Made-up words should still make sense
June 25th, 2008 by screenwriterguy
I’m not one to get worked up over the semantics of language.
I have a friend whose pet peeve is people saying, “ATM machine.” After all, he points out, the ‘M’ already stands for ‘machine.’ You’re effectively calling it an Automatic Teller Machine Machine. (It doesn’t help that people use PIN numbers to access their ATM machines.)
Another friend appreciates the fact that my voice message says, “Hi, you’ve reached screenwriterguy’s voice mail. Leave a message.” I do NOT say you’ve reached screenwiterguy, because you haven’t. I say you’ve reached his voice mail. (Meanwhile, as a society, when are we all finally going to stop leaving instructions for how to leave a message? “Please leave your name, the time you called, the best time to get back to you…” Aagh!)
I didn’t think I was as anal as either of these guys, but lately I’ve had some real sand under the eyelid over use of the word, “blog.”
As most people know, “blog” comes from “web log.” A log, of course, is a record of things that happen on a journey. So your web log is a recording of stuff that happens to you in the journey that is your life. A journal on the internet. The English language being a flexible thing, “blog” soon became a verb.
However, some have started using the word “blog” to describe an individual piece of a blog, as in: “ScreenwriterGuy put together this blog today on proper sea serpent training technique…”
People, this is not OK! It makes no sense to say that today I wrote a log, because the log is the complete collection of recordings. It’s akin to using the word ‘teeth’ to describe an individual tooth. Yet that is the recent, misguided trend on the web. (I’m looking at you, MySpace.)
Sure, I know that the word “blog” has existed less than ten years, and like I said, English is flexible. But that’s precisely the point. We can turn the tide. The message one writes each day is called an “entry.” Refuse to misuse, ladies and gentlemen, and others will follow, before “I wrote this blog today,” is a way people talk. Act now, before “blog” becomes the next “ATM machine.”
Similar Posts:
Jun 25th 2008 at 9:20 am
Right on. It’s so annoying to hear.
Jun 25th 2008 at 7:51 pm
I’m glad someone likes _your_ third person voicemail message. I’ve been taunted mercilessly about mine for ages.
Blarg. I sympathize about the blog entry weirdness. Language is funky. My peeves start with “pre-order” and go from there…
Keep up the good work!
Jun 25th 2008 at 8:05 pm
Ummmm… “semantics of language” is redundant, no? Doesn’t “semantics” cover it?
Jun 25th 2008 at 9:33 pm
Ouch. You got me, Felix. Technically, I think it includes meanings of signs as well as just language, but definitely it’s communication. So, yep, redundant.
But let’s not quibble over semantics…
Jun 25th 2008 at 11:14 pm
Meanwhile, I forgot to say that “post” is acceptable, along with “entry.” Just not “blog”!!!