[Closed] Officious sounding American language

In a foreigners say the funniest things vein,according to my Spanish friend I ride a "countryside bicycle."
I like that.

I was informed I had "committed a violation" in the States once. 😯

"It is with great excitement [b]at this time[/b] that we announce the hiring of a Pastor to lead us."

"We are now inviting those passengers with small children, and any passengers requiring special assistance, to begin boarding [b]at this time[/b]."

What is it for?!

What is it for?!

If you're asking what your exclamation mark is for, I have no idea.

I'll add to the pompous silliness of language the now overdone "going forward". Well, we can't go backwards, now can we?

Moral Turpitude. Always wondered if this was a trick question as I had (and still have) no idea what it is. I could manage the 1933-1945 bit. I was nowhere near Nuremburg.

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"We reached out to"

*fumes*

My favo(u)rite Americanism:

Pilot: "We will be airborne momentarily"
Me: "I was hoping to be airborne for quite a while" 😐

"We reached out to"

*fumes*

This.

Makes me want to reach out and strangle someone.

OP I think that - you "mis-spoke" - is my personal bug bear.

AArrrr it's lied, lied, lied!!!

I'll add to the pompous silliness of language the now overdone "going forward".

It is a bit silly, but just a modern version of "henceforth" or "henceforward".

Mis-spoke is actually reasonable. It's when you mean to say one thing but say something else, or it came out wrongly somehow.

If you have to issue an apology in a formal situation, saying 'that came out wrong' isn't really ideal.

The word 'solutionising'. WTF does heat treating aluminium have to do with working out a solution to a problem.
They have stopped using this at work after I lost it one day and explained the error of their ways.
Just say what you mean clearly and concisely, using the perfectly adequate English language. 👿

There is no noun that cannot be verbed.

"Driving". That's all. Everybody "drives" something at work. I hate it.

There is no noun that cannot be verbed.

Nor is there a verb that cannot be nouned. It's a good thing IMO. Yes, painful ones come up every so often, but they get left by the wayside if people don't pick them up and run with them. The useful ones hang around.

There is no noun that cannot be verbed.

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"mis-spoke" is only just OK if you have just said something. However Americans use it when they have said a clear "un-truth" (another one!). It's used like a polite deflection of the facts.

was in Atlanta a few years back an American weather presenter doing the report said that there was a 60% liklehood of "liquid precipitate"

which is of course easier than saying rain 😆
That made me chuckle

There is actually a list of crimes that count as moral turpitude.

I know this because I always get grilled when I go to the US on account of having a visa. If you had committed a crime of moral turpitude, they might require you to get a visa - hence the grilling.

A bit annoying since I had to pay money, get letters from my employer, and queue at the US Embassy to get a visa for a long hiking trip. But at least I eventually found out why they treat me like a dodgy criminal.

Terpsichorean ecdysiast. Not a commonly used business term, but I first heard it in one of the M*A*S*H books and thought it was a great term.

"Driving". That's all. Everybody "drives" something at work. I hate it.

[quote=scuttler ]Moral Turpitude. Always wondered if this was a trick question as I had (and still have) no idea what it is. I could manage the 1933-1945 bit. I was nowhere near Nuremburg.

I always wanted to tick yes for me committing war crimes in WW2. I have a feeling they'll have no sense of humour about it. I REALLY would like to know how many commies/morally turpituded (I know it's not a word)/war criminals they catch this way

British police seem to have a habit of using overly officious language to describe simple things, if the "police Camera Action" type things my wife watches are anything to go by e.g.

"We proceeded to the location on foot" instead of "we walked there".

Just the Yanks huh ?

The UK habit of needlessly inserting "actual" or "actually" into sentences should be on the list of Moral Turpitude offences.

Molgrips has (actually) demonstrated it for us in his post.

It's up there with pronouncing the t in often and saying "pacific" when you mean "specific".

I think that's a habit though - lots of professions have a strictly defined vocabulary so that there can't be any of the usual misunderstandings and implications we get in everyday speech.

I REALLY would like to know how many commies/morally turpituded (I know it's not a word)/war criminals they catch this way

As previously discussed at length, it's not that they are trying to get you to confess, or that this is actually an effort to screen war criminals; it's to give a legal get-out clause if they want you out of the country. Convicting someone of war crimes to get them out of the country would be a long costly difficult legal battle, but this way all they need to 'convict' you of is lying on the visa waiver form which would be a lot easier, and more difficult to refute.

Just the Yanks huh ?

Hell no.. bad language is not exclusive to the Americans of course, but they have a particular style of making up complex terms for simple words to sound more official and serious.

I had to go and Wiki moral turpitude. Turns out to be quite a long list of crimes.

My favourite was mayhem, which I also had to wiki, turns out to be the act of maiming. Removing someone's limb or eye so they can not defend themselves. Removing an ear or nose does not constitute mayhem.

Every day's a school day on STW.

Still time for a Ninja edit, Molgrips.

Still time for a Ninja edit, Molgrips.

What, because I used 'actually'?

It's up there with pronouncing the t in often and saying "pacific" when you mean "specific".

No it's not, actually. The latter is actually wrong, a malopropism actually, but the use of 'actually' can actually be justified.

As previously discussed at length, it's not that they are trying to get you to confess, or that this is actually an effort to screen war criminals; it's to give a legal get-out clause if they want you out of the country. Convicting someone of war crimes to get them out of the country would be a long costly difficult legal battle, but this way all they need to 'convict' you of is lying on the visa waiver form which would be a lot easier, and more difficult to refute.

By "catch" I mean how many people admit it. If you're, say, Mladic, I would bet they have you on a list anyway.

Not helping your case by misspelling "malapropism" either. Just FYI. Still time.

A simple spelling mistake is nothing like inventing words for effect.

"transportation"

DOES NOT NEED the "ation".

Bloody 'merkuns.

a thread the other day used the term 'comprimisation'.

I always wanted to tick yes for me committing war crimes in WW2. I have a feeling they'll have no sense of humour about it.

it's to give a legal get-out clause if they want you out of the country

Can't they just put [i]"R.O.A.R."[/i] on the visa like they (used to?) do on nightclub flyers? 😀

working for a large US multi-national I think I'm quite immune to this type of language.
however new ones do crop up that get me WTFing:
- thought leadership (ugh)
- gamification (the concept is sound but not the word)
- incubating an idea (gah)
- leverage (an oldie but still boils my proverbial)

I fail to see why American English needs to be compared and ridiculed against English. They're completely different dictionaries. Who cares if it stemmed from here. (England) After 200 years, I think it can stand on its own. It doesn't have to make sense to you and who cares if you like it or not if you're not an American.
All languages evolve with time. Even French has had to change in line with modern culture. You can imagine how that goes down with Francophonie.

I agree completely.

As long as you have no problems with the whipping of those who use American English words or phrases where a sutable English phrase already exists?

I work for a US company so I hear a lot of it. It grates sometimes but TBH I don't have much of a problem with it really because it's rarely used to sound officious or to attempt to appear cleverer/more important IME - it's just 'business speak'.

I find it far more annoying when people over here try and posh up things by talking about 'myself' and 'yourself'.

I fail to see why American English needs to be compared and ridiculed against English.

I'm not ridiculing American English. I'm ridiculing silly neologisms, which seem to be popular in America. I like neologisms in general, just not when it's either pretentious or just plain daft.

I agreeciate your point gears_suck, but the two dictionaries do colliderate given our close linkages with the US

Try the buzz-phrase generator on here. It will make you sound much more important:

http://www.sewallspoint.com/buzzphrase_generator.htm

I work day-in day-out with an American identity management product. Some of the functionality includes:

"Provisioning", "Deprovisioning" and "Attestation". 😯

What else would you use for 'provisioning' then? Bear in mind it's a widely used term with a specific definition.

We invite passengers to de-plane by the rear exit....

De-plane...???????

What else would you use for 'provisioning' then? Bear in mind it's a widely used term with a specific definition.

maybe he wishes that those who had inventorated the terms had not bastardemated other words when envisioning them.

We invite passengers to de-plane by the rear exit....

De-plane...???????

Well if folk start getting off at the rear of the plane, in public, some people might get offended. Mind if the rear of a plane gets you off, that's pretty niche... 😉

Provisioning (when applied to users, or objects in a directory) is only really known to those who have to administer those objects. Before IDAM solutions, or more specifically before SAP and Novell got into the game, everyone just knew it as managing users. It makes it sound like you're installing kit.

It's much nicer and less impersonal to say "I created an account for xxx", "We added xxx to this group" "Please grant mrs XXX access to this application" rather than "I provisioned Mr xxx with xyz" or "mr y has been terminated, apply rapid deprovisioning to their account"

We invite passengers to de-plane by the rear exit....

Well, if you will travel out the back, what do you expect?

We invite passengers to de-plane by the rear exit....

When they arrive in the first place, do you plane them?

Back when the foot-and-mouth epidemic was in full flow, I had cause to be in an airport in Dallas.

I was met by security in the form of a Dallas sheriff, a walking stereotype good ol' boy with a white handlebar moustache and a Stetson. He stopped me and drawled, "scuse me son, have you been on or near a ranch recently?" Gave me pause for a moment whilst I parsed what he was getting at.

Have French Canadians committed similar crimes against the French language?

It's much nicer and less impersonal to say "I created an account for xxx",

I thought provisioning meant a whole package of things the users need, rather than simply an account.

I work day-in day-out with an American identity management product. Some of the functionality includes:

"Provisioning", "Deprovisioning" and "Attestation".

Never mind the provisioning etc, WTF is an identity management product? Do you make name tags?

he puts the staples in your passport

Outwith and redouble
grrrr

(Yes I know outwith is a real Scottish word - still annoys me though)

I find I can be quite hypocritical at times where neologisms and phrases are concerned.

On the one hand, I like the changing language we use and enjoy new words, especially from da kidz, but on the other hand I can be quite sniffy about business phrases like "going forward" etc.

I only found out recently that "outwith" does only seem to be a Scottish word. Had never even occurred to me, I just thought of it as a normal word. It's very common to hear it used up here.

"In life"

Used more on Facebook than at work (sorry, "in the workplace"). It adds absolutely nothing to any statement, it's just a poor attempt at sounding deep. Brits and Americans equally guilty.

Irregardless, I fink dis as all gotten a bit outa hand init. Nahwa I meen man.

All words were neologisms once. This is worth a listen: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03phrwl

molgrips - Member
I think that's a habit though - lots of professions have a strictly defined vocabulary so that there can't be any of the usual misunderstandings and implications we get in everyday speech.

Really?

(Yes I know outwith is a real Scottish word - still annoys me though)

Commented on that during a peer-review the other day (software company, in Scotland, but with international clients).

Thing is, the alternatives sounded much clunkier and didn't parse as well. ("Outside of" doesn't really convey the same meaning IMHO) So really I think it's fine and the heathens should just get used to it. 😉

And what's wrong with "redouble". That's Shakespeare that:

If I say sooth, I must report they were
As cannons overcharged with double cracks, so they
[b]Doubly redoubled strokes upon the foe:[/b]
Except they meant to bathe in reeking wounds,
Or memorize another Golgotha,
I cannot tell.
But I am faint, my gashes cry for help.

(Macbeth)

Somehow I find myself questioning the over use of words or discriptions.
We here ride horses while the Americans go horse back riding. Why the back bit. It's like going bicycle saddle riding or boat paddle rowing. You don't need to tell us which part of the animal your using when only one part can be thanks.

My American colleagues never "use" anything.... they "utilize" it.

"We will utilize a spreadsheet". Annoying.

Also, everything seems to have a "price point" now. How is that different from a "price"?

A price might be "£10" whereas a price point might be "£5 - £15" perhaps?

I'm not entirely sure as I'm comfortable with using "point" to mean "range", but I think that's the intended difference.

Price point means how much you intend it to cost full price when you are designing it. Price is what the retailer ends up selling it for, which could be very different especially in markets where discount sales are prevalent.

When they arrive in the first place, do you plane them?

I believe "enplane" is the preferred word. 😐

And what's wrong with "redouble". That's Shakespeare that:
[i]If I say sooth, I must report they were
As cannons overcharged with double cracks, so they
Doubly redoubled strokes upon the foe:
Except they meant to bathe in reeking wounds,
Or memorize another Golgotha,
I cannot tell.
But I am faint, my gashes cry for help.[/i]
(Macbeth)

Nothing wrong with it when used to mean it's been doubled and then doubled again (quadrupled).
It's too often used to mean a general increase though (I think).