Good with Words

On being ... sold

2009-06-30T07:44:00.000-04:00

By Ingrid Sapona

When I moved here over 20 years ago I found my dentist -- Dr. M -- through a good friend. I liked him from the very first visit and I stuck with him. I was so pleased with my friend’s recommendation of Dr. M, I also signed on with her GP. I went to that doctor for a couple years, but I never felt completely comfortable with her. When she moved her practice to the suburbs I decided to try to find someone closer. At the suggestion of a doctor friend, I got a few names and I basically interviewed them. I struck gold through that process when I found Dr. E. I loved her manner and I felt comfortable enough to discuss anything with her.

One of the things I took into consideration when I was looking for a doctor and dentist was their age. Though there’s something reassuring about a parental figure -- I wanted someone who wouldn’t be retiring for awhile because I didn’t want to be doctor shopping again too soon. I’m not a great judge of age, but I figured Dr. M and Dr. E were only a few years older than me. Did I mention it was about 20 years ago that I found them?

Three years ago when I went for my annual physical Dr. E was not there. She had broken her hip (while running, of all things!) and was out of commission. I had the choice of re-scheduling the physical months later when Dr. E was back or seeing a substitute that Dr. E had found. I kept the appointment and I liked the sub -- she had a similar, approachable style.

Then, about a year ago, I got a letter from Dr. E explaining she was retiring early but that she had found someone to take over her practice. In the letter she introduced Dr. L, telling us about her background and experience. She also explained how we could get our records transferred if we didn’t want to go to the new doctor. Dr. E’s office even had an open house for patients to meet Dr. L. Though I was quite devastated by Dr. E’s retirement, the way she handled the transition made me feel I was being left in good hands.

Earlier this month I had a dental appointment. As the appointment approached, I was surprised Dr. M’s office didn’t call to remind me about it, as they usually do. Finally, the day before the appointment I got a voice mail reminder. The caller (a voice I didn’t recognize) also mentioned “some changes”, including that the office had moved and that a Dr. Y had bought the practice from Dr. M, who had semi-retired.

Stunned, I phoned the office. After first making sure I understood exactly where the new office was, Dr. Y’s receptionist assured me I’d still see my normal hygienist. That was great, I told her, but I wanted to see Dr. M. She said that shouldn’t be a problem because, as it happened, Dr. M would be in that day and she’d make sure he’d see me.

While I was with the hygienist, Dr. M popped his head in and said hello. When the hygienist was done, Dr. Y came in and introduced himself and proceeded to examine me. When he was done, I mentioned I wanted to see Dr. M. He mumbled something under his breath but said that would be fine and he dispatched the hygienist to get Dr. M.

When she came back and said Dr. M. was busy, I said I’d be happy to wait at reception until he was free. I could tell this didn’t set well, but I didn’t care. A few minutes later I was ushered into Dr. M’s office. Dr. M clearly thought I was there for his opinion on my dental health, but I told him that wasn’t my main concern.

I explained that I found it odd that he hadn’t sent a letter or anything. He sighed and said that he planned on doing so and had written one but that Dr. Y asked him not to send it. Instead, apparently, Dr. Y agreed to give a copy of the letter to patients when they came in. Well, despite having had my exam and having paid, I wasn’t given any letter.

Dr. M was apologetic and asked his assistant to get me a copy of it. While we were waiting he explained that he didn’t think it was appropriate to mail a letter before the deal closed but he planned on sending one immediately afterward. But, once the sale was completed, Dr. Y pointed out that, strictly speaking, the patients were no longer Dr. M’s and Dr. Y didn’t want the letter sent. Dr. Y’s rationale was that he thought a letter might prompt patients to go elsewhere, especially since the office itself had relocated.

I told Dr. M that I disagreed with that decision and I explained that, if anything, the way it was handled left me feeling abandoned, not to mention wondering about Dr. Y’s credentials. In essence, I wanted to hear something from Dr. M that would make me feel reassured about the person to whom my care was being entrusted.

On an intellectual level I know medicine is a business and that practices are “bought and sold”, but as a patient I don’t appreciate being made to feel that I’m a commodity that’s just part of a deal. And, having been part of two such sales in the past year, I can tell you there’s more to buying a practice than buying a roster of names. Or, to put it another way, when a doctor buys a practice he ought to realize that patients must be “sold” on being treated by the new guy and that that sale isn’t about business.

© 2009 Ingrid Sapona

U.K.'s Local Goverment Association bans jargon

2009-03-22T17:17:00.004-04:00

BBC News has reported that the Local Government Association (an association of 466 local government authorities throughout the UK) is encouraging its staff to avoid the use of jargon. According to the BBC, local and central governments are often criticized for their use of language.

Margaret Eaton, chair of the Local Government Association, explained its reasoning: "During the recession, it is vital that we explain to people in plain English how to get access to the 800 different services that total government provides with taxpayers' money. Councils have a duty, not only to provide value for money to local people, but also to tell people what they get for the tax the pay. People would be furious if they have no idea of what services their cash is paying for and how they should get to use them".

Hear,hear!

To see the complete list of the 200 words the Local Government Association has banned, click here.

Good grammar!

2009-03-03T15:26:00.004-05:00

I can't believe it's almost that time of year again! But it is...

Yes, March 4th is National Grammar Day according to the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar (SPOGG).

Though it may still be snowy and cold where you live (it's cold here, but the snow's pretty much gone) -- I hope you take a moment to celebrate the role good grammar plays in making an all too confusing world world a wee bit easier to understand.

On being ... an unexpected pleasure?

2008-11-16T06:29:00.002-05:00

By Ingrid Sapona

Though I always have a book on the go (I read mainly at the gym -- it’s a great way to pass time on the bike), I’m not a voracious reader. I don’t consider myself a particularly picky reader, but the reality is there are only so many hours in the day (or on the bike), so I won’t read just anything. I pretty much only read things friends have recommended or that I heard about that sounded interesting.

About half the books I read are things my sisters and friends have lent me. We all buy books and then kind of informally share them. Once in awhile, based on a friend’s description, I’ll pass on a book offered to me (especially if the most she can say about it is: “it was interesting”) -- but I give most things that come from friends at least a try.

The rest of the books I read are those I’ve heard about somewhere and got from the library. The Toronto Public Library has a great on-line catalog and you can order books from it via the Internet. To order a title you simply place a hold on it and they forward a copy of it to your local branch. When a book you’ve ordered comes, you get an automated message telling you that you have a week to pick it up at your branch.

I routinely skim the weekend book reviews and every now and then a review peaks my interest and I order the book from the library. As well, I occasionally go to book readings and if I hear an author and think they’re interesting, I might order one of their works from the library.

I also end up ordering from the library books that I hear about on t.v. Yes, some are ones I’ve heard about on Oprah -- but, it’s usually not her Book Club selections I’m interested in -- it’s usually some work of non-fiction that a guest has written. (Ok, some are “self-help”, but who couldn’t use a little help now and then??)

By far, my biggest source of reading inspiration comes from guests on Charlie Rose. The thing I love most about his show is how surprisingly interesting I find many of his guests. At the top of every broadcast he briefly previews the guests and topics and sometimes I think, “Jeez, why is he wasting time on that topic, or who cares about that person?” Almost invariably when I think that, by the end of the show I’ve written down some guest’s name and the title of their latest book.

A classic example that still sticks out in my mind was years ago when he had on Mike Hebron, a golf coach. I thought that segment would be a big yawner for me, since I don’t golf and I’m not into competitive sports. But what Hebron had to say about how we learn things was so interesting, I ended up reading his book.

At any given time I have a half-dozen or so books on order at the library. If there’s a waiting list for a particular book, the wait can be months. Because the library’s automated call doesn’t tell you what book has come in, the only way to find out is to go to the library and pick up it up. Half the time I forget what I’ve ordered, but that’s ok -- I think of the book waiting for me as a little gift to myself.

Last week I got a message that a book came in. Because I needed to return one I just finished, I was pleased at the timing. So, yesterday I went to the library. Now, as I mentioned, it’s not unusual for me to I forget having ordered a book. But normally I remember it as soon as I see the title or the author’s name. This time, however, neither rang a bell with me. I quickly read the book jacket as the librarian was checking the book out to me, but that didn’t help either. (Worse yet, the synopsis kind of turned me off.)

I was so baffled, I asked the librarian to double check to make sure it wasn’t a mistake. She did and assured me I had definitely ordered it. All the way home I strained my memory trying to figure out how I heard of the book or author. Adding to the puzzle is the fact that the author is from the Dominican Republic -- surely I’d remember having seen him or heard him, I thought.

I don’t mind admitting that I found it rather disconcerting that I’ve drawn a complete blank about having ordered it -- after all, to order a book from the library requires both intent and action: first you have to search for it by title or author and then to place the hold you have to enter your 13-digit library card number. Hardly steps one sleepwalks through!

Finally, after sleeping on it, I decided the best thing for me to do is just start reading it and enjoy the unexpected pleasure that is no doubt in store for me as I (re)discover what it was about the book or author that made me want to order it!

© 2008 Ingrid Sapona

Word of the Week, Month, and Year: VOTE

2008-11-03T18:59:00.002-05:00

In case you're wondering, I'm writing about the verb form of the word.

I don't need to define it for you -- you know what it means. I hope you also know how important it is that you do it. And, if you need a reason -- just think of it as a privilege that many people around the world are not fortunate enough to have.

So, please vote.

Word of the Week: robo-call

2008-10-19T11:11:00.001-04:00

I first heard this week's word of the week (robo-call) this morning when Colin Powell used it on Meet the Press. Of course, Powell didn't stop and define it (for those like me who had never heard of the word), but from the context I figured he was referring to those annoying taped phone messages we've all received -- often from telemarketers, but also from various political groups.

When I heard the word, I made a mental note of it, but I didn't rush to look it up or anything. But then, about an hour later, I was reading an article in the Sunday Toronto Star and the word came up in an Associated Press article about -- you guessed it -- the U.S. election. This time, not only did I make a mental note of it (and the fact that it was hypehnated, making it, basically, a compound adjective), I decided to look it up on Merriam-webster.com.

Given that I suspect the term is of fairly new, I wasn't surprised I couldn't find in on Merriam-webster.com. I then turned to WordSpy.com -- the great resource for new words. To my surprise, robocall wasn't listed there either.

So, though I never intended Word of the Week to be on the cutting edge of new words, I'm not opposed to the idea either. Therefore, I offer "robo-call" -- those taped phone messages sent out using an automated calling system. Mind you, I'm not condoning robo-calls, I'm just saying that it seems there is now a name for those annoying calls!

Word of the Week: upon

2008-10-10T09:49:00.002-04:00

I chose this week's word of the week for two reasons. First, I've been working on a big editing project for a corporate client -- one with more than half dozen different writers -- and each one of them used "upon". For example: upon receipt of an assignment; upon closure of the file; upon contact with; etc.

The first few times I came across it, I unceremoniously changed "upon" to "on" -- it just sounded more normal to me. After awhile, however, use of "upon" was so prevalent, I began wondering if there was some corporate policy to use "upon" instead of on. (I thought maybe they were using a style sheet I wasn't aware of!)

At some point, I decided I had better look "upon" up, to make sure I could justify making the change. I'm pleased to say I was right, as Merriam.webster.com uses one word to define "upon": on. Interestingly, it also notes that "upon" is from the 12th century (which explains why it sounded so stilted and, well, out-of-date to me).

Anyway -- at the same time that I was lopping off the "up" on all those "upons", I was working on another project where there was a strict length limit based on the number of characters (rather than words). I can't tell you how frustrating it was to cut and paste text into the template we were working on and get an error message that read something like: "17 characters too long". When that happens you find yourself carefully combing through the text, literally looking for ways of eliminating a character here and there. So, when you're in that granular editing mode, you think to yourself -- if I make that "upon" into "on", I can save two characters!

So there you have it -- two reasons you should think twice before using "upon": you can save yourself characters and demonstrate to your readers that you're no longer in the 12th century.

Word of the Week: maverick

2008-10-03T16:48:00.003-04:00

I always thought a maverick was a horse. Turns out, I was confusing it with a mustang... oh well.

So, trying hard to make sense of the current U.S. presidential race, I thought I had better look maverick up. Here's how Merriam-webster.com defines it:

1: an unbranded range animal ; especially : a motherless calf
2: an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party

Unfortunately, that doesn't help me much in understanding why being a maverick (or at least seeing ones self as a maverick) makes one particularly appealing as a presidential or vice presidential choice. (Not to mention that it seems kind of odd to think of the head of a party as someone who relished the idea that they don't go along with others in their party...)

I guess I'd rather vote for someone who is qualified, experienced, level-headed, and smart, and who proudly heads a party whose ideals are well reasoned and clearly articulated than someone who seems to prize being a maverick more than anything.

Word of the Week: venerable

2008-09-21T13:16:00.000-04:00

I can't help wonder if everyone's as tired as I am of hearing about the venerable financial institutions that are crumbling around us.The first few times I heard the term used to describe Lehman Brothers (or was it Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac? I can't remember), though I thought I knew what venerable meant, I decided to look it up. Here's how Merriam-Webster.com
defines it:

1: deserving to be venerated – used as a title for an Anglican archdeacon or for a Roman Catholic who has been accorded the lowest of three degrees of recognition for sanctity 2: made sacred especially by religious or historical association 3 a: calling forth respect through age, character, and attainments (a venerable jazz musician); broadly: conveying an impression of aged goodness and benevolence (encouraged by the venerable doctor’s head-nodding) b: impressive by reason of age(under venerable pines)

I think it's likely that most people have meant the third definition for venerable when they're using it to describe financial institutions. On the other hand, maybe the nod to religion in the first and second definitions is more apropos. After all, I think there's a good argument that much of the financial mess we're in was caused by the misplaced reverence people have had for these institutions.

Word of the Week: posh

2008-09-14T13:13:00.002-04:00

As is often the case, this week's Word of the Week was something I came across in the newspaper. Those up on pop culture will probably know why I saw the word in the paper this week. Those not up on pop culture might think I was reading about some new high-end restaurant or store. (After all, Merriam-Webster.com defines posh as "elegant, fashionable".)

Well, in truth, it wasn't really the word that was in the news -- it was the person who goes by the name "Posh" (or Posh Spice, to be more accurate).

Actually, as I write this, I realize maybe Word of the Week should have been "news" -- as clearly the definition of what constitutes news is changing from when I was in journalism school. Who would have guessed that someone getting a new hairstyle would be news!

Word of the Week: submit

2008-09-07T11:16:00.001-04:00

Some words just bug me -- submit is one. Actually, it’s not the word that drives me crazy -- it’s when people use it to sound like a lawyer. (Actually, their version of a lawyer, which is pretty much Perry Mason saying something like: "I submit, your honour, that my client -- Colonel Mustard -- could not have killed Miss Peacock in the library using the candelabra!) I know using submit is perfectly proper, it's just overly formal and smacks of legalese.

Submit came up not too long ago when I had a client who was invited to give its opinion on a public policy issue. The client's legal department wrote an opinion paper on the issue and the paper truly was a “submission”, in that the client was submitting it in response to a specific request for input. Even so, I urged them to resist using “submit” with regard to the separate points or opinions they were expressing.

For example, rather than say, “We submit that treating the matter this way would harm…", I encouraged them to say, “We believe treating the matter this way would harm …” or, “It’s our opinion that treating the matter this way would harm…”.

Often, when I press a client and to say “it’s our opinion”, instead of “we submit”, the client resists. When I ask why, the answer almost always has something to do with them feeling somehow self-conscious asserting their opinion. But that’s nonsense, I point out, since to submit something is to put forth an opinion.

So, I say -- don’t hide behind “submit” -- if you have an opinion, state it in plain language and stand by it!

Word of the Week: flexicurity

2008-08-31T11:04:00.001-04:00

Flexicurity appeared in a column by Carol Goar in the Toronto Star on Friday, August 29, 2008. I found the word intriguing and her comments and commentary quite interesting -- so rather than add my own two cents, I recommend you read her column.

One thing I will add, however, is that -- out of curiosity -- I checked Word Spy to see whether they have caught the word. Remember, Word Spy is dedicated to defining terms that have appeared in newspapers and magazines. I was surprised to see that flexicurity goes back to at an Associated Press article from 1997!

Here's how it's defined in Word Spy: flexicurity n. Labor practices that give companies the flexibility to fire workers as needed and offer fired workers the security of government-backed benefits and retraining opportunities. —adj. [Blend of flexibility and security.]

So -- though I agree with Ms. Goar that it's faintly Orwellian, I suspect that in months and years to come, flexicurity will catch on -- both as a word, and as a labour policy.

Just because you can

2008-08-28T15:49:00.002-04:00

As a communications consultant, I realize good communication isn’t just about words. How a document looks has an impact on how the information is received. To me, the best projects are ones where the text and design work together to create a document that’s both useful and compelling.

The ability to “PDF” (which stands for Portable Document Format) documents has gained popularity over the past five years and many companies and organizations have found “PDF’ing” documents an easy way to put information up on their web sites.

One of the main features of PDF is that it allows you to append the document in a way that reproduces the formatting, layout, and colours of the original. And, with the right software (Adobe is the most common), users can see the document in its original splendor and, theoretically, print it for themselves, if they want.

I used the adverb “theoretically” because on at least two occasions recently, I printed out PDF documents I downloaded from the Internet and, when I retrieved them from the printer, I was irritated to find that they didn’t print right – somehow a bunch of text got cut off. After trying again with the same result, I looked more closely at the print dialog box and noticed that the document was formatted for oversize paper (81/2” x 14” in one case and something even bigger in the other case).

In both cases, I'm sure the original documents were made and printed for handing out to customers and clients. The documents were lovely to look at and the organizations no doubt thought they were just making the most by putting the documents (brochures in both cases) up on their web site. Unfortunately, they never gave any thought to how readers might use the PDF version. (I’m sure I’m not the only person who prints things off.)

So, my advice is simple: while attaching PDF documents to your web site is a great way of maintaining the look of the document, remember that there'll be readers who will print the information and chances are they will be using standard paper. So, if the PDF document doesn’t print well on standard paper, rather than doing your audience a service by providing the information, you’ll end up just irritating folks.

In other words, don’t just PDF because you can. Be mindful of the way people use PDF documents and consider re-formatting them if necessary to make them printer friendly.

Word of the Week: twee

2008-08-24T08:24:00.009-04:00

It's not often that I come across a word on the front page of a major daily newspaper that I've never seen or heard -- but it happened this morning when I read the first sentence in an article about an on-going battle that has raged this summer on the shores of Georgian Bay. Here's the lead in a Toronto Star article by Murray Whyte:

"BALM BEACH, ONT. -- Idyllic and twee, this little lakeside hamlet, complete with a shabby arcade featuring a menu of greasy summertime delights, would seem the unlikeliest place to be pondering its own version of martial law. But here in the Township of Tiny, on the shores of Georgian Bay, desperate times call for desperate measures."

I know what you're thinking -- Township of Tiny? Well, it's true -- that's the name of the township where Balm Beach, the beach the story's about, is located. But that's not what snagged me.

What tripped me up was "twee". So naturally, I had to look it up. Here's what it means, according to Merriam-webster.com: "chiefly British : affectedly or excessively dainty, delicate, cute, or quaint".

I could have guessed it was "chiefly British" (could there have been any doubt?). But even so, I felt like a bit of an illiterate (it was, after all, a word on the front page of the paper) -- until, that is, I read the etymology. According to Merriam-webster.com, it is a "baby-talk alteration of sweet". Well, that makes me feel better -- no reason any of us with non-British parents would have been subjected to such excessively dainty, delicate, cute, or quaint a word.

Word of the Week: parse

2008-08-17T17:48:00.003-04:00

Parse isn't a word I use, but when I hear it, I usually feel pretty confident that I “get” what it means. That’s certainly how I felt when Andrew Bacevich used it in an interview on Bill Moyers Journal the other day. Here’s the sentence (from the transcript of that interview) in which he used it:

“Parsing every word, every phrase, that either Senator Obama or Senator McCain utters, as if what they say is going to reveal some profound and important change that was going to come about if they happened to be elected.”

From the way he used it I figured it has to do with pulling apart every sentence to try to figure out what the speaker means. (Not a huge intellectual challenge figuring it out from what Bacevich said, I know!)

Though I was confident I had the gist of the meaning, I decide to look it up. Indeed, the second meaning (for the transitive verb), according to Merriam-webster.com, was bang on: “2: to examine in a minute way: analyze critically”.

But what I found interesting was the first definition (for the transitive verb): “1a : to resolve (as a sentence) into component parts of speech and describe them grammatically b: to describe grammatically by stating the part of speech and explaining the inflection and syntactical relationship”. So, my assumption about it having to do with pulling apart every sentence was correct, but I didn’t realize it meant doing so in terms of parts of speech.

I’m guessing, but I suspect Bacevich is of the generation that was taught how to diagram a sentence -- so he probably could parse a sentence into its parts of speech. Unfortunately, many of us never learned how to do that. (I think I had a substitute teacher who tried to teach us, but it wasn’t a normal part of our curriculum -- and I'm pretty sure it hasn’t been for some time.) That’s a pity, I think…

I guess the only kind of parsing most of us will ever do is the kind described in the second definition.

Word of the Week: deadline

2008-08-11T16:36:00.003-04:00

This week's word is a reflection of my mood, and the fact that many of my clients have had me “on hold” the past few weeks. All I can figure is that they don't seem to know what deadline means -- or maybe they don't realize that deadline means the same thing when applied to something they're suppose to send me as when they expect something from me.

Anyway, in light of this, I thought I'd make deadline my word of the week to suggest to Merriam-Webster.com that it update its definition.

Here’s how they (currently) define it:

1: a line drawn within or around a prison that a prisoner passes at the risk of being shot 2 a: a date or time before which something must be done;b: the time after which copy is not accepted for a particular issue of a publication.

I think they should add this as a third entry: A date or time something is due, or promised, but not delivered by.

Black backgrounds

2008-08-04T11:28:00.003-04:00

I’ve always preferred serif fonts -- things like Times New Roman and Courier -- and I try to encourage my clients to use them. These days, I’d say more of my clients use sans serif fonts (like Arial), so pushing serif fonts is an uphill battle. (I recently had one client demand use of Verdana, a font that I wasn’t familiar with. When I asked why they wanted Verdana I was told it is the font the company adopted for its web site, but my client didn’t know why. Interestingly, since then I read somewhere else that Verdana was specifically created for web text, so I guess greater minds than mine have decided that.)

Anyway, having given up the battle for serif fonts, lately I’ve taken up a new cause: fighting against using black backgrounds and white (or, worse yet, yellow!) text on web sites. I’ve come across a number of sites with black backgrounds lately and they drive me crazy because they are very hard to read. I don’t want to name any sites here (but if you drop me an e-mail, I’ll give you an example), but I’m sure you’ve seen some yourself.

Please -- however boring it may seem -- stick to white, or light coloured, backgrounds with dark coloured text. Your readers will thank you. (Actually, that’s a lie. Your readers will not thank you if you use a white background because they won’t notice it. But believe me, they will notice -- and be very frustrated -- if you use a hard-to-read dark background with white text.)

Word of the Week: Cuil

2008-08-02T18:35:00.004-04:00

Those of you who’ve been paying attention to the news the past few days will have seen this word. It’s the name of a Internet search engine that debuted this week. I first saw a reference to it in the letters section of the Toronto Star. I hadn’t seen the original news story to which readers were responding, but I gathered from the letters that this is some new search engine that was/is hoping to go head-to-head with Google.

What I didn’t know when I read the letters was how to pronounce it. As a result, in my mind, I “heard” it as separate letters: C-U-I-L. (In other words, I didn’t sound it out.) Well, since then, I’ve seen/heard more news stories about it and I've learned that apparently it’s pronounced “cool”. A cute (if annoying) play on words, I thought.

Well, before sitting down to write this, I thought I better look it up, just in case it’s really a word. (Or very similar to, or inspired by, a real word – kind of the way Google is – arguably – inspired by: googol, which (according to Merriam-webster.com) is the figure 1 followed by 100 zeros equal to 10100.) As I suspected, Cuil is not listed as a word on Merriam-webster.com. (Interestingly, as of today, it’s not listed on WordSpy either.)

Curious about this new word and new search engine, I went on Cuil.com to see whether it explained the genesis of the name. According to them, “Cuil is an old Irish word for knowledge.” Not having access to an old Irish dictionary, I couldn’t verify this claim – but it certainly sound impressive.

Anyway, for the time being, Cuil isn't a word I’ll be using. But, my guess is Cuil will probably make it into common parlance sooner than we think. (Given the initial reviews and commentary about the search engine, Cuil could become the 21st century equivalent of the Edsel, but I hope not.)

Word of the Week: lexpionage

2008-07-26T07:34:00.005-04:00

It certainly comes as no surprise to me that there are lots of people as interested in words as I am. That said, I was surprised when I came upon Word Spy, a web site devoted to "lexpionage", which it describes as "sleuthing of new words and phrases". To make it onto Word Spy the word (or phrase) has to have appeared multiple times in newspapers, magazines, books, Web sites and other recorded sources.

I don't know who's behind the site, but it's a neat idea and fun to scroll through and see how creative some folks are with words. So, enjoy...

Word of the Week: boreal

2008-07-20T19:56:00.004-04:00

“Ontario will protect a huge swath of its northern boreal forest in an effort to fight climate change and save polar bears and other threatened species.” When I read this in an article in the Toronto Star on July 14, 2008, I thought to myself, “Gee, I wonder what kind of trees are in a “boreal forest”."

My confusion continued the next day (July 15^th) when I read the lead in another story (by the same writer) in the Toronto Star. This one started out, “Ontario has made the largest conservation commitment in Canadian history, setting aside at least half the Northern Boreal region -- 225,000 square kilometres -- for permanent protection from development…”. Hmmm… capital N, capital B -- sounds like it’s a proper name. Now I’m really confused.

Unfortunately, an editorial on July 15^th in the Toronto Star didn’t clear up my confusion -- it actually added to it. Here’s the first line of it: “For most Ontarians, the vast boreal forest that blankets the province's far north is little more than an abstraction.”

That makes me think (again) that a boreal forest is a type of forest. So, after that, I did what I should have done the first time I read about the boreal forest. I looked up boreal. Here’s how Merriam-webster.com defines boreal: 1: of, relating to, or located in northern regions (boreal waters) 2: of, relating to, or comprising the northern biotic area characterized especially by dominance of coniferous forests.

Given this definition, my view is that unless the "Northern Boreal" forest is a proper name for a region, it’s redundant to refer to it as that, and it’s also redundant to tell readers that the boreal forest blankets the province’s far north -- where else would it be?

Word of the Week: altercation

2008-07-13T14:38:00.003-04:00

A friend and I were driving and listening to the local news on the radio. One of the news stories was about a guy who was killed the previous night. Along with telling us where he was found, the newscaster also mentioned that the deceased had been in an altercation earlier in the evening. No other information was given, but my friend and I took this additional bit of information to mean that the fact he was involved in an altercation had something to do with his death.

Immediately after that news story my friend asked me the definition of altercation. I said I wasn’t sure, but I thought it was a fight -- a physical fight. My friend wasn’t sure, but he tended to agree with me. Both of us agreed that, in any event, “altercation” was vague.

When I got home, I looked altercation up. Here’s how Merriam-webster.com defines it: “a noisy heated angry dispute; also: noisy controversy synonyms: see quarrel.

Clearly, I was wrong in thinking an altercation is a physical fight -- it is verbal. That being the case, it would have been lots clearer (to more listeners, I’d venture to say) had the newscaster simply said the guy got into a heated argument earlier in the evening.

So, the question I couldn't help wonder was why the newscaster didn't use argument instead? Did he think listeners would've thought less of him if he'd used a simpler, more widely-understood word? I don't think many would have minded. Indeed, if anything, I think more listeners would simply have understood what he said and would have listened for the next news item, rather than get distracted (like my friend and I did) trying to figure out what he meant.

Word of the Week: bloviate

2008-07-06T20:55:00.002-04:00

The following is from a recent Toronto Star editorial about a Supreme Court of Canada case on free speech:

"In an on-air commentary, Rafe Mair, an ex-politician turned bloviator for a Vancouver radio station, compared Kari Simpson, an anti-gay activist, to Hitler, among others. She sued him on the grounds that his remarks suggested she condones violence against gays and were, therefore, defamatory. The British Columbia court of appeal sided with the plaintiff, but the Supreme Court overturned that ruling. ...

"That's good news for talk-show hosts, newspaper columnists, bloggers ... and editorial writers."

I had certainly heard the word bloviate before, and, given the context in which it was used, I was pretty sure I knew what it meant. But, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen it used in print. What I wondered was whether it’s a relatively new word -- like blog and blogosphere -- that’s now made its way into common usage -- or at least common enough for use in editorials.

So I looked it up. According to Merriam-webster.com, bloviate means “to speak or write verbosely and windily”. The definition didn't surprse me; what did, however, was that it is hardly a new word. Indeed, according to Merriam-webster.com it is “circa 1879”. So, I guess we can’t blame talk radio and the Internet for creating bloviators -- just for giving them a more wide-reaching forum.

Word of the Week: onomatopoeia

2008-06-28T22:40:00.005-04:00

This week I was at a jazz festival. Improvisational riffs back and forth between musicians have always fascinated me, as has the word “riff” itself. I know, strictly speaking, riff’s not onomatopoeic, but it is fun to say, which I think is the main reason I like the word. Anyway, given that it’s been on my mind, I thought riff would be a good choice for Word of the Week.

But, when I started writing this, I did a quick check to make sure riff doesn’t fit the definition of onomatopoeia. Turns out I was right, Merriam-webster.com defines onomatopoeia as: 1 the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it (as buzz, hiss), and 2 the use of words whose sound suggests the sense.

After looking it up, I realized that onomatopoeia should be the Word of the Week. After all, it’s even more fun to say than riff, which means it’s an even better reminder that words can live in our ears and mouths, as well as on the page.

Word of the Week: funk

2008-06-21T11:16:00.002-04:00

I was at an Ontario wine fair the other day and I wanted to try a sparkling wine called “Funk Blanc de Noir 2000” from the Thirteenth Street Winery. I went up to the winery’s table and, putting my glass up, asked to try the “Funk”. The guy from the winery reached for a bottle of chardonnay. Pulling my glass back, I said, “No, I want the bubbly -- you know, the Funk.”

The guy apologized and as he poured me some of the sparkling he explained that the chardonnay is also a Funk wine. I didn’t know what he was talking about, as the label for the chardonnay simply said, “Reserve Chardonnay 2005”, while “Funk” was clearly printed in large letters on the sparkling wine’s label. He then explained that both wines are from grapes grown on property that was once owned by the Funk family, hence the reference to Funk.

The guy from the winery said that it wasn’t until he started attending such wine events that he realized consumers thought they probably used the word as a marketing ploy. That was exactly what I thought. (For better or worse, marketing is becoming ubiquitous in the world of wines just as it is in other things, hence names for wines like Fat Bastard, Ted the Mule, The Lackey, etc.)

Apparently, as a result of others’ confusion, the guy from the winery has come to realize how many different meanings there are to the word. (Indeed, Merriam-Webster.com lists seven meanings.) I could think of many different definitions myself, but I had never even considered Funk as a surname.

I thought funk deserves to be word of the week not because of its many definitions and possible marketing uses, but because the way the word came to my attention this week reminded me that sometimes turning to the dictionary to find out what a word “means” isn’t the answer!

Word of the Week: sorry

2008-06-15T10:22:00.000-04:00

"Sorry" was front and centre in the lives of all Canadians this week as a result of the long-awaited official apology issued by the Prime Minister to our country's natives for the suffering caused by the residential school program.

Stephen Marche had some interesting comments on the nature of the word in his article, "Canada's national word". While I don't agree with all that Marche wrote, like the apology itself, his comments are worth reflecting on...