Under the Sun
Expression through
winks and nudges of wordsA human-resources director surprised me when she said she dislikes the name of the department she runs for a Honolulu company. The word "resources," she said, reduces a worker to being an object, an item. "It's supposed to be more humane, but it really sounds more impersonal," she said, as she sipped a glass of white wine.
At first I thought her comments were just cocktail party chatter, but as she went on to discuss other aspects of her job I realized we shared the same view on how language, euphemisms and obscuring terms can cloud communication.
She talked about how she and her workers don't use certain words and phrases when dealing with poorly performing employees for fear of sparking lawsuits. Then there's the "self-esteem issue" that has led to renaming jobs to magnify their status. Store clerks and cashiers are now called sales associates and although the jobs still pay the same and involve the same work, the fancy title is supposed to add value, she said, shrugging at the notion.
Being careful about what you say is important to spare the feelings of others, but language these days is more often used to shade or to hide.
Some phrases try to cast an undesirable characteristic more favorably, especially in advertising. For example, used cars are now called "pre-owned," as if that would fool anyone.
"Pre" seems to have become an overused prefix. Pre-approved, pre-baked, pre-washed, pre-sliced all mean the same as the words sans the "pre." You have been approved for a loan, the croissants have been baked, the organic baby greens have been washed, the cake was sliced before it was decorated for the retirement party at the office.
Close to the top of my current list of irritants is "pre-board," which airlines apply to those who, by paying more money for a ticket, have the privilege of getting on the plane before coach passengers. The way I see it, you either board or you don't. Pre-boarding is the two-hour security-check stretch in the freezer-temperature waiting area for a 50-minute interisland flight.
When it comes to tilting the language meter, business talkers and politicians lean way over the edge. On the radio last week, an employer talked about workers having to "re-skill" themselves because their jobs had been "re-deployed" to other countries where labor costs were "less impactive." In other words, the company bagged on America and went to Taiwan or Guatemala to increase the bottom line. However justifiable the business practice, the need to disguise what could be viewed as an unpopular move forced this man to speak in corporate gibberish. I'm sure he knew he wasn't pulling the wool over anyone's eyes, but he went ahead with the weaseling anyway.
Politicians like to employ terms to express their displeasure without sounding entirely critical. When Governor Lingle scolded House Speaker Calvin Say for criticizing President Bush's economic policies, she said his remarks were "inappropriate," as if he had displayed bad manners, like burping in public. Well, Say's comments conformed to those from legislative leaders and governors in other states where falling revenues and underfunded federal mandates have squeezed their budgets. If the governor disagreed, she should have challenged Say rather than belittling his assessment as improper.
Lingle is a persuasive speaker. Her State of the State Address lifted public spirits, which is what Hawaii sorely needs right now. However, she erroneously described a Hawaii Supreme Court workers compensation ruling to make a point about the state's anti-business climate. No one believes she did this purposely; it was just a mistake and as soon as it was pointed out, she corrected herself and apologized.
Unfortunately, perceptions are formed by bits and pieces the public accumulates from sound bites and headlines and words, once voiced, are hard to take back. Just ask Trent Lott. Lingle has eloquent abilities, but she must be careful and circumspect, else she wastes one of her best human resources.
Cynthia Oi has been on the staff of the Star-Bulletin for 25 years.
She can be reached at: coi@starbulletin.com.