Steering clear of pulpit nonsense: Lost for Words, a Book Review
In order to achieve optimal outputs, the bottom line is we need to step up to the plate, raise the bar, push the envelope and think out of the box 24/7! It’s a no-brainer!
If you’ve either been impressed or nauseated by hearing someone speak like that then this short but punchy book by John Humphreys will help!
The English language is constantly changing, evolving and incorporating new words and phrases. And it’s not always a bad thing.
While not being over-pedantic, Humphrys, a popular BBC news reader and broadcaster, alerts us to how things are changing and offers some advice about what we should and shouldn’t be nervous about. After covering some basic rules (which we all break) he gets into the meat of his theme: accurate, comprehensible and effective language.
As someone who does a fair amount of public speaking, I immediately recognised some warning signals; how I am eager to understand the latest sounding leadership-speak, even though it isn’t evident by the words themselves what the communicator means!
Isn’t that dangerous? When you are impressed by something simply because of how the words sound (that urgency, that newness), rather than their content then there is a problem.
I was struck by this quote from Gary Day, quoted from the Times Higher Educational Supplement:
‘There’s no greater way to win the respect of your peers than to write in gobbledegook. The less they understand the more clever they think you are.’ (p.178)
If you’re someone who works with words; whether a regular speaker or teacher, or a writer, then this book will have you laughing and cringing at the same time.
While we may not agree with Humphrey’s assertion that journalists are the ‘guardians’ of the language (seriously! He actually says that, suggesting that journalists are like linguistic referees! P.216) all of us, especially those who are involved with communicating the truths of the Bible, need to heed the warnings in this book. We should aim for clarity, integrity and authenticity in the communication of God’s truth.
Come on! It’s a win-win, for both speaker and hearer! So let’s draw a line under it, and showcase best practice in the go forward.
Oh, so you disagree? Well, go figure!
You can purchase ‘Lost for Words’ here
© 2009 Lex Loizides
