Nothing makes me happier than reading stories about the imminent demise of ‘social media networking’, even when they’re published in my least favourite newspaper. But wouldn’t you know… just as everyone else is growing out of this puerile nonsense, the World Economic Forum (who are meeting for their annual shin-dig in Davos this week) are embracing it.
Sitting in a high-rise flat staring at a computer screen, it’s easy to believe there was a time when our language was untainted by attempts to make it ugly and incomprehensible. Perhaps in the early part of the last century – when life was innocent and people had more respect (despite the world wars) – people used plain English and editors led simple and carefree lives.
Some of you may be wondering why I haven’t written about the conspiracy recently – that is the one to make a mockery of editors everywhere, to turn language into meaningless noise, to pollute our every moment with confusing messages and meaningless drivel, to litter our lives with the pointless delusion that we exist for a purpose, when in fact we are all drones serving the smug and swanky who think they’ve got the better of us in some way or other.
I have been considering my prospects in editorial work. Humanity will always need people who can make sense of business speak and political nonsense and rewrite it in plain English. But the trouble is I have so much trouble understanding the words, I can barely lay claim to being one of those valuable people any more. › Continue reading
It was a couple of years ago, I think, when I was first told not to use the term ‘brainstorm’. I was freelancing at some public sector organisation. I remember the deputy managing editor of the website telling me that the word ‘brainstorm’ is offensive to epileptics and I laughed uproariously – thinking this was some very witty joke – only to realise a moment later that no one else was laughing and that this bloke was being serious. › Continue reading
A few weeks ago I subscribed to the daily email from Businessdictionary.com. Every day, they send me a business term. As a struggling editor, I thought this might help me understand the words. Or should I say: “enable me to be better able to further my understanding of a whole raft of business words and phrases”? › Continue reading
I had a conversation with some people over the weekend who asked me to explain the difference between ‘blue sky thinking’ and ‘horizon scanning’. I think they assumed – given that I’m an editor and everything – that I would understand these words. It was my own fault I suppose, for trying to turn the conversation round to editorial issues. › Continue reading
There’s no doubt about it, someone, somewhere is laughing at editorial staff. It is probably more than one person – probably a group of people working in league, a network of the well-connected, the rich and powerful. And their objective? › Continue reading
There are a lot of commentators around at the moment, blaming a lot of the world’s ills on ‘globalisation’. Perhaps they are right, but does it end there?
A few weeks’ ago, someone called Paolo left a comment on this blog which brought a new language called Globish to my attention. It just goes to show: just because an editor’s paranoid doesn’t mean that there isn’t a conspiracy to stop us all from understanding the words.
But then take a closer look at the Globish site. Globish turns out to be one man’s vision of the plainest English possible. › Continue reading