Whilst not the best English Scholar (just scraped through Lang’ and Lit’ O’levels) I seem to be getting increasingly grumpy about current trends with language. Years ago trends and fashions we dictated by music, whether it was Mods and Rockers in the ‘60s or punks the ‘70s and ‘80s, now the current fashions seem to be evolutionary rather than revolutionary. An area where the media, and especially US television, exerts a strong influence on our culture is in our use of language. For rant #1 I nominate restaurant/coffee shop speak. Don’t even get me started on “can I get ……” if you think that makes you sound cool you’re wrong, you sound like a ****. No,“Enjoy” has to the most infuriating language trend on all sorts of levels. The fact that everyone who works in a restaurant, anywhere, these days feels duty bound to say “Enjoy” every time they bring you anything. Why does everyone think they have to use the same phrase, just because they’ve seen someone on telly say it? To me it is the ultimate laziness, whilst I don’t necessarily want a 20minutes conversation, a simple “I hope you enjoy your meal” surely isn’t much to ask. I’ve decided that if restaurant staff can’t be bothered, I can’t be bothered to leave a tip (or sorry ‘service charge’)!!
Imagine what patients would think in a pharmacy if when handing over their prescription you simply half-heartedly shout “better” at them as you walked away.
