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Showing posts from December, 2019

Let’s Google brands: Oh did I just use a brand name as a verb?

Let’s Google brands: Oh did I just use a brand name as a verb? Yes, you did. But you will want to know how all of us, as users of the English language came to a point where we started using brands as generally as we do. Have you ever wondered why you say “bring me a  coke , will you?” instead of “Bring me an aerated soft drink on your way back” or saying “use a sellotape for that one” instead of just saying, “use a tape for that one” or why was the pug known as the  Vodafone  dog before people knew the real breed name? Although it wouldn’t make sense if someone said, “why are you asking me, just Internet Explorer it” or “Bring me my  Navneet ” (unless you’re in a Punjabi film with a character named Navneet, set in the times when people used Internet Explorer. but that’s not the point here) These are called proprietary eponyms. Language has many characteristics itself, and one of them is it's dynamic. Shakespeare takes the credit for contributing more than 170

Where do jargons go when we have said them?

Scientifically, jargons are basically words and words, they are just sounds that are created from the vibration of your voice box. These soundwaves decay as they spread out and get reflected or refracted. Basically, words dissolve back into the infinite potential of the air that was used to create them. But that’s not what we are here for, right? This is the first example of why not to use jargon when not needed. We can’t emphasize more on the fact that you must avoid jargons, the prominence is apparent in our brand’s name. If you have come across the Forbes’  The Most Annoying, Pretentious and Useless Business Jargon  you might be also aware of your subconscious contribution to this problem. It has ingrained itself in our brains. Let’s get inside the mind of someone who throws jargon like Oprah gives out cars. For a sentence as simple as, “jargons are unnecessary, ” a pretentious jargon user might say, “terminology that stays of least significance remain unwelcome.” It