Too Many Words: Must Use Them All

What a wonderful thing the English language is. It’s a rich mixture of all languages that the English people have come across, from those we have ruled or governed, such as China and India, and from those that have invaded us, the Normans and the Saxons. It is probably the largest language in the World, and, with so many words available, gives us an amazing number of ways to express ourselves. Sometimes, though, I think we may have too many words, because some people feel the need to use as many of them as possible.

Some years ago, someone informing me of some event, said that it was taking place, “at this very precise moment in time.” I replied, “You mean ‘Now’.” This is an example of Circumlocution, using more words than are needed. Great if you are being paid by the word. A similar problem is pleonasm. Pleonasm [which] means using [a number of] unnecessary words which [serve to] make the sentence [a great deal] longer [than it should be]. Circumlocution and pleonasm are staples of legalese and civil service jargon, but the worst examples of both were in a book I reviewed some years ago which was filled with this type of writing (plus every other mistake that could be made).

I’m not an expert on the English language by a long way, but I know enough to find certain things annoying. Circumlocution and pleonasm I find more amusing than anything else, but what bugs me is using the wrong word. Supermarket express checkouts seem to be the main culprits. At my local store, the express checkout has a sign above it, “12 items or less.” People in corporations should know better. Surely some of them have a grasp of English. It’s “12 items or fewer.” I’ve also heard people say, “What are you inferring?” when they mean implying.

But it’s tautology that both amuses and irritates me. I walk through a shopping mall and see a sign telling me that if I go into the store and spend more than a certain amount, I can get a “Free Gift”. How many of us have actually paid for a gift? I’m going to assume none, seeing as the word gift means something given free. Tautology is the needless addition of a modifying word that repeats the meaning of the word being modified.