I don’t know how internet savvy you are, but right now a war is raging on Twitter about which words should be banned from the English language. What sort of words are people talking about? Well, some of the words they want banished are chillax, preggers and totes (which someone explained to me is short for totally). I think that it’s a great irony that this argument is taking place on Twitter, because some of the most offensive words in English seem to have been cooked up on social media.
When I first started reading the lists of words on Twitter that people want banned, I wondered if anyone over the age of 30 uses these words. In fact I had to ask younger people to translate these words into my English. The first words on the list are: Bae (someone’s boyfriend or girlfriend), Holibobs (holidays), chillax (to chill out and relax) and totes (totally). But after I read the entire list I came to the conclusion that no one over the age of 13 should be using these words!
The complete list follows:
Bae (someone’s boyfriend or girlfriend)
Holibobs (holidays)
Chillax (to chill out and relax)
Totes (totally)
Amazeballs (amazing)
Cray cray (crazy)
Banter/Bantz (talk)
Fam (family)
Nom nom (yummy)
Wine o'clock (happy hour)
Yolo (you only live once)
Lolz (laugh out loud – plural)
Well jel (very jealous)
Coolio (cool)
Awks (feeling embarrassed)
Methinks (I think)
Gawjus (gorgeous)
Hun (honey)
Tellybox (TV)
Hubs/Hubby/Hubster (husband)
Staycation (a stay-at-home holiday)
Be like (to act like)
Whevs (whatever)
I know, right? (an acknowledgement that the speaker understands or relates to a situation)
Preggers (pregnant)
Epic (a long, arduous activity)
You must match your speech to your ambitions
I’ve always believed that if you have a dream you should dress, behave, think and speak in a way that is consistent with your dream. If you want to run your own business, write a book, or become a public speaker then you need to develop a demeanour that will take you to where you want to go. But if you used the above vocabulary I’m not sure where it would take you. Perhaps if you’re selling clothes online to teenagers, who want to infuriate their parents, you might have the right tone for your market! Seriously, you need to know who you are addressing in business and in your personal life and match their tone and voice as a mark of respect. Even in emails, you must think seriously about your language and write accordingly. Always avoid language that is offensive.
Of course the language police at times goes too far. This year the Commonwealth Games will be held on the Gold Coast where I live. A training guide for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games advises volunteers to use gender neutral language when addressing visitors. Queensland's Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said this was “political correctness gone mad”. Volunteers must use gender neutral language, they can say ‘parent’ but not mother or father. They can say ‘partner’ but not boyfriend or girlfriend. I wonder if they are allowed to say ‘husband’ and ‘wife’. I’ve always said ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ and never went to that fashionable, gender-neutral word ‘partner’. Now gay marriage is legal in Australia, the words ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ will probably come back into vogue. It’s funny how politics shapes our language.
Like good food, fine language can nourish us
I look at language as I look at food. When it comes to food, you should only allow into your mouth what nourishes you – what gives to your body, in terms of vitamins and minerals. Do not put junk food into your mouth as it does not nourish your body. When it comes to language, the same is true. Only allow in your mouth what nourishes you. That list from Twitter – amazeballs, cray cray, bantz – is junk-food vocabulary. It undermines your mental and spiritual health. But like everyone, sometimes I eat the wrong foods and sometimes I might even swear! How can I describe the power of words? I am going to turn to some brilliant wordsmiths for help …
“Handle them carefully, for words have more power than atom bombs.” – Pearl Strachan Hurd.
“Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate, and to humble,” – Yehuda Berg
“My task, which I am trying to achieve is, by the power of the written word, to make you hear, to make you feel— it is, before all, to make you see,” – Joseph Conrad
“Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it,” – JK Rowling.
When was the last time you read Shakespeare?
Words are a source of magic. By reading beautiful words, speaking them aloud, you can instil beauty into your life. When was the last night you read Shakespeare? If you’ve never read Hamlet, Macbeth or Romeo and Juliet, why not start today. Here is a taste for you,
But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief,
Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2.
There is beautiful language in songs
Every day there is so much beautiful language around us, even in music. Remember that the Nobel Prize for Literature went to Bob Dylan last year. The words of Leonard Cohen’s songs are usually pure genius. This verse from ‘Bird on a Wire’ is poetry.
‘I saw a beggar leaning on his wooden crutch
He said to me, "you must not ask for so much"
And a pretty woman leaning in her darkened door
She cried to me, "hey, why not ask for more?"
Oh, like a bird on the wire
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free’
It takes so much time and energy to craft beauty, whether that be with a pen, paint brush or a musical instrument. If you have a gift with words, please make sure find the time to create beautiful prose. It is a gift you can give the world, but the rest of us, who aren’t wordsmiths, we must stay clear from using the moronic language listed on the Twitter list. We disrespect our self by speaking like this.
I want to leave you with an alternate list. The best Australian novels ever written as voted by Australian readers. Go out and get one, and immerse yourself in beautiful, well-written prose. That has to be good for your soul.
https://blog.booktopia.com.au/2011/01/11/50-must-read-australian-novels-as-voted-by-you-in-2010/
ABOUT PAT MESITI
Pat Mesiti is a best-selling author, coach and educator in the area of personal development. Having built some of Australia’s largest people-driven organisations, Pat understands the power of harnessing human potential. He has shared the stage with some of the world’s great business minds and has sold over millions of copies of his books and materials.