I have been taking jabs at TV personalities, particularly television decorators on HGTV. I could move on to someone else (polititians and consultants provide fantastic fodder for grammar curmudgeons), but I am not even close to finished with the decorators. Now, please don't get me wrong -- I actually like make of these people. But that does not make it any easier to listen to their verbal gaffes.
One of my pet peeves (okay, so I have an entire menagerie of them!) is the practice of trying to sound smarter, more erudite, classier, . . . who knows what . . . by using bigger words when simpler ones will do just as well, or perhaps even better.
Take the word "utilize." In TV design land, it appears that we no longer use. We utilize. No longer do we use a technique, we utilize it. Ditto colors, patterns, etc. Honestly, do we really utilize "utilize" in everyday conversation?
In defense of utilize, however, at least they are using it correctly. What really burns my buttocks is when people (very often television decorators), trying to appear well-spoken, use the wrong word. Two particular examples come to mind. First, you will often hear the word "simplistic" used when the correct word is really "simple." (There's a little irony here, yes? Keeping it simple would be better in more ways than one.)
There is a great website that was created by Paul Brian, a member of the Department of English at Washington State University. It lists countless words and phrases that are commonly misused. Here's what he has to say about "simplistic":
“Simplistic” means “overly simple,” and is always used negatively. Don’t substitute it when you just mean to say “simple” or even “very simple.”
I couldn't have said it better myself.
An second example that is equally annoying is the use of "grandiose" when one really means grand or elegant. While one is not absolutely incorrect in using grandiose to mean spectacularly grand, the word really has come to refer to something that is affectedly grand or more complicated than necessary. (Hmmm, yet another irony in progress?) And in psychiatric circles, grandiose means having a delusional belief in one's one importance. Given the more common negative connotations of the word, therefore, do you really want a grandiose chandelier in your dining room? I think not.
And that's it for today.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
TV-speak
One of the richest sources of language crimes is television personalities (ironically, people who are paid to speak). Newscasters, sports commentators (Don't get me started!), game show hosts, . . . their jargon, mispronunciations, and outright errors make me grit my teeth so badly that the enamel is worn off.
Today, let's look at some of the argot employed by a particular segment of TV folk -- the hosts of decorating shows on HGTV (Home & Garden TV to the uninitiated.) A phenomenon that has developed of late has me scratching my head and asking "Why?" I refer to the practice of adding prepositions to simple words that don't need them, such as the bewildering phrases "change up" or "change out."
When we embellish a frame, we don't simply change it, we change it out. And we aren't going to change your mantle, we're going to change it up. Why? I can only assume that the speaker believes that the more words or syllables he uses, the smarter he will appear. (Guys, guess what! It doesn't work!!) Or perhaps it is a means of being hip. Anyone can say "change," but only coolsters know to say "change up."
If this phenomenon were limited to a particular person, I would say that it is just an ideosyncrasy. That wouldn't bother me so much. Hey! All of us have our quirks. But it isn't one person, or just one or two. It seems to be across the board, almost like someone in the corporate offices of HGTV sent out a memo:
"TO: Hosts.
In assessing [insert name of show]'s competitive position vis a vis the station demographics, the powers that be have deemed that all hosts must raise their hipness quotient. As this is best accomplished via the use of jargon, our media consultants have recommended that hosts substitute the phrases "change up" or "change out" for the more pedestrian "change." A memo defining the word "pedestrian" will follow by separate cover.
HGTV provides such fertile grounds for the Grammar Curmudgeon's rantings that we shall be addressing other annoying bugaboos. But for now, peace out. Or peace up. Whatever.
Today, let's look at some of the argot employed by a particular segment of TV folk -- the hosts of decorating shows on HGTV (Home & Garden TV to the uninitiated.) A phenomenon that has developed of late has me scratching my head and asking "Why?" I refer to the practice of adding prepositions to simple words that don't need them, such as the bewildering phrases "change up" or "change out."
When we embellish a frame, we don't simply change it, we change it out. And we aren't going to change your mantle, we're going to change it up. Why? I can only assume that the speaker believes that the more words or syllables he uses, the smarter he will appear. (Guys, guess what! It doesn't work!!) Or perhaps it is a means of being hip. Anyone can say "change," but only coolsters know to say "change up."
If this phenomenon were limited to a particular person, I would say that it is just an ideosyncrasy. That wouldn't bother me so much. Hey! All of us have our quirks. But it isn't one person, or just one or two. It seems to be across the board, almost like someone in the corporate offices of HGTV sent out a memo:
"TO: Hosts.
In assessing [insert name of show]'s competitive position vis a vis the station demographics, the powers that be have deemed that all hosts must raise their hipness quotient. As this is best accomplished via the use of jargon, our media consultants have recommended that hosts substitute the phrases "change up" or "change out" for the more pedestrian "change." A memo defining the word "pedestrian" will follow by separate cover.
HGTV provides such fertile grounds for the Grammar Curmudgeon's rantings that we shall be addressing other annoying bugaboos. But for now, peace out. Or peace up. Whatever.
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