American
English is a rich language. It’s always changing and evolving. New words and
usages come and go. Many that come along are helpful. They clarify, they
improve, they enhance and enrich.
But some are
just plain stupid.
They
obfuscate, they complicate, they confuse. They reveal a lack of understanding.
Take “impact”
for example.
Impact used to be a perfectly fine word with a
clear, precise meaning. The definitions in my Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, published in 1994 (which
may seem ancient to some, but it’s not that
long ago), can be summed up as: to strike forcefully, forceful contact or
collision.
Pretty
simple.
Since then,
the word has been hijacked and used in a way never meant for it: as an
all-purpose substitute for affect and
effect.
It’s used regularly
and routinely by people who cannot figure out the difference between affect and effect and when to use which and why. So, they surrender and use impact in place of either and both. “Forceful
collisions” everywhere shudder at the thought.
You probably
heard someone abuse impact today. I
wish I didn’t have to hear it anymore. It’s likely to impact my mood and have a
negative impact on my state of mind.
