Ah, the satisfaction of adding a new word to my vocabulary and then finding a cool way to insert it into conversation and writing. But sometimes these new word discoveries are not new at all, but trendy catchphrases and abbreviations invented for quick use for texting and mobile devices. They feel like fads\u2014In fashion today and gone tomorrow.<\/p>\n
Is it time for word trends to go? Or are some worthy\u00a0to keep at the ready for descriptive speech? Can they be used in daily conversation, even if\u00a0we\u00a0choose to\u00a0ban them from professional writing?<\/p>\n
Once words become popular, they aren\u2019t easily extricated from common usage. We can still pick and choose our favorites and ignore the rest. As fun as some of the newest slang roll off the tongue, I can’t find a use for much of it.<\/p>\n
The key is over-usage. I like to think the adjectives \u201cepic\u201d and \u201cawesome\u201d will quietly go back to more sparing and thoughtful use as time marches on. The phrases \u201cat the end of the day\u201d and \u201cin a world where\u201d could certainly take a vacation, IMHO (that\u2019s \u201cIn My Humble Opinion\u201d, in case you\u2019ve already dumped this overused chat acronym from your vocabulary).<\/p>\n
The article, \u201c19 Words to Retire in 2019\u2014and Lots of Lively Replacements<\/a><\/span>\u201d offers a start, but I don\u2019t agree with their snarky list. I can proudly proclaim that I don\u2019t use many of the terms that made it to their article, and I don\u2019t see any reason to avoid using other words in their list. I happily use \u201cyay\u201d even before its rise to recent popularity. What\u2019s wrong with this word?<\/p>\n Nor do I use most of these \u201c18 Annoying Buzzwords You Need to Stop Using at Work<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span>\u201d. I didn\u2019t think these words needed to be banned, until I noticed that the phrase I dislike, \u201cat the end of the day\u201d made it to their list.<\/p>\n Instead, agree to remove derogatory racial and sexual terms from the vocabulary. These are the sneaky words that seem innocent enough when you use them, but they carry demeaning meanings for others. Take a look at \u201cSexist Words and Terms You Need to Stop Using in 2019<\/a><\/span>\u201d for some examples. I applaud this article for suggesting word substitutions for insulting terms.<\/p>\n Then there are those words that just make our writing and speech less precise. These are the words that I continually edit out of my final drafts with the hope that by regularly removing them from my writing, they will take a hike from my daily conversations, emails, and texts, too. Zeroing in on the \u201c15 Words You Need to Eliminate From Your Vocabulary to Sound Smarter<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>\u201d cuts the fat from my drafts to make them chiseled and lean communication machines.<\/p>\n