While we're on the subject of problem words that mean two different things, "minute" deserves special mention. Even setting aside the fact that some people toss around "just a minute" as basically any duration other than "not right now," it's still a problem word. Not only is "minute" (first syllable stressed) a measure of time, but "minute" (second syllable stressed) is a measure of size and/or stature. Maybe not a horrible problem in spoken English, but potential trouble in written form.
As "Exhibit A," I point to Chopin's famous "Minute Waltz." This whole size/duration mixup has led legions of show-off pianists to attempt to play a piece in 60 seconds that, at any reasonable speed, ought to take around twice that long. In trying to impress us with their dexerity, these musicians are instead displaying their bone-headed confusion of the English language, transforming a pleasant little number into an Alvin and the Chipmunks record.
And don't even get me started about "minutes" as an itemized list of things covered in a meeting. In that context, "minute" should be thrown in the trash along with "paradigm," "incentivize," and other such crap words used in the business world to make things sound more important than they really are.
7 comments:
Well, if we're opening Pandora's box for this sort of thing, how about impactful or impactive? Or the confusion surrounding the fact that data are plural?
Or the American habit of making a word longer than it really needs to be by adding -ize onto the end of it. Example: he was burglarized last week.
Ooh and how about the confusion surrounding 'next Tuesday' - is that the next Tuesday in the calendar, or the one after that?
You want to restructure the entire language and that's a whole new paradigm that I'm not incentivized to take on at the minute.
trundling grunt (I was about to type 'Anon') reminded me of another annoying habit Americans have: adding -ology onto a word when they really mean the version without it. Examples: Saying something is a mythology when it is really a myth, saying something is a methodology when it is really a method.
I have tons of other pet peeves, but I rarely get to throw that one out, so writing this made me happy.
And yes, "paradigm" should be stricken from the English language.
I'm as guilty of adding more syllables to words as the next American. I chalk it up to an emphasis of syntax over style in public education. Syntax is important, but one could easily construct correct sentences using incorrect words.
Have you ever noticed that Personnel is both singular and plural at the same time?
Boy, could that become confusing if you're trying to say something really concisely and didn't have the room to expand on your ideas...
;-)
I would have love STCCG more had "materiel" been used instead of "equipment." Regardless, I cringe every time I see "equipped with an equipment" on a few choice cards.
"Paradigm shift" is a favorite from college, not from the business world. It would come up all-too-frequently in reviews when other, clearer words could have better been used. "Quixotic" is another one. Not that these words have two meanings, just that it's hard to use them without looking like an ass.
"Paradigm" is hardly acceptable after so many have seen the commercial featuring the bad motivational speaker who pronounced it "para-dig-em."
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