Fancy terms in George Orwell The Politics of the English Language
This article is about “Fancy terms in George Orwell The Politics of the English Language”, you can find here a huge variety of articles about “Fancy terms in George Orwell The Politics of the English Language”:
Occasionally it does the soul good to raise the Andy Rooney mask up in front of one’s face and shake it back and forth.
The English language, it seems to me, has been afflicted with a disease that I christen “syllablism.” It is the opposite of racism or sexism in that, rather than discriminating against something, syllablism in modern language discriminates in favor of useless, extra syllables.
For instance, somewhere along the way the perfectly useful word “active” became “proactive.” The simple “preventive” oddly became the bloated, pretentious “preventative.” A situation is no longer just a “problem”; it is “problematic.” It’s not good enough that they’re “facts”; they can be ratcheted up or down by the media to the status of “factoids.” Some no longer embrace a “method” to process information; they have to explain their “methodology.” It’s not “curing”; it’s “curative.” It’s not “new”; it’s “new-fangled.”
And, although it’s a bit off-kilter to the above examples, folks do love their “irregardless” — “regardless” of the fact that it is not a word!
These useless, extra syllables give the appearance of substance without actually imparting any real value. You could even argue that they represent a refutation of Einstein’s theory of relativity; i.e., not all mass can be converted into energy. Some of it just sits there.
In somewhat the same vein, when did we decide that it was acceptable to replace a word with a longer version, to in essence sound smarter … only to change the actual meaning of the word? Take the word “attorney” versus “lawyer.” Simply put, they don’t mean the same thing. Anyone who has passed the bar is a lawyer, but an attorney needs a client. The word implies a relationship. There are thousands of lawyers who do nothing all day (How many of you wanted this sentence to end there?) apart from research, but, still, they call themselves attorneys. Why? Because “attorney” is a three-syllable word and three-syllable words sound classier than two-syllable words.
See what I mean? Syllablism, plain and simple. The fancier the word, the more weight we think it carries. Consumers pay attention to more bling, and products must be new and improved and super sized to get us moving in desired directions. Syllablism is the embracing of bigger words because bigger is better. Syllablism is also pretentiousness at best, bordering on pompousness. And, sadly, this partiality for bigger words doesn’t always equate to the proper use of such words — or even real words at all!
I’ll close with thought-provoking quote from George Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language” (1946): “Bad writers, and especially scientific, political, and sociological writers, are nearly always haunted by the notion that Latin or Greek words are grander than Saxon ones, and unnecessary words like expedite, ameliorate, predict, extraneous, deracinated, clandestine, subaqueous, and hundreds of others constantly gain ground from their Anglo-Saxon numbers.”
Be watchful for creeping syllablism in your copy!
|
My passion is words and their power to inspire and bring about action, leading recently to fulfillment of a life-long dream — launch of my own consulting gig (http://www.polishedimage.com). As an editor, I’m even more persnickety than I am as an administrator. I have run point on monthly and quarterly magazines, website launches, flier and brochure development, advertising “creative,” and marketing initiatives, as well as the more mundane writing of HR- and admin-related manuscripts, handbooks, annual reports, etc. I have also written a great many speeches that have been extremely well received. My background includes a journalism degree and a career principally in the nonprofit community. And all of that has added up to some “thoughts” on words, writing and business. Lee Cooke Article Source: |
|
More info about Fancy terms in George Orwell The Politics of the English Language:
The Only Way to Abs | Muscle Building Tips
Fatal, FatBurning, Father, Fatloss, Fats, fatten, Fatties, Favorite, Fear, Fears, Features, Featuring, Feed, Feeding, Feel, FEELING, Fees, female, Females, Ferrigno, Ferruggia, Fiber, Fibromyalgia, Fight, Fighters, Figure, Filmed, Fimbriata , Final ….. trance, tranformation, Traning, Transform, transformation, TransformationBody, TransformationMUST, Transformations, Transforms, transitioning, Trapezius, Traps, Trash, Travel, Traveling, Treadmill, Treatment, Treatments …
Health news » Acupuncture may help chronic, acute asthma
From relief of postoperative pain and chemo-therapy nausea and vomiting to treatment for addiction, headache, menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, fibromyalgia, myofascial pain, osteoarthritis, low back pain, and carpal tunnel syndrome, studies have … says Louis Kiwala, LAc, MTOM(Master of Traditional Oriental Medicine), director of the New York Center for Acupuncture and Alternative Medicine and co-founder of the Institute for Advanced Pain Management in New York City. …
Magnet therapy, which is a -billion market worldwide, is a form of alternative medicine which claims that magnetic fields have healing powers. Magnet therapy stimulates the earthââ¬â¢s magnetic field and places your body in an optimum environment … ââ¬Â¢ Researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston found that magnet therapy helped relieve muscle pain caused by Fibromyalgia. ââ¬Â¢ The New Your Medical College of Valhalla study report found relief from numbness, …
Is it Hard to Day Trade the Forex Market? | Business44.Com …
Acne · Allergies · Alternative Medicine · Anti Aging · Cancer · Dental Care · Disabilities · Diseases and Conditions · Hair Loss · Hearing · Medical Tourism · Medicine · Men’s Health · Mental Health · Nutrition · Plastic Surgeries ….. Femme, Feng, Fenwick, Ferranti, Ferrari, Ferret, Ferrets, Fertility, Fertilizer, Fetishes, Fever, FHA/HUD, FHTM, Fiat, Fiberglass, Fibers, Fibroids, Fibromyalgia, FICO, Fiction, Fiction’s, Fictional, Fido, Field, Fieldboston, fieldonline …
New Search Results, from Technorati and Ingboo
Technorati and Ingboo have partnered together to provide an all new kind of subscription experience for Technorati content, including search results. Look for a blue Ingboo icon for a full range of subscription options.
Feeds are also available for:
Latest Original Articles from Technorati
We also have channel feeds, writer feeds, and tag feeds, which can be found on their respective pages.
This post was mainly about Fancy terms in George Orwell The Politics of the English Language, you are welcomed to comment here about Fancy terms in George Orwell The Politics of the English Language.
Related Blogs
- Related Blogs on Fancy terms in George Orwell The Politics of the English Language
- 7 anti-Apple cliches that need to die | CompareMacBook.com
- What do Scientologists, consultants and rehab have in common …
Your PC might be slow or have lots of errors like the blue screen or other Computer errors, you can call a technician to fix or repair your PC or you can use the best registry cleaner software that will fix your PC registry and will make your computer or laptop work faster and with no errors.
People got here while searching: refutations of politics and the english language b - Orwell The Politics of the English Language.
If you feel this post didn't provide you with new/important information about: refutations of politics and the english language b - Orwell The Politics of the English Language, please leave us a comment and write what information would you add about refutations of politics and the english language b - Orwell The Politics of the English Language.

Its Pleasure to realize your blog.The above content is pretty extraordinary, and I really enjoyed reading your blog and things that you simply expressed. I incredibly like to appear back on the frequent basis,post more from the topic.Thanks for sharing…keep writing!!!