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Motivational Monday...Words

By
Home Stager

Motivational Monday...Words

 

The other day I was thinking about words and how misused, underused, overused and not-at-all used they are in today’s world.

I’m not sure when the saying “my bad” came about but when someone says that to me I ask “Your bad what?”  Or when they say “Just sayin’” I ask “You’re saying what?”

 

Yes, I may be a jerk about it...but perhaps you can chalk it up to being raised and reared in a school system and family that accepted nothing less than good grammar.

In the movie Fred Claus starring Vince Vaughn, Vince’s character tells D.J. Donnie to use his words after D.J. starts hitting him. 


                                                                   

In the last few years, I’ve looked up ghosted, woke, sus, twerk, and crickets.  

 

What’s happened to words we can understand???? Where did our vocabulary go????  Even my niece told her mom when she was teaching her to text that it is considered permissible to text without using correct grammar because it’s quicker.

 

The words you use...what you say...how you say them will always be your choice.  However, remember that they also reflect who you are

 

If you were meeting a client, you would wear something more professional than you would if you were going to the market. What you wear at that first meeting will definitely make an impression. 

 

Your words will do the same. Like it or not, we all can be judgy.  

 

~Make the dictionary your friend. 

~Try learning a new word every day or week. James Dray used to share a new word with us in his daily posts.

~Read out loud to yourself! It helps your vocabulary!


As you begin the week, think about what words you’re using. Learn a new word. Practice using it!  

 

The limits of my language are the limits of my world.
Ludwig Wittgenstein

 

Vocabulary is a matter of word-building as well as a matter of word-using. David Crystal

 

One forgets words as one forgets names. One’s vocabulary needs constant fertilizing or it will die. Evelyn Waugh

 

 

Posted by

Kathy Streib
Retired Home Stager
and Interior Redesign

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Comments(31)

Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

Thank you very much, Kathy, for sharing your experience and your advice.

Sadly, my 'senior moments' are sometimes revealed in my writings.

Oct 18, 2021 08:21 AM
Michael Jacobs
Pasadena, CA
Pasadena And Southern California 818.516.4393

Hello Kathy - I especially like the Evelyn Waugh quote you included today.  And each day provides another moment to wonder about words.   

Oct 18, 2021 08:48 AM
Will Hamm
Hamm Homes - Aurora, CO
"Where There's a Will, There's a Way!"

Hello Kathy,  being raise in Pennsylvania and the Dutch country, we have weird ways of having saying.  It was interesting when I moved out of state and have to quite saying outen the light.

 

Oct 18, 2021 08:57 AM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Hi Brian England there's that word (WOKE) that I really don't like!!!  I asked a young person a few years ago about what she was saying and her response was that it was because it was easier. 

HI Nina Hollander, Broker  if they're reading at a good speed, I don't mind but not if they're going too slow!!

Oct 18, 2021 10:27 AM
Brian England

I knew that and I was using it to just get your goat a little bit, I hope that you weren't offended.

Oct 18, 2021 11:53 AM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Wayne Martin I had to tell someone the other day to slow down and choose their words. I honestly couldn't get what they were saying. 


I agree Kat Palmiotti When I was in college people would say "let's rap!" To this day I cringe when I hear that from people my age. 

Oct 18, 2021 10:29 AM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Bill Salvatore - YVP Blog that is one of my least favorites!!

Thank you so much Sham Reddy CRS That is very kind of you. 

Dorie Dillard Austin TX Thank you. And we seem to be getting away from using words that mean anything. 

Oct 18, 2021 11:50 AM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Hi Ron and Alexandra Seigel what I love about my Kindle app is that I can highlight a word to get the exact meaning of it. 

Jeffrey DiMuria 321.223.6253 Waves Realty don't get me started!!!

Oct 18, 2021 11:52 AM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Bob "RealMan" Timm I think we've all gotten a bit lazy and when we hear those phrases, it's not unusual to pick them up and use them as well. 

Ed Silva oh yes...who can spell anymore!!!

Oct 18, 2021 11:55 AM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Roy Kelley I am in the same club. I have never been a good proof reader and it hasn't gotten better. 

Michael Jacobs this should be right up your alley, then. 

 

 

Oct 18, 2021 11:56 AM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Hi Will Hamm that's very interesting and something I did not know!!!! But then again, in Texas we say "fixin' to" 

Oct 18, 2021 11:58 AM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Brian England offended by you???? Never!!!!! 

Oct 18, 2021 11:59 AM
Paul S. Henderson, REALTOR®, CRS
Fathom Realty Washington LLC - Tacoma, WA
South Puget Sound Washington Agent/Broker!

I feel the same way as you Kathy. I find slang to be another pet peeve. How many words have been stolen due to our society Kathy???

Oct 18, 2021 01:46 PM
George Souto
George Souto NMLS #65149 FHA, CHFA, VA Mortgages - Middletown, CT
Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert

Kathy the new thing seems to be to change the meaning of words.  I wonder who gave them the authority to do that.

Oct 18, 2021 03:43 PM
Sheri Sperry - MCNE®
Coldwell Banker Realty - Sedona, AZ
(928) 274-7355 ~ YOUR Solutions REALTOR®

Hi Kathy Streib - I went to school at Louisa May Alcott in Houston until 6th grade. There is nothing like a Texas education.  I remember my English teachings and preparation so well. I never realized how this would impact the rest of my life.  Happy Monday!

Oct 18, 2021 04:15 PM
Sharon Tara
Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH
Retired New Hampshire Home Stager

I agree with all of this, but for some reason you made me think of how sweet it is when kids have their own words for things and they are so precious and cute. When Ashley was very young she came home from school one day all excited. They had a pet hamster in her classroom. She came running in the door announcing to me that the hamster was a boy...she knew because she "saw his weenus."

Oct 18, 2021 08:04 PM
Rocky Dickerson
Realty One Group - Las Vegas, NV
Superior Service!

It's sad how many young people actually have no idea what it is like to browse through a dictionary

Oct 18, 2021 08:30 PM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Kathy what an awesome post and a message, I have been guilty of a few of these infractions... ironically I get annoyed with many of the points you highlighted... one of my pet peeves is how hard is it to say Congratulations or Thank You... do they need to  be abbreviated??:)Endre

Oct 18, 2021 09:18 PM
Myrl Jeffcoat
Sacramento, CA
Greater Sacramento Realtor - Retired

I often wonder about choice of words.  Lately, I hear some folks of one political party labeling the other as "woke."  Yet, their usage of the word seems to imply something totally different than what the actual definition is, or imply that it's a bad thing.

Woke: Alert to injustice in society, especially racism. "We need to stay angry, and stay woke."

Oct 19, 2021 02:10 AM
Myrl Jeffcoat
Sacramento, CA
Greater Sacramento Realtor - Retired

CONGRATULATIONS Kathy, on having this blog FEATURED in the Old Farts Club group!  

Oct 19, 2021 02:12 AM
Laura Cerrano
Feng Shui Manhattan Long Island - Locust Valley, NY
Certified Feng Shui Expert, Speaker & Researcher

They say the grammar changes ever so slightly with time so we shall see if "my bad comes into the dictionary.

Oct 19, 2021 10:01 PM