Comments on: Chopping Off Syllables

By: john k lindgren

john k lindgren — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:59:19 +0000

“Chopping Off Syllables” the French they do it a lot.

Like:

“MacDo” is MacDonald’s

“RestoU” Restaurant Universitaire (Faculty canteen)

“Metro” Metropolitan (subway) (underground)

I cannot think of anymore now,

Cheers,

John K.Lindgren
http://www.carsanook.com

By: Don

Don — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 09:28:05 +0000

This reminds me of H.G. Wells’ “The Time Machine”. The language of the future consisted of short sentences made up of two words and no flowery or figurative language. Maybe in the year 800,000 we will have no need for superfluous syllables.

By: Brad K.

Brad K. — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:46:16 +0000

My first reaction is that graph is more commonly used to mean “graphical display of data”. I hadn’t encountered the “paragraph” usage.

op for opportunity overlooks one common phrase, photo op for “photographic public relations opportunity”.

pix – pictures
pixel – picture element
sex – gender/sexual intercourse/sexually intimate relationship/(or Bruce Willis’ – I love this one, from The Whole Nine Yards) Sexual congress.
porn – pornographic or sexually related or sexually explicit depiction in video, text, or image.

How much of the “chopping off syllables” is an ongoing transition of English from its Old German roots? I noticed on a visit to Germany in 1975 that much of German depends on stacking syllables on top of more syllables – using compound words instead of phrases. The Deutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum (DSM), or German Maritime Museum, was one example. I recall this particular name, because they had a cheery and provocative series of posters advertising the museum.

Some of the .. abbreviations? .. are from an attempt to condense business communication. The need to express a thought in a short and clear fashion keeps attention focused on the topic and not on the conveying phrase. Fab for fabrication or fabrication facility is one example.

Poetry is another example of dense information content, but embroils the reader in both the rich experience of imagery – and often a focused study of the verse and word choice to avoid mistaking or missing intended underlying meanings. This would be moving the wrong direction when the intent is to convey the same, technically complex meaning quickly and clearly to the most people. Not all poetry readers (or listeners) would bring the same background in literature or cultural reference to interpreting and experiencing the passage. As an example, consider the phrase from the song about “I’m not talking ’bout movin’ in” and its various misinterpretations through the years, including in the Gina Davis movie Long Kiss Goodnight. “I’m not talkin’ ’bout the Lennon”, or “I’m not talkin’ ’bout millenium.” This didn’t hamper the music any, but in a business context similar misunderstandings might cost time, effort, material – maybe jobs.

By: Grace S.

Grace S. — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 13:42:04 +0000

I think of all those you mentioned, “graph” for “paragraph” lends itself most to misunderstanding, as others have mentioned. I first ran into it when a customer e-mailed a correction for a flyer, and wrote it, “In the 2nd graf, change the word . . .”–I had to guess at what was meant. Maybe if it were spelled that way when written, there would be less confusion; but that wouldn’t change misconceptions when it’s spoken.

By: Liz

Liz — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 12:57:13 +0000

Never heard graph either. That’s a weird one, not a fan.

For vacation “vac”, I pronounce it “VAYK”. I also write vacay sometimes, too. Depends.