He doesn’t love actually
For The Oklahoman
QUESTION: I continue to see overused words or phrases in print: “Actually.” “That being said …” and “At the end of the day … “
My English teacher, Mary Williams, would return one, or several, pages that we wrote in essay form for us to “figure out” what we did incorrectly. That was a chore for a country boy in Alabama. Consequently, I see and hear people batter the English language with the use of irrelevant, space filling, words or phrases. Why do people continually use words that are unnecessary?
CALLIE’S ANSWER: At the end of the day, people are adding these words for “fluff.” That being said, why use eight words when you can use four? I will never forget the rule “KISS” — Keep It Simple, Stupid.
LILLIE-BETH’S ANSWER: I have three teenagers in the house, so I hear from them and their friends all the extra things they say like this. (Speaking of extra, they even refer to people or things that are over-the-top as “extra,” as in “she’s so extra” in her personality.) “Literally” is another one, when they don’t mean literally at all. Or my favorite: “I can’t even. I literally can’t even.” (You get to fill in the blank about what they can’t even do.)
So, with that being said, we come to your question. When we write, transitions like “actually” and the ones you mentioned shouldn’t be extra. These superfluous phrases don’t enhance your writing or speaking. If they don’t contribute to the meaning of your sentence, take them out.
You asked why this happens, so I’ll guess. Informal conversation sounds different from formal presentations, interviews, speeches, etc., and people have their own way of speaking that often mirrors those around them. Maybe the people you’re listening to can’t think of a better way to transition to their next thought. Or maybe they’re using these phrases as a way to pause in conversation while they form their words. Or maybe they’re just habit, like “um” or “like” dropped in randomly. I’m sure many of us have been guilty of using unnecessary phrases. Yes, these are overused, and it helps to be aware of them in our own written and spoken language.
But if you’re around teenagers, take the time to enjoy their evolving spoken language and the insight it gives you into their lives, and have them fill you in on the basics. They literally use actually a lot, and I might have picked up that habit, too.
HELEN’S ANSWER: Because I come from the Louise Moore School of Editing for the Oklahoma Daily at the University of Oklahoma in the 1960s, I was taught to edit my own words for space reasons. Any superfluous words I missed were taken out by copy editors.
That is why our editors are so very important. They can tighten up paragraphs and sentences without losing the meaning of the story. They know the space limitations and proceed accordingly. It might be time to remind our readers to proofread all written work and take out the unnecessary “space-filling” words.
Any thoughts from other readers? GUEST’S ANSWER: Joe Hight: We write like we talk. That can be good because of our individual voices.
However, the problem today is that we don’t self-edit enough to delete those unnecessary words. Those include what you mentioned, along with excessive adjectives, adverbs and cliche terms that muddle our writing.
Your English teacher made you do it, and it became ingrained in you. She taught you the difference between formal and informal writing.
I am not a grammarian and embrace how good writers strive to break the rules. But great writing does mean strong verbs and fewer unnecessary words.
We live in an age of multimedia and social media where speed is valued over accuracy and precision in writing. That’s affected print, too, because writers are asked to do more. Having fewer copy editors and editors in the print world don’t help the situation.
We must hope that more Mary Williamses will become teachers and Tom Maupins will be hired as copy editors. Writers need both.
Callie Athey is 20-something, Lillie-Beth Brinkman is in her 40s, and social columnist Helen Ford Wallace is 60-plus. To ask an etiquette question, email helen.wallace@cox. net.