I am slightly concerned with the use of redundant words these days - in the news, on tv, etc etc.
I'm specifically concerned with the creation of nouns from verbs which result in a word that could have been used far more effectively.
For example, I got a press release from the State Housing and Works Minister the other day talking about new housing designs.
In the release, the minister talks about how these houses can be built quickkly and "ready for occupancy within 2 to 3 days."
Occupancy?? Whats wrong with occupation??
People seem to think that they can create a word where there wasn't one before by adding a 'y' or something similar.
I blame university.
I'll never forget sitting through my communications and cultural studies units hearing words like "Australianness" - basically anything goes in a uni assignment if you add the suffix -ness onto the end of it.
I don't presume to have the answers, just thought I'd ask the question.
Any ideas?
2 months ago
2 comments:
Dave, I thought I'd add my bit here because I love etymology. You have picked a perfect example of how language evolves. The root of a word takes different endings to suit the situation and over time they become standard words. In particular, 'occupancy' is reserved for real estate and 'occupation' is usually, but not always, reserved to mean work or a job or a career. Their use of 'occupancy' is correct.
On the flip-side, sometimes nouns are turned into verbs. An example with which we'd all be familiar is 'email'. When I was in uni in '91, 'email' was only a noun. The verb was always 'to send': "I'll send him an email shortly." Now I can 'email him' instead. We can send someone a letter but can we letter them?
This also raises another point: as one grows older, the concepts and words in life that once had such solid meanings start to morph into other concepts and words. However, in all reality, they're not just starting; they were already changing when first learned.
Take a look at etymonline.com. You'll see many words that started from the same root but their endings took them in different directions and now their uses are reserved for different areas of life.
Great comment, thanks for that Bri. I stand corrected - occupancy it is!
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