Work & Education you pick one's spelling and grammar thread

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My nephews have Kiwi accents. I remember when they were young, we used to have a lot of fun getting them to explain the difference between their teddy beer and a teddy bear and also the difference between going to beard vs going to bed.
 

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FredLeDeux said:
They can't even spell Zeeland right.
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Undoubtedly - I have tired of monitoring and looking over everyone's shoulders. When CLEARLY not everyone cares as much as I.

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I care, allrighty! By jingo, I care, dammit!!!
I was just bemoaning another bugbear a few days ago: the 'verbing' of nouns... Grrr!!!

I use the word "google" as a verb, myself, but have no trouble in doing that to the made up company word 'Google'. Yes, I do know that there is a 'real' word of the same spelling.

Anyway, I noticed on a bottle of Toilet Duck, its claims of 'Powerful cleaning, removes stains, disinfects, fragrances, better reach'.
Does this liquid 'fragrance' my toilet? Or have i misunderstood the claim?

Then I read this news article:
https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/25960479/passports-cancelled-in-terror-fear/

And this paragraph jumped out and hit me square between the eyes...
"Dr Aly said it was important that both the Muslim and wider communities did not shun the men because there was still hope they could be de-radicalised."

DE-RADICALISED??? Wtf??
Apparently it means to bring radicals back from the brink of .... I'll let Dr Aly explain this in her own words...

"To bring someone back from the brink of radicalisation, they need their family's support and the support networks of their community … otherwise we risk further isolating them," she said.


Well.... THAT'S pretty radical!!! Do I think it will work??

PFFFT!!

whenever-my-wait-staff-talks-back-to-me-10255.gif
 
Teriyakicat said:
I care, allrighty! By jingo, I care, dammit!!!
I was just bemoaning another bugbear a few days ago: the 'verbing' of nouns... Grrr!!!

I use the word "google" as a verb, myself, but have no trouble in doing that to the made up company word 'Google'. Yes, I do know that there is a 'real' word of the same spelling.

Anyway, I noticed on a bottle of Toilet Duck, its claims of 'Powerful cleaning, removes stains, disinfects, fragrances, better reach'.
Does this liquid 'fragrance' my toilet? Or have i misunderstood the claim?

Then I read this news article:
https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/25960479/passports-cancelled-in-terror-fear/

And this paragraph jumped out and hit me square between the eyes...
"Dr Aly said it was important that both the Muslim and wider communities did not shun the men because there was still hope they could be de-radicalised."

DE-RADICALISED??? Wtf??
Apparently it means to bring radicals back from the brink of .... I'll let Dr Aly explain this in her own words...

"To bring someone back from the brink of radicalisation, they need their family's support and the support networks of their community … otherwise we risk further isolating them," she said.


Well.... THAT'S pretty radical!!! Do I think it will work??

PFFFT!!

whenever-my-wait-staff-talks-back-to-me-10255.gif
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It is called bureau-speak and it is invented to sound important to the audience and yet mean nothing binding on the author.
 
allrighty said:
It is called bureau-speak and it is invented to sound important to the audience and yet mean nothing binding on the author.
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FredLeDeux said:
Meaningless but emotionally gratifying noise.
Or weasel words.
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Very true! :)
It reminds me of how my eyes used to glaze over every time I was at parent info nights at my kids' school. One particular teacher - the Deputy Head, Curriculum- was assigned the task of informing the parents of all the changes to the curriculum each year- and there were major changes in assessing and reporting students' results every second year.

We were inundated with what I termed "academia speak" until the white flags were raised. Nobody asked questions because nobody had a clue what was being said.
One word stuck with me, though- the word "tricentile". It meant the upper third of the student group- ie. 33.33%
Sure enough, the word was in the dictionary when I looked.

And, somewhere along the line, a 'graduate' became a 'graduand'.

Then, when our kids reach Year 12, we get the spiel on how the TER is calculated. I'm sure that explanation fills 14 volumes. Such unbelievable crap!! I can't believe we pay people to work this stuff out!!
 

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Teriyakicat said:
Very true! :)
It reminds me of how my eyes used to glaze over every time I was at parent info nights at my kids' school. One particular teacher - the Deputy Head, Curriculum- was assigned the task of informing the parents of all the changes to the curriculum each year- and there were major changes in assessing and reporting students' results every second year.

We were inundated with what I termed "academia speak" until the white flags were raised. Nobody asked questions because nobody had a clue what was being said.
One word stuck with me, though- the word "tricentile". It meant the upper third of the student group- ie. 33.33%
Sure enough, the word was in the dictionary when I looked.

And, somewhere along the line, a 'graduate' became a 'graduand'.

Then, when our kids reach Year 12, we get the spiel on how the TER is calculated. I'm sure that explanation fills 14 volumes. Such unbelievable crap!! I can't believe we pay people to work this stuff out!!
Click to expand...

In Don Watson's Dictionary of Weasel Words, the Education Dept ones are by far the worst and some of them are just utterly staggering. Though management consultants run them a close second. When you analyse them, they can usually be translated to plain English, and it's then that you see why they were written the way they were. :rolleyes:
 
FredLeDeux said:
In Don Watson's Dictionary of Weasel Words, the Education Dept ones are by far the worst and some of them are just utterly staggering. Though management consultants run them a close second. When you analyse them, they can usually be translated to plain English, and it's then that you see why they were written the way they were. :rolleyes:
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oogle boogle boof boof walla walla....
Yeah, there's footy speak (we hear the young lads spouting the same phrases as the coaches, the medical staff and the media), there's business speak of 'going forward' (I've yet to meet anyone who's able to time travel and go backward in time), we 'progress injuries'.... I just don't know where to start.

I'm just so glad that I don't have to attend management meetings- it was bad enough when I had to bring the toothpicks to our annual meetings but at least we spoke 'proper English', though the terminology was geared to technical terms of mining and geology. Nowadays it's the common words and phrases that have been hijacked, grabbed by the throat, and given a good shaking. That's where the problem lies.
 
FredLeDeux said:
In Don Watson's Dictionary of Weasel Words, the Education Dept ones are by far the worst and some of them are just utterly staggering. Though management consultants run them a close second. When you analyse them, they can usually be translated to plain English, and it's then that you see why they were written the way they were. :rolleyes:
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I've never seen that book before- MUST. BUY!!
Also saw 'Death Sentence'- am checking both of those out now. ;)
Would you recommend the dictionary?
 
FredLeDeux said:
Yes, it was an amusing read, I've still got the DTB version somewhere.
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Thanks Fred ;) Might try and pick up a cheap copy. I'm always up for an amusing read!

Just checked- I can get both books for $17 apiece.

How true is this? ;)

"Today's corporations, government departments, news media, and, perhaps most dangerously, politicians - speak to each other and to us in cliched, impenetrable, lifeless sludge."
 
Teriyakicat said:
Thanks Fred ;) Might try and pick up a cheap copy. I'm always up for an amusing read!

Just checked- I can get both books for $17 apiece.

How true is this? ;)

"Today's corporations, government departments, news media, and, perhaps most dangerously, politicians - speak to each other and to us in cliched, impenetrable, lifeless sludge."[/QUOTE

Very true, and who better to describe it than a PM's speech-writer?:D
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Teriyakicat said:
Thanks Fred ;) Might try and pick up a cheap copy. I'm always up for an amusing read!

Just checked- I can get both books for $17 apiece.

How true is this? ;)

"Today's corporations, government departments, news media, and, perhaps most dangerously, politicians - speak to each other and to us in cliched, impenetrable, lifeless sludge."
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Very - that's the point. It creates a barrier. Most people don't want to look like they don't understand.

As a mgt consultant (though I hate the term) I do not use mgt speak and weasel words. 90% of people love that approach, 10% are disappointed when they understand what I mean. Strange world. "Is it that simple?" is a common reaction.

My normal repsonse when people use these words is to frown, let them go on, then say something like "Sorry, assume I'm dumb. Could you please explain that to me in plain English?". Guess what? Most can't. They do not actually understand what they are saying either. It's fun and a bit cruel but I also use this to expose to them that many many people talk without any meaning or understanding.
 
allrighty said:
Very - that's the point. It creates a barrier. Most people don't want to look like they don't understand.

As a mgt consultant (though I hate the term) I do not use mgt speak and weasel words. 90% of people love that approach, 10% are disappointed when they understand what I mean. Strange world. "Is it that simple?" is a common reaction.

My normal repsonse when people use these words is to frown, let them go on, then say something like "Sorry, assume I'm dumb. Could you please explain that to me in plain English?". Guess what? Most can't. They do not actually understand what they are saying either. It's fun and a bit cruel but I also use this to expose to them that many many people talk without any meaning or understanding.
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It's even more fun to listen closely, then translate it back to them in plain English. "So, what you're saying is....". And even more fun when you get to follow up their "Well, not exactly....". :D
 
I was working with a woman whose hubby is a political speech writer. She said his aim is to be as incomprehensible as possible whilst making the content sound meaningful, which is of course the opposite of how we are coached to actually communicate.
 
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