"Annoying linguistic junk"
When I worked as an editor at a public radio station, I was viewed as a language policeman because I valued precise wording. How many times have I explained the difference between "apparently" and "apparently" alone? Even today, I still cringe quietly when I hear "bigger like" somewhere. However, I can now "tolerate" a lot of things due to the mildness of age that is emerging. But there are currently certain phrases that are spreading like inflation and that are causing negative peristaltic phenomena in me.
By Jürgen König
By Jürgen König
One thing first: This will not be a manifesto for or against gender. I don't give a shit about this discussion now. He, she or it can handle this completely freely, depending on how they feel or their personal opinion, I think. No, what I'm talking about here are empty or at least inappropriate phrases, filler words and phrases that come at me every day, regardless of whether I'm sitting on the bus, watching TV or sitting in the pub with friends.
"What is the old man talking about?" you might be thinking. That's why I want to throw a few examples into the ring here: "Game changer" for example or "At the end of the day", "Perfect" and particularly high-frequency: "Exactly".
Well then. Mob mode on!
Anything that changes a process or approach in any way is now a "game changer". That may be true in football when the most important player on a team is fouled by the opponent and therefore has to leave the game. But when I hear or read war reports in Ukraine in one of the many media outlets that this or that attack is a "game changer," then my forehead wrinkles in anger. A war is not a game, damn it! Please think about which formulations you use beforehand.
Which day is actually meant when it turns out that "at the end of the day" everything will be different than it is now or yesterday or last week? Maybe at this fictitious point in time everything is exactly as it is now. One does not know. Only that we are dealing with a 1:1 translation from English that replaces the short German word "finally" with a pseudo-eloquent phrase.
And if the taxi driver - who of course didn't get a tip from his passenger - if this taxi driver can hand out a 100 euro note, then that's "perfect". Likewise, if the food tastes good, a door no longer sticks or there is enough toilet paper in the house - everything is "perfect". Definitely a number too important for me. At best, a Swiss clockwork or a functioning moon rocket is perfect.
Which brings us to the little word, the use of which is now practiced with an excess that tends to be unbearable. "Exactly" has become a completely undifferentiated filler word. Sentences like: "I'm not at all sure about this" are often followed by a quiet "exactly" after a short pause in which you realize that you have nothing further to say. The same word is also used to cover up insecurities about what has just been said carelessly. Zack, quickly added "exactly". Or this harmless structure fills short pauses for thought in which bad speakers once simply said "uh". Absurdly, most statements filled with "exactly" are anything but not exact.
What else? This Germanized Anglicism "I realized it" comes to mind. As a rule, this does not mean that someone has successfully implemented something. No. It replaces the message that someone has understood something. Can't you just say that instead of verbally simulating higher education?
Or shouldn't one replace this submissive, slimy "I'm with you on that" with the much more bearable "I see it that way too" or even "You're right"? "Note for yourself" could be exclaimed at this point. Yes, if this formulation hadn't already been burned because various people use it in order to avoid having to express specific criticism of the other person.
That leaves the phrase "Honestly" that is often used in the introduction. This adds a certain importance to the subsequent divestitures. But isn't it a given that we should always show a certain degree of honesty without labeling it as an announced exception?
I want to stop at this point. Yes I know. Language is constantly evolving and buzzwords have always existed. But perhaps we should still be a little more careful with our language. Or at least we'll smile when we hear these pre-cut sayings from our fellow human beings in the future.
Of course, we could also read Franz Kafka or Thomas Mann again to experience what can be expressed with well-chosen words.
Mob mode off.
04/15/24
*Jürgen König worked in public media for 33 years*
"What is the old man talking about?" you might be thinking. That's why I want to throw a few examples into the ring here: "Game changer" for example or "At the end of the day", "Perfect" and particularly high-frequency: "Exactly".
Well then. Mob mode on!
Anything that changes a process or approach in any way is now a "game changer". That may be true in football when the most important player on a team is fouled by the opponent and therefore has to leave the game. But when I hear or read war reports in Ukraine in one of the many media outlets that this or that attack is a "game changer," then my forehead wrinkles in anger. A war is not a game, damn it! Please think about which formulations you use beforehand.
Which day is actually meant when it turns out that "at the end of the day" everything will be different than it is now or yesterday or last week? Maybe at this fictitious point in time everything is exactly as it is now. One does not know. Only that we are dealing with a 1:1 translation from English that replaces the short German word "finally" with a pseudo-eloquent phrase.
And if the taxi driver - who of course didn't get a tip from his passenger - if this taxi driver can hand out a 100 euro note, then that's "perfect". Likewise, if the food tastes good, a door no longer sticks or there is enough toilet paper in the house - everything is "perfect". Definitely a number too important for me. At best, a Swiss clockwork or a functioning moon rocket is perfect.
Which brings us to the little word, the use of which is now practiced with an excess that tends to be unbearable. "Exactly" has become a completely undifferentiated filler word. Sentences like: "I'm not at all sure about this" are often followed by a quiet "exactly" after a short pause in which you realize that you have nothing further to say. The same word is also used to cover up insecurities about what has just been said carelessly. Zack, quickly added "exactly". Or this harmless structure fills short pauses for thought in which bad speakers once simply said "uh". Absurdly, most statements filled with "exactly" are anything but not exact.
What else? This Germanized Anglicism "I realized it" comes to mind. As a rule, this does not mean that someone has successfully implemented something. No. It replaces the message that someone has understood something. Can't you just say that instead of verbally simulating higher education?
Or shouldn't one replace this submissive, slimy "I'm with you on that" with the much more bearable "I see it that way too" or even "You're right"? "Note for yourself" could be exclaimed at this point. Yes, if this formulation hadn't already been burned because various people use it in order to avoid having to express specific criticism of the other person.
That leaves the phrase "Honestly" that is often used in the introduction. This adds a certain importance to the subsequent divestitures. But isn't it a given that we should always show a certain degree of honesty without labeling it as an announced exception?
I want to stop at this point. Yes I know. Language is constantly evolving and buzzwords have always existed. But perhaps we should still be a little more careful with our language. Or at least we'll smile when we hear these pre-cut sayings from our fellow human beings in the future.
Of course, we could also read Franz Kafka or Thomas Mann again to experience what can be expressed with well-chosen words.
Mob mode off.
04/15/24
*Jürgen König worked in public media for 33 years*
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