Buzzwords, journalese and faddish terms account for much poor communication. Although such expression may spring from different worlds, each involves mimicry and a certain small lexicon, and each damages media writing.
A buzzword is a word that taken alone might be clear and meaningful but slips into meaningless “buzz” when accompanied by other buzzwords. The following passage illustrates:
We unify this approach by optimizing our material dollars and resolving issues with regard to variances in our process capability results. We utilize this framework to generate and communicate direction, accomplished through our strategic planning process as well as through an annual procedure for setting organizational priorities. Goals must be established and deployed to provide consistency across the organization.
That passage, excerpted from a corporate memo, typifies “buzz.” The phrasing is usually noun heavy, as in “process capability results” – words that are OK alone but confusing together. Here are words commonly found in buzz phrasing:
capitalization component
deployment elements
functionality indices
input integration
interface everage
logistical matrix
mechanism operational
optimal optimize
optimum optimization
paradigm shift parameters
preassessment prioritization
process remediation
system stage, phase, level
synergy strategic, strategizesynergy
utilize utilization
A little game shows how buzz phrasing works: Combine some of the above words until you have a combination that sounds like it means something – for example, “system remediation integration.” Then re-combine the same words: “remediation integration system” or “integration system remediation.” Each highfalutin combination will be equally meaningless but will sound meaningful – the hallmark of buzz.
Hackneyed media jargon is especially insidious because of its prevalence. Everyone is exposed to it. Interestingly, journalists are probably the only specialists who don’t speak the jargon they write – which only shows how unnatural it is. (Some journalese is simply wrong – using “beg the question” to mean pose or raise the question, for example. I’ve dealt with that expression in past Quill columns, but briefly, “begging the question” means using circular reasoning. One argues, for example, that parallel lines will never meet and offers for proof the fact that the lines are parallel.) Here’s a sample of stale media lingo:
amid escalated
facility famously
free fall ground zero
hammered out hard line
heated debate heightened criticism
held hostage hotly contested
in the wake of infrastructure
jump start laundry list
level the playing field
litany looking to arguably
bizarre twist
beleaguered bloody coup
bottom line brought under fire
burgeoning cautious
optimism chilling effect
cries of protest
critical mass cutting edge
decimate defining moment
delegate-rich drew fire
economic crunch embattled
eponymous arguably
low profile mushroom
oil-rich on the ground
political football
political suicide
reeling resonate
send a message send a signal
sharp decrease skyrocketing
spark spawn
spur staggering
staunch defense steep decline
strife-torn stunning
sudden downturn surprise move
sweeping thin line
unleash unprecedented
venue wide-ranging
widespread violence
witch hunt worst case scenario
Faddish expression and clichés are related. Borrowed from anywhere and everywhere, some words and expressions suddenly, often inexplicably, catch fire. Someone says “at the end of the day” instead of finally or ultimately, and in no time at all, the world is gagging on at the end of the day. New coinages sometimes become part of the lexicon; more often they simply die as they become dated, or they are uttered only as a joke: the mother of all … .
The problem with language fad and cliché is obvious: Over time, such expression grows flat, predictable and dull. Mimicry is the antithesis of freshness and originality in all craft and art, and communication is no exception. Fadspeak also is often incorrect. For example, the fashionable “having said that” or “that said” is frequently a dangling modifier: “Having said that, this program should help.” The program didn’t say anything; such structures should be followed by a reference to the speaker: “Having said that, I should also say” or “That said, I want to add. . . .”
Below are samples of widely despised expressions that are nevertheless enjoying at least 15 minutes of undeserved fame:
closure cobble together
cusp empowerment
has a problem with
has issues impact (as a verb)
litmus test make no mistake about it
material breach mental toughness
push the envelope
raise the bar ramp up
ratchet up rush to judgment
window of opportunity
24-7
Much fadspeak mimics the clichés of Sitcom Land, which can be fun when they’re fresh, but they’re not fresh for very long. The more popular the cliché, the quicker it goes stale. You don’t have to be a brain surgeon or rocket scientist to see that fadspeak is our worst nightmare, the language from hell. I mean: Been there, done that. Even the totally clueless know it’s just yadda, yadda, yadda, the same old same old. Don’t even go there – it’s history, a no-brainer. “Yeah, right” or “get a life” or “just doesn’t get it”? Oh, puhleeze, in your dreams. Git outta town. It’s so over.
Paula LaRocque is a consultant for The Dallas Morning News, where she was a writing coach for 20 years. You can e-mail her at paula@larocque.com.
