Nonnative English speakers share their gripes about speaking English

Re:Nonnative English speakers share their gripes about speak... by pmoriarty on Thursday May 20, 2021 @02:52PM (#27225474)

"I enjoy using "five dollar words" where they fit, I also enjoy inserting slang, obscure puns, deliberate misspellings, foreign words, all to add some texture and color. Wakarimasu ka?"

This reminds me of William Gibson's Sprawl slang, of Anthony Burgess' Nadsat slang from A Clockwork Orange, and of Cockney rhyming slang, thieves' cant, etc.

That sort of use can have a certain appealing charm to it in small doses (or might be annoying, depending on who you talk to and what you say), but unfortunately I don't think most users of "utilize" and the like rise to that level.

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Re:Nonnative English speakers share their gripes about speak... by WalterBright on Thursday May 20, 2021 @02:56PM (#27225518)

Personally I don't care to utilize "utilize", either. It smacks of annoying bureaucratic slang, like "synergy", "incentivize", "leverage".

I'm bemused by cop jargon like "vehicle". Even journalists, when covering crimes, slip into saying "vehicle".

> rhyming slang

I like dazzuble dazzutch, but am not very good at it, fo shizzle.

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Re:Nonnative English speakers share their gripes about speak... by ghaff on Thursday May 20, 2021 @03:27PM (#27225879)

Yep. I'm not sure there isn't ever a place for utilize; it's not 100% interchangeable with use. But, yes, it's part of a list of business and related jargon that is usually best avoided. Sometimes there are legitimate synergies. And sometimes leverage does actually apply--as in getting outsized benefits from using something. But, yes, should probably be used a lot less than they are.

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