Why Do We Have To Have New Words When The Old Ones Are Fine?

[Tarser]

During the pandemic, we keep hearing of a 'Road Map' to return to normal life. We used to say 'strategy' or 'plan'. Why the change? What's wrong with the old words?

Schools used to have a 'Curriculum' but they now talk about 'Learning Journeys'. Everything seems to be 'journey' now. I've heard people talk about their 'illness journey'. No doubt they need a road map for all these journeys.

I can't see anything wrong with 'Personnel' but despise its replacement - 'Human Resources'. I suppose it's honest in admitting that's the only way employers think of their employees. The sweeper is the same thing as the broom to them.

For a few months now, people no longer say 'thank you for contacting us'. Instead it's 'Thank you for reaching out to us'. 'Reaching out'? It sounds like a toddler wanting to be picked up.

I can understand why some words have changed. Feminists didn't like 'Manpower' etc. - anything that seemed to exclude women, but I don't understand why perfectly good words are so regularly replaced with new words or new expressions that suddenly leap out at us and demand that we adapt. (OK, I admit it! I'm grumpy!)

[ToraToraTora]

Gus from Drop the dead donkey was the guvnor - "Care to come for a stir fry in my strategy wok?" - PMSL!

[johnny.5]

is Narky allowed ?

[zebo]

My children had a book split into 3s, heads, bodies and legs, they could make different funny people, an old man in a tutu wearing waders etc. We developed that into a conference-speak book, three sections to make meaningless sentences and the aim was to use as many of these trite sentences. Much more fun than the crossword sitting at the back!
My road map is in the car, fading rapidly!

[AuntPollyGrey]

Drop the dead donkey -a blast from the past -that was a hilarious series, loved it.

[Tarser]

Fiction-factory: Yes, I forgot about starting every sentence with 'So'. Thanks for reminding me. Nobody did it a few years ago, now everyone does it. It's not so much the change, it's the infectious, meme-like reaction of everyone catching it. I dig my heals in and refuse to conform. I am probably the last man in the UK who says SHEDule instead of SKEDule...Film instead of 'movie'. I'm an old fart and proud!

[zebo]

//Gus from Drop the dead donkey was the guvnor//
A former Deputy Head I worked with could have given him a run for his money, 'let's drop this into the toaster and see what pops up' was one of his favourites!
DTDD is a programme that could be remade for the modern world!

[retrocop]

Most of this nonsense originated across the ditch didn't it? They sneeze and we are infected. :-(

[Tarser]

The so called 'singular they' is hideous but I've heard it defended by academics.

'Please ensure that your child remembers their coat on Monday'.

Nobody used to say or write things like this in the recent past. It's now on social security forms, tax forms and letters home from school. The very words 'he', 'him','she' and 'her' are now taboo in the new world of sex/gender confusion and choice.

[jim360]

I suppose a "Road Map" is a great way of implying that "there are lots of places we *can* go and loads of ways to get there but we have no idea where we actually want to go", as opposed to having an actual plan?

[198kHz]

A colleague and I back in the day used to keep a tally of our David Brent prototype boss's buzzwords. Overall winner by a mile was 'best practice'.

[Jackdaw33]

CV is short for the Latin for Life Journey.

[Cloverjo]

People seem to be ‘flouting’ the rules all the time, whereas they used to just ‘break’ them.

[Tarser]

Jackdaw: You're right, of course. My niggle is the same as the NHS altering 'excrement' to 'poo' in their information about bowel health. I find the latter word patronising and childish. It insults adults because they are assumed to be too unintelligent to understand an adult word, even though both have the same meaning.

I wouldn't object to 'Life Summary' if CV had to be changed. 'Life Journey' sounds as childish as 'poo' used in this context.

[Ringlet]

And criminals don't commit a Robbery any more, they do a "heist". Prices don't face an increase they face a "hike". A lot of it is American stuff, adopted in the UK because people think it sounds "cool".

[NickorWan]

If you are middle-aged or older it is no surprise that you don't like new words. Here are a few of the results from a report in The Economist a few years ago, which is based on over 2 million tests.

Most adult native test-takers range from 20,000–35,000 words
Average native test-takers of age 8 already know 10,000 words
Average native test-takers of age 4 already know 5,000 words
Adult native test-takers learn almost 1 new word a day until middle age
Adult test-taker vocabulary growth basically stops at middle age

[jno]

yes, "reaching out" is a weird one. And when did "the word go" become "the get-go"?

[pixie374]

I think it's just as well it evolves. Otherwise we would still be talking in ugs and grunts (no offence to teenage boys...)

[EdmundD]

Things are "down to me" rather than "up to me". Taking ownership instead of responsibility.

[zebo]

//And criminals don't commit a Robbery any more,//

Heaven forbid we ever import 'burglarised' in place of 'burgled'.

[mjwman]

I agree! Don't start me off on "Reaching out"! Pathetic