the Banished Words List 2011 and a small end of year rant
Did you know that Lake Superior State University publishes a yearly list of words the folks who post to it wish were banned from the English language? I think I remember it vaguely, but this year I actually caught the news about it when it came out, and here it is!
Okay, I don't think "viral" or "epic" are over-used, but I'm not into mainstream media that much. "Wow factor" gives me the pip, though--not for over-use, simply for silliness. Are we really that short of adjectives that this is the best we can do? "A-ha moment" and "backstory" are in the same category for me. I think people use "backstory" because it makes us feel like we're in the movie or TV business. ;-)
BFF just plain annoys me. "Man up" does as well, but for other reasons. Folks use it to mean "suck up your courage"--what has that to do with being a man? Aren't women courageous, too? (That's a rhetorical question. I know the term comes from the days when a real man stood up and owned up to his errors and flaws. I'm saying that by perpetuating this phrase you're also perpetuating the myth that only men have true honesty and courage.)
Sarah Palin's "refudiate"--please. Enough discussion of this bit of stupidity, please. Ditto "mama grizzlies"--the ones with done hair, manicures, and expensive outfits. Being attractive does not an authority make, any more than being unattractive does.
If you took away the phrase "The American People," most political speeches would be shorter by one quarter. True fact. (This paragraph is a joke.)
I like "just sayin." It's a way to say you're being silly without spelling it out.
I personally would like to get rid of finger-pointing--the act--by pundits. I was always taught it was rude to point. And yelling, ditto. I'm really tired of all these yelling people, aren't you? Also, drunken parties in rehab, songs with the words "ho," "bitch," the c-word, "rape," woman-slapping, and woman violence in them, and clothes that look ugly no matter who wears them.
While I'm on getting rid of things, how about getting rid of incompetent staff at Veteran's Administration hospitals and replacing them with competent staff who do their job right away? How about cutting money for sports teams and putting it into education? How about getting rid of politicians who only work against things, never for anything?
How about getting rid of unemployment and replacing it with real jobs? How about helping the poor and middle class people instead of leaving them to flounder?
Okay, I don't think "viral" or "epic" are over-used, but I'm not into mainstream media that much. "Wow factor" gives me the pip, though--not for over-use, simply for silliness. Are we really that short of adjectives that this is the best we can do? "A-ha moment" and "backstory" are in the same category for me. I think people use "backstory" because it makes us feel like we're in the movie or TV business. ;-)
BFF just plain annoys me. "Man up" does as well, but for other reasons. Folks use it to mean "suck up your courage"--what has that to do with being a man? Aren't women courageous, too? (That's a rhetorical question. I know the term comes from the days when a real man stood up and owned up to his errors and flaws. I'm saying that by perpetuating this phrase you're also perpetuating the myth that only men have true honesty and courage.)
Sarah Palin's "refudiate"--please. Enough discussion of this bit of stupidity, please. Ditto "mama grizzlies"--the ones with done hair, manicures, and expensive outfits. Being attractive does not an authority make, any more than being unattractive does.
If you took away the phrase "The American People," most political speeches would be shorter by one quarter. True fact. (This paragraph is a joke.)
I like "just sayin." It's a way to say you're being silly without spelling it out.
I personally would like to get rid of finger-pointing--the act--by pundits. I was always taught it was rude to point. And yelling, ditto. I'm really tired of all these yelling people, aren't you? Also, drunken parties in rehab, songs with the words "ho," "bitch," the c-word, "rape," woman-slapping, and woman violence in them, and clothes that look ugly no matter who wears them.
While I'm on getting rid of things, how about getting rid of incompetent staff at Veteran's Administration hospitals and replacing them with competent staff who do their job right away? How about cutting money for sports teams and putting it into education? How about getting rid of politicians who only work against things, never for anything?
How about getting rid of unemployment and replacing it with real jobs? How about helping the poor and middle class people instead of leaving them to flounder?
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Liz
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Jan 02, 2011 03:44PM
I agree with a lot of what you said. There really should be a lot of things that aren't allowed to be used. I do agree some words can be over-used and annoying, but i don't think that's going to change the general publics use of them. But like all fads and popular culture, they'll eventually fade out over time(except for those few things that stick around because they are worth keeping).
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I read the article this was based on a couple days ago. I was really surprised that "viral" and "back-story" were part of the list. I always thought "viral" was the actual term used for describing something on the Internet. I've never heard anyone use "back-story", except for myself- and I only used it when titling outlines.I did notice that to bash on the Internet "FAIL!" or "EPIC FAIL!" were always used and I'm not sad to see it go. Too bad it was such a pretty word before it went "viral."
I think "BFF" should be left for elementary through middle school students, because it's a term we all use in those days.
My students have been using "fail" and "epic fail" A LOT. Also they use the term "beast" to refer to things that are "cool"
Take it from a high school student. We use every one of those words every day, for sure. BFF, we use for texting, so it's like slang, i think, along with all the other ones like TTYL,TTFN,GTG ect. They're not words that should be in a dictionary or said. They should only be used in text messages. other than that the new words should stay. there have other words that died out and aren't used anymore or have more than one meaning. that what these words will become.
