Strictly Speaking. Edwin Newman.

Strictly Speaking: Will America Be the Death of English?
Edwin Newman
Indianapolis/New York: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., 1974.

Why read it? If you love a good “rant,” this book is one of the better ones on a topic that everyone loves to rant on—the American language. From the cover: “Newman’s wry eye focuses on the sorry state of the English language as a reflection of the sorry state of society. If words are devalued, he argues, so are ideas and so are human beings. He rejoices in language that is lucid, graceful, direct, civilized. He urges us to be careful about what we say and how we say it. ‘Most of us will never speak succinctly or concretely; we may, however, aspire to; for direct and precise language, if people could be persuaded to try it, would make conversation more interesting, which is no small thing; it would help to substitute facts for bluster, also no small thing; and it would promote the practice of organized thought and even of occasional silence, which would be an immeasurable blessing.’ ”

Some sample ideas from the book: “If we were more careful about what we say, and how, we might be more critical and less gullible.” “Those for whom words have lost their value are likely to find that ideas have also lost their value.” “A world without mistakes would unquestionably be less fun.” “Harry Truman used to say ‘irrevelant’ and stress the third syllable in ‘incomparable’; but Mr. Truman never had any trouble getting his points across.” “Certainly…those involved in Watergate had had far more education than the national average; yet one of the things that the Watergate hearings revealed was a poverty of expression, an inability to say anything in a striking way, an addiction to a language that was almost denatured, and in which what little humor did occur was usually unintentional.”

“Television exalted the picture and depreciated the word.” “The prevalence of ‘Y’know’ is one of the most far-reaching and depressing developments of our time, disfiguring conversations wherever you go…. I attend meetings at NBC and elsewhere in which people of high rank and station, with salaries to match, say almost nothing else.” “Some people collapse into ‘y’know’ after giving up trying to say what they mean.” “American journalism has a way of fastening on words and sucking them dry.” “ ‘Massive’ doesn’t even mean ‘large’ anymore…. It goes by without registering…. It means nothing.” “A ‘serious crisis’ is the only one to have and so are ‘true facts.’ ” When does ‘a sheet of paper’ metamorphose into a ‘document’?”

“No practice in Washington is more beloved than that of attributing statements to sources who cannot be named.” “Politics has a way of bringing on meaningless language.” “People who say ‘judgmental’ think they are important.” “I am uncomfortable when I hear the breakdown of voting results according to religion and race and national origin…because it helps to perpetuate divisions that we might be better off without, because it leads people to go on thinking of themselves in a particular way, as members of a particular group.” “Spontaneity is all right provided we can rehearse it first.” “The answers in sports interviews are purely ritualistic, but nobody minds.” “ ‘Putting it all together’ in sports was identified as the key to success a few years ago, and it has swept all other explanations before it.” “There is no way to measure the destructive effect of sports broadcasting on ordinary American English, but it must be considerable.”

Quotes: “You’ve got to be kidding; it’s a bad scene; how does that grab you? just for openers; it’s a fun idea; fantastic; it’s the ‘in’ place; is he for real? back to square one; that’s the name of the game; who’s counting? bottom line; wild; would you believe? out of sight; lots of luck; what can I tell you? what have you done for me lately? …is alive and well; it’s a whole new ball game.”