Word Choices

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Continue reading "On Writing Well" by William Zinsser, on respecting words. William said: "readers read with their eyes, but in fact they hear what they are reading far more than you realize." That's how people enjoy interesting sounds of words and rhymes.

He strongly opposes using "instant word patches", which he calls "journalese". An instant word patch example is using an adjective as a noun ("notable" -> "notables"), or using a noun as a verb ("host" -> "to host"). William thinks this way of word usage is cheap and lazy.

I'm not sure I agree with him on this. I always enjoy the expression "I shouldered my way..." because I can visualize someone is trying hard to get through something. I don't think it's absolutely necessary to stick to words that have been engraved in dictationaries for hundreds of years. Tweaking words creates new expressions and reflect our ever changing age.

Maybe I'm dumb and haven't got the gist of word choices yet. It would be interesting to revisit this opinion in a few years.