READERS’ WORDS

Language is a tool for communicating, not for obscuring meaning. When I listen to lectures or to presentations and discussions in conferences and meetings, I become desperate … some smart Alecs imagine that it adds to their status to use terms unfamiliar to their hearers. Sadly, so many hearers delight in what they hear and also start using “avail”, “inform” and so many other words in completely wrong senses. Distorting the meaning of existing words turns language into a jungle and communication into hell. — Deon Fourie “Unnecessary road deaths” carries only the faintest implication that there are other road deaths that are necessary (perhaps for demographic requirements?). But while “unnecessary” has its own precise meaning, it is frequently used as a lazy substitute for “avoidable”, ”preventable”, “regrettable”, “deplorable” and other words that might make the user’s intention even clearer. — Don Giddings I find the American word “closure” so meaningless. How can the result of a court case where a daughter is killed by her boyfriend give the parents “closure”? Will it close their minds to their pain and loss? I once saw Oprah Winfrey interview a man whose wife and children had been killed in a motor accident. She asked him if time would bring “closure”. He ridiculed the suggestion. — Sally Leslie Why do so many people not understand the difference between “emigrate” and “immigrate”? Emigrate = to leave one country and settle in another. An emigrant leaves his own country. Immigrate = to settle in a country which is not one’s own. An immigrant arrives in a country as a settler. — Val Bender. • E-mail words in need of protection to lifestyle@sundaytimes.co.za