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In Search of a Good Buzz(word)   Return to Views Directory Page
A new buzzword catches my attention like an exotic seashell in the sand.  It is a curiosity, a creative ripple in the language.  Invariably, I find that it has certain magical properties.  Using it admits me, in some small way, into a particular social or professional circle, makes me seem "in the know," even if I have only a feeble grasp of the concept the buzzword represents.

A week later, though, it has lost its gloss.  I have heard it and read it in a dozen different contexts, and the indiscriminate repetition has pounded all originality out of it.  It no longer seems clever.  It is as annoying as a spreading rash.

I love discovering fresh words and expressions.    So why do buzzwords irritate me?  What is the difference between a new word (neologism) and a buzzword?

Is Buzzword a Buzzword?
A neologism is a new word or expression, or a new meaning or usage of an existing word*.   Every word in our language started as a neologism.  Thousands (among them advertising, employer, investment, manager, misquote, and negotiate) were coined singlehandedly by William Shakespeare 400 years ago.   Just over the past 50 years, hundreds have appeared: airlift, freeze-dry, tape recorder, task force (1940s); desegregation, overkill, senior citizen, shopping mall (1950s); biodegradable, counterproductive, plea bargain, sitcom (1960s); bottom line, downsize, junk food, miniseries (1970s); couch potato, gridlock, telemarketing, and yuppie (1980s).

Oh, yes, and buzzword (1960s).

Derived from buzz (excitement or gossip), a buzzword is "a word that is fashionable and used more to impress than to inform; in particular a word of a specialized field or group used primarily to impress laypersons."  Current buzzwords and buzz phrases that come to mind: brand equity, calendarize, cost envelope, cross-platform, deterministic element, disconnect (noun), dynamic (noun), evergreen, functionality, interconnectivity, legacy (adjective), map into, mentor (verb), mission critical, strategic fit, transference and virtuality.

Of these, dynamic, disconnect, legacy and mentor are grammatical chameleons, much like impact when it crossed over from a noun to a verb several years ago.  Cross-platform and mission critical are borrowed technical jargon.    Most of the others are simply pretentious and easily replaced with more precise, less puffy words (cost envelope = budget; calendarize = schedule; functionality = usefulness; map into = include; transference = transfer).

I’m sure that a good many of today’s buzzwords will become legitimate members of the language.  (I'm pulling for evergreen. I like its imagery.) When they do, they probably won’t bother me as much.  So, why do they bother me now?

It's Not the Word But the Buzz
Because buzzwords are neologisms gone fad.  They are designer words, their originality diluted through overexposure, like art deco and Tommy Hilfiger stripes.  They are status symbols, affording the appearance of wit, wisdom, savvy and style without the high costs of knowledge and original thought.  They are not communication so much as decoration, and thus violate a basic tenet of good writing:    Aim to impress on the audience the clarity of the message, not the status of the speaker.

To Buzz or Not to Buzz
Are buzzwords always cheap tricks?  No.  Like every other word in our language, each buzzword has its proper place. "The difference between the right word and the nearly right word," Mark Twain wrote, "is the same as that between the lightning and the lightning bug."  Sometimes, a buzzword is the right word -- the perfect mix of meaning, sound and eyebrow** for the audience.  But I'm careful.

Before I write a buzzword into a script or speech, I recall my sixth grade teacher’s view of cursing: "There’s nothing wrong with using off-color language,"  she said repeatedly (because we sixth graders cursed repeatedly), "as long as it’s the most creative thing you can come up with."

We never could seem to convince her that a four-letter-word was the best we could do.  I’m sure she’d feel the same way about buzzwords.

*Sources:  

• 1998 Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia.  Version 10.0.   New York: Grolier Interactive, Inc., 1997.
  
• The Oxford Companion to the English Language.  Edited by Tom McArthur.  Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.
  
• Random House Unabridged Dictionary.  CD-ROM Version 1.7.   New York: Random House, 1994.

** Frank Zappa coined the word eyebrow to describe the attitude of his performances -- a touch mocking, a touch questioning.   Like "tongue in check," the image of a "raised eyebrow" connotes a certain connection between performer and audience that the words and music alone don't convey.

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