All languages evolve over time and English is no exception. Many
words frequently spoken in the medieval period, in the time of Shakespeare,
from the Victorian era or even words in common use as recently as a century
ago, most of which can still be found in the dictionary, are rarely heard
today. The rapid development of computer technology in recent decades has given
us words such as online, laptop, iPod, log-on, cell phone, download and many others,
including of course, Internet. However, despite all these newcomers, the
incorrect use of existing words and phrases and confusion or indifference to
their actual meanings has become rampant.
I recently heard someone describe a particular situation as
liquid, as in nothing is certain at the current time, when they clearly meant
the situation was fluid. I’ve also encountered the words dethaw and unthaw in
recent months. If something in your freezer is frozen solid, you take it out to
defrost or thaw the item. I can only assume that if you wished to dethaw or
unthaw something, you’d perhaps take it out of the freezer for a short time and
then put it back in before it became defrosted?
In the workplace, people often state that they would like to help the
problem, when they mean they’d like to help solve the problem. For example, you
don’t wish to help the problem of traffic congestion in your city or the
problem of efficiency in your office, which get along very nicely without your
assistance. Rather, you wish to help solve these problems, investigate
solutions and improve the situation. Similarly, an alcoholics help line should
really be described as an alcoholic prevention help line, since alcoholics
shouldn’t really be receiving any assistance to either begin or continue with
their addiction.
If these kinds of things are appearing in your written materials outside
the office or on your website, they will certainly reflect on your
professionalism or lack of it in the eyes of potential customers. You should
take pride in your online copy, which can be seen by millions of people, twenty
four hours a day, seven days a week. If it appears that you don’t really care
what your website looks like, clients will be left with a poor impression of
your company. The quality of your online content will always have either a
positive or negative effect on your website’s visitors. To boost your chances
of making a great first impression, you need professional help and advice.
Hiring a competent and experienced copywriter could be one of the best
investments you ever make.
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