| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4] > | Off topic: The word you hate the most Thread poster: Viktoria Gimbe
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Jeannette Gustavus (X) 
Germany
Local time: 12:34
German to English
| You've reminded me.... | Jan 20, 2008 |
....of another word I hate: "wellness".
In Germany these days, they slap the word "wellness" onto any product that they want you to believe is healthy. You can buy wellness drinks, wellness flakes, wellness this, wellness that. You can spend the weekend in wellness hotels, go on wellness cruises, spend the day at the local wellness center. It drives me up the wall....find a German word for it, please!
| | | | biankonera
Latvia
Local time: 13:34
Italian to Latvian
+ ...
| my choice would be... | Jan 20, 2008 |
"SPA" which gets written on everything just to make you think - oohhh... now Im gonna get something extra super special just because there are the magical three letters on this thingy. Also doing my audiovisual translations Im simply annoyed by everyone being so "excited" all the time. And the list could be concluded with "privacy" and "policies".
| | | | | HR (Human Resource) | Jan 20, 2008 |
Well, I dislike this word because of the changes that have taken in different organisation because of change of vocabulary. Amazing. And sad.
When I was younger, most organisations had a department called HRD (Human Resources Development). Now, the HRD Department has been replaced by HR Department in many organisations.
This implies a major change in organisational philosophy. I have seen the change and it is sad. Now human beings are regarded just as another com... See more Well, I dislike this word because of the changes that have taken in different organisation because of change of vocabulary. Amazing. And sad.
When I was younger, most organisations had a department called HRD (Human Resources Development). Now, the HRD Department has been replaced by HR Department in many organisations.
This implies a major change in organisational philosophy. I have seen the change and it is sad. Now human beings are regarded just as another commodity that can be managed rather than developed. I think it is a dangerous trend (others may or may not agree).
Am I the only one who thinks that the change in philosophy and vocabulary are related? Or is there some truth in it? ▲ Collapse
| | | | | And in Hindi | Jan 20, 2008 |
I guess there are quite a few Indians who grew up hating the words:
"ham dekh rahe hain, ham dekhenge etc." > we are observing, we will see...
Nothing wrong with these words except when a certain politician said it all the time. People were waiting for some action and all they got were observations
I don't think I need to name the person (a politician, obviously) because most Indians would r... See more I guess there are quite a few Indians who grew up hating the words:
"ham dekh rahe hain, ham dekhenge etc." > we are observing, we will see...
Nothing wrong with these words except when a certain politician said it all the time. People were waiting for some action and all they got were observations
I don't think I need to name the person (a politician, obviously) because most Indians would recognize immediately. ▲ Collapse
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First, there is no translation for it in PT. Any proper attempt will go astray from the intended meaning. To empower someone in PT would be to "dar poderes", namely, to "give power", such as to appoint the person to a powerful position, or to grant power of attorney, which is definitely NOT what empowerment is all about in management lingo.
Second, it simply means "properly carried-out delegation". The whole idea came from the poor habit of "delegating tasks" without any deci... See more First, there is no translation for it in PT. Any proper attempt will go astray from the intended meaning. To empower someone in PT would be to "dar poderes", namely, to "give power", such as to appoint the person to a powerful position, or to grant power of attorney, which is definitely NOT what empowerment is all about in management lingo.
Second, it simply means "properly carried-out delegation". The whole idea came from the poor habit of "delegating tasks" without any decision-making power, so the assignee can be blamed for anything undone or improperly done, but cannot change the way or timing to do it.
The term became fashionable because "delegation" alone, over the years, has not been strong enough in practice to encompass the whole process intended. Managers often get cold feet about giving away some of their power, so empowerment works as a reminder. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Juliana Brown
Israel
Local time: 06:34
Member (2007)
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Viktoria, this has opened Pandora's box! | Jan 20, 2008 |
I was just speaking with a favourite client who is finishing his Ph.D. and we commiserated about a whole list of overused 'academic' words we both despise (me from my previous life, in his position).
All those who have been in graduate school, hang on:
pseudo, appropriation, reading (the noun), intertextual, to speak for and to speak to something, voice, identity, structure, meta, authentic, charged, blah blah blah...I could add all the Spanish and Hebrew ones, but I would los... See more I was just speaking with a favourite client who is finishing his Ph.D. and we commiserated about a whole list of overused 'academic' words we both despise (me from my previous life, in his position).
All those who have been in graduate school, hang on:
pseudo, appropriation, reading (the noun), intertextual, to speak for and to speak to something, voice, identity, structure, meta, authentic, charged, blah blah blah...I could add all the Spanish and Hebrew ones, but I would lose it completely then...
Fell free to add your own poor words which have been twisted out of shape and APPROPRIATED by academics. See, it's so ingrained now, I can;t escape it . ▲ Collapse
| | | | Claire Cox
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:34
French to English
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Jeannette Gustavus wrote: ....of another word I hate: "wellness". In Germany these days, they slap the word "wellness" onto any product that they want you to believe is healthy. You can buy wellness drinks, wellness flakes, wellness this, wellness that. You can spend the weekend in wellness hotels, go on wellness cruises, spend the day at the local wellness center. It drives me up the wall....find a German word for it, please!
I don't regard this as an English word at all; in fact, it irritates me whenever I see it in English, which is increasingly often these days. I know it's in the dictionary, but that doesn't mean it sounds any the less made up for that - it always makes me think of a bad translation ..... What's wrong with health or fitness or spa? - Anything but the dreaded "wellness"!
| | | | | The mandatory "quite" | Jan 20, 2008 |
Did you notice how "quite" has become mandatory before any kind of adjective? Quite good, quite beautiful, quite interesting, even quite quiet... It seems that we have all become so afraid of stating an opinion that we have to slip it in like the nervous tic of a bad poker player...
Unfortunately it has stretched to other languages (and for this I blame us translators), where it gets even worse. French speakers have become masters of what I call "self-effacing hyperbole": assez incr... See more Did you notice how "quite" has become mandatory before any kind of adjective? Quite good, quite beautiful, quite interesting, even quite quiet... It seems that we have all become so afraid of stating an opinion that we have to slip it in like the nervous tic of a bad poker player...
Unfortunately it has stretched to other languages (and for this I blame us translators), where it gets even worse. French speakers have become masters of what I call "self-effacing hyperbole": assez incroyable, assez allucinant, assez génial.
Although I must admit the gold medal goes to us Italians, for creating the perfect mix of redundancy and pompousness with "a dir poco". È a dir poco incredibile, a dir poco allucinante, a dir poco geniale...
The day I become master of the world, this will not be tolerated! Be advised
[Edited at 2008-01-20 15:41] ▲ Collapse
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patyjs
Mexico
Local time: 04:34
Spanish to English
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| Are we objecting to the words themselves or how they are used... | Jan 20, 2008 |
or overused?
I happen to like "empowered". It's succinct and carries with it all the implications of giving someone the tools, training, resources etc. they need to carry out a task, delegated to them or not.
Words I dislike (hate is too strong) are usually ones I find phonetically unpleasant, whether in Spanish or English, or that don't quite (sorry, Alain) go with the concept they descibe. "Bulto" to refer to a woman's handbag, for instance, makes me cringe. To me ... See more or overused?
I happen to like "empowered". It's succinct and carries with it all the implications of giving someone the tools, training, resources etc. they need to carry out a task, delegated to them or not.
Words I dislike (hate is too strong) are usually ones I find phonetically unpleasant, whether in Spanish or English, or that don't quite (sorry, Alain) go with the concept they descibe. "Bulto" to refer to a woman's handbag, for instance, makes me cringe. To me it sounds like it should be describing an old sack or something of that ilk. Nothing elegant about it at all.
Words I like are often for the same phonetic reasons (tajante, pristine) but that's another thread... :; ▲ Collapse
| | | | Juliana Brown
Israel
Local time: 06:34
Member (2007)
Spanish to English
+ ...
| It's international! | Jan 20, 2008 |
Alain Dellepiane wrote: Although I must admit the gold medal goes to us Italians, for creating the perfect mix of redundancy and pompousness with "a dir poco". È a dir poco incredibile, a dir poco allucinante, a dir poco geniale... [Edited at 2008-01-20 15:41]
The same disease exists in Hebrew, with everyone saying 'zot omeret' (same as 'a dir poco'), to the point that in speech it's been reduced to one word- ztomeret.
And can we mention people whose inflection rises at the end of declarative sentences, please? I know, it's a separate thread, but it causes the same horror.
| | | | Viktoria Gimbe
Canada
Local time: 06:34
English to French
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TOPIC STARTER | It's the same in Hungary | Jan 20, 2008 |
Jeannette Gustavus wrote:
In Germany these days, they slap the word "wellness" onto any product that they want you to believe is healthy. nd a German word for it, please!
[/quote]
This is going on in Hungary as well. I am afraid they will not find a German word for it and they will find many more English words to be used as if they were German. I am afraid that Europe is a fashion victim at the moment - and the fashion is to pretend to be American by using American words even though people don't speak English. The Japanese have Engrish - well, I am afraid the Hungarians will now have Hungrish and the German will now have Germish.
In Hungary, too, they use the very same word, wellness, all over the place. The more products labeled "wellness" you have in your house, the more fashionable you are. But it doesn't stop there. They have invented a word in the past ten or so years: gél. Guess what English word it comes from... gel! So they can now even have "wellness gél". They used to have a Hungarian word for this before the word "gel" was imported. And then, they also used to have a word for celibacy - well, now, the word they use to say it is "szingli". I'll let you guess where this one came from.
This is scaring me, because I feel that this is the perfect recipe for languages other than English to die out - and with those languages, the cultures of the people who speak those languages will die as well.
[Edited at 2008-01-20 18:30]
| | | | Viktoria Gimbe
Canada
Local time: 06:34
English to French
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TOPIC STARTER | I totally agree | Jan 20, 2008 |
Ritu Bhanot wrote:
Am I the only one who thinks that the change in philosophy and vocabulary are related? Or is there some truth in it?
No, you are not alone. Language is a means to express your culture and your beliefs. It is only natural that the way people speak reflects what they think. If you look at my last couple of posts - this is basically what I am speaking about.
You see, my favorite word to hate is consumer. The reason why is because that is exactly what I am, whether I agree or no. I don't want to be a consumer, yet I cannot survive without consuming. I am killing the planet and causing lots of headaches for future generations. I am guilty of slavery - how many millions of people barely live only so that I can keep on consuming? And when "consumer" is used as an adjective, it gets worse. "Consumer goods" is my favorite. It means things people will pay for to have the pleasure to throw in the garbage. This is very clear. "Consumer electronics" - same thing. "Consumer rights" - ah, well this one really takes the cake. The real meaning of this one is some friendly help so you know how to spend the most money and how to consume the most goods in the shortest period of time.
What I am trying to say is that it is not for nothing that these words are all over the place now. These words always appear at the same time as policies change for the worse, and these words are meant to make it alright for these changes to be in place. If you keep hearing the word "consumer" all day long (it is the case now), it makes consumerism something normal to you. It makes it OK to be a consumer and to consume. The same way, if you keep hearing the word "human resources", it makes it OK for you to consider you are just a commodity, and so on and so forth.
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| Never heard "biological" in that sense | Jan 20, 2008 |
Steven Capsuto wrote: Kristian Madar wrote:
I would go with the organic word, nowadays so popular in Britain. In fact denotes a brand I would go with the organic word, nowadays so popular in Britain. Oh my. Has "biological" passed out of vogue in the UK already? It used to be such foods were "biological" in Britain and "organic" in the U.S.
I'm British, and as far as I'm aware, we only use the word "biological" for washing powder. I've never heard it used in the sense of "organic".
I'm with most of the rest of you on horrible jargon and PC terms like "consumers", "human resources", "appropriate", etc. They're designed to dehumanise and mislead. My absolute pet hate is "collateral damage" - perhaps the biggest euphemism since "Endloesung".
| | | | Steven Capsuto
United States
Local time: 06:34
Member (2004)
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Good to know | Jan 20, 2008 |
Hilary Davies wrote:
I'm British, and as far as I'm aware, we only use the word "biological" for washing powder. I've never heard it used in the sense of "organic".
Thanks for the info. I saw "biological" on several food labels in the UK around 2001, and I just assumed the term was in wide use. It was probably just "Europeanese" on hastily translated packaging.
| | | | | So you want to post a provocative forum thread | Jan 20, 2008 |
I detest books or articles that begin with "So you want to..."
So you want to be a translator.
So you want to succeed in business.
So you want to learn to knit.
So you want to set Jane's teeth on edge.
A similarly cringe-producing locution in Spanish:
¡A [infinitive], se ha dicho! (Something like, "Somebody said, 'Let's [whatever].'")
On a songbook: ¡A cantar, se ha dicho!
On a textbook: ¡A leer, se ha dicho!... See more I detest books or articles that begin with "So you want to..."
So you want to be a translator.
So you want to succeed in business.
So you want to learn to knit.
So you want to set Jane's teeth on edge.
A similarly cringe-producing locution in Spanish:
¡A [infinitive], se ha dicho! (Something like, "Somebody said, 'Let's [whatever].'")
On a songbook: ¡A cantar, se ha dicho!
On a textbook: ¡A leer, se ha dicho!
On a newspaper article in an election year: ¡A votar, se ha dicho!
In my mind: ¡A vomitar, se ha dicho!
[Edited at 2008-01-20 21:41] ▲ Collapse
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