Have you actively eliminated words from your daily usage?

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Battersea Power Station

Battersea Power Station

Member
Words can be extremely powerful. They allow us to put grand, abstract, and unimaginable concepts in our pockets. They can describe passionate feelings, as well as invoke them. They can aggrandize, they marginalize, and everything in between.

Have you purposely refrained from using any words, not to appease others, but for your own betterment?

I'm embarrassed to say I've previously described things as "retarded" to indicate their idiocy, a holdover from junior high school. But I stopped saying it several years ago as I began to find it offensive and insensitive.

I've also cut the word "hate" from my vocabulary. I find then when you repeatedly say something, you make it more true, or you train yourself to believe it. As such, saying I hate something was extremely counterproductive, and a source of negativity. It didn't matter if it was the seemingly benign "I hate overly-sweetened drinks" or the slightly more sinister "I hate people who say..." Logically, I know it's a figure of speech. But emotionally, I don't like what the word does: it sets up hard walls and puts limits on me from the get-go, whether it's about me enjoying something or tolerating another human being. So I eliminated it and it has correlated with me getting upset much less frequently.

Another one I'm working on is "crazy." This one is not for another spiritual crusade but just to try to diversify. I've noticed the people I hang out with overuse it tremendously.

That was crazy last night. It cost me 7 bucks - crazy! He went crazy over it. The new update is crazy. She didn't want to go out in the rain: crazy, right?

It's like the Louis CK bit about "hilarious," "genius," and "amazing." We now go straight to the top shelf for our words until we strip them of meaning. I'm also trying to be more careful with those three.

Sviatoslav said:
Definitely applies more to Neogaf than to real life for me.
Click to expand...

Ah. I forgot to specify. In my case, I'm talking about verbal communication, with friends, family, etc. But I think I've avoided these words on GAF as well.
 
M

MrOogieBoogie

BioShock Infinite is like playing some homeless guy's vivid imagination
Absolutely. For instance, I don't think I've used "gay" as a derogatory term since high school. I actively avoid doing it. I never, EVER say "faggot" either. Or the n-word. Or cunt.

Then again I've been actively working on improving my voice and speech for a while now considering I'm an actor and some words just don't serve you well if you're trying to communicate clearly and maturely.
 
i_am_ben

i_am_ben

running_here_and_there
i doubt most people have.

for instance, every time I click on a youtube link here, I invariably learn that Amirox is gay.
 
J

- J - D -

Member
Not sure if this counts, but over time I've rid myself of unconsciously uttering the word "like" as a stalling filler in spoken sentences. It made me sound dumb.
 
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EulaCapra

Member
I avoid using retard/faggot/nigger because they got tainted as such hateful words.

As for a fun one, I avoid using "awesome" because Ash Ketchum and the internet have constantly used it and only it. All I hear is Ash's stupid voice saying his 2nd most used word after "Pikachu." Ugh.
 
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Razek

Banned
There are many words I don't use. Many of them are the offensive ones. I don't use them because I don't think they add anything to a conversation. All they do is have a chance to offend or hurt someone. I'll say them in context of a discussion that requires specific term usage, but otherwise I do not say those words. Obviously racial, hateful, bigoted stuff I stay away from.

I don't swear because it feels like a waste to me when there are other words I can use to convey my thoughts the same way if not better.
 
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Eusis

Member
Depending on the mood I'll restrain swearing in general if it's excessive or overboard for the subject, but more often I simply haven't let words enter my vocabulary like the homophobic slurs. Ones like gyp I don't really know about until later, and have stopped using those.

Retarded's an odd one though. I feel like it's been so overused it doesn't really mean anything, but I'd rather save it when I actually wonder about the intelligence of someone or at least their actions. Even then I don't think I've really used it that often lately period.
 
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jb1234

Member
Depends who I'm with. One of my good friends has a Mormon wife and I *NEVER* swear in front of her because she hates it. On the other, with another friend of mine, every other word out of our mouths is something filthy.
 
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jaxword

Member
How DOES one remove a word from their vocab? Genuinely curious as to what deterrents people used on themselves.
 
M

MrOogieBoogie

BioShock Infinite is like playing some homeless guy's vivid imagination
jaxword said:
How DOES one remove a word from their vocab? Genuinely curious as to what deterrents people used on themselves.
Click to expand...

What do you mean? You just stop saying it. And anytime you say it, you catch yourself, and rephrase it with a different word.
 
J

jaxword

Member
MrOogieBoogie said:
What do you mean? You just stop saying it. And anytime you say it, you catch yourself, and rephrase it with a different word.
Click to expand...

That's easy to do when you're actively and carefully watching yourself. But when I'm out with the guys playing football and I take a rough tackle, I let out a FUCKING SHIT now and then. Or just when I'm really tired and burned out after a long week of work and school, sometimes things slip out.
 
H

Horseticuffs

Full werewolf off the buckle
For me it's been quite a struggle to stop freely swearing. I used to swear regardless of company or location and, well if someone got their feelings hurt, it was their problem for being too sensitive.

I still don't necessarily think that somebody's right to get offended is any more important than anyone else's right to do something that might offend someone, but at some point in growing older you just have to accept that that's the way the world works and don't make yourself a martyr for the right to swear indiscriminately.

Also, things that others have mentioned. Using things as pejoratives that have no right to be used as such. But hopefully as you age you learn that words have real power and kindness is more important than shooting off at the mouth.
 
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Jadedx

Banned
I stopped saying hyperbole because I kept seeing it on gaf; I figured that if it seemed that douchey to read it must sound really douchey when I said it.
 
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Razek

Banned
Eh, since it's a slow night, some fun trivia:

I say Gaf's favorite word 'Hyperbole' as: Hyper-Bowl. Not Hi-perb-oh-lee.

Edit: Okay, it's late. I'm sorry for that haha.
 
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Horseticuffs

Full werewolf off the buckle
Razek said:
Eh, since it's a slow night, some fun trivia:

I say Gaf's favorite word 'Hyperbole' as: Hyper-Bowl. Not Hi-perb-oh-lee.
Click to expand...

Don't feel bad. I got quite the upbraiding a few years ago by absentmindedly pronouncing Pythagoras as "Pie•the•gore•ass".

Look it was late, I was tired, and I have yet to live it down.


As far as using sexual preference as an insult, I don't know how old you folks are but I'm 33 and I feel that the zeitgeist for that becoming a big deal has only really been around for about 10-12 years.

Prior to that I don't think the majority really cared if it was an offensive practice. It just sort of seemed to slowly dawn on society the past decade or so.


Edit: I'll cop to using "Like" as a pause pretty often. As a teenager I USED to use "But...fuckin'..." all the time until somebody brought it to my attention.

So when it comes down to either using my new pause phrase versus my old one, I'm happy with the new one.
 
E

Ela Hadrun

Probably plays more games than you
A couple of things I didn't realize were offensive. Gyp is the only one I can think of, but I know there were other.s

I fucking love swearing though.

I was super conservative as a kid. I didn't swear or say ANY words I knew to be offensive. I didn't even say "Goddamn you half-Japanese girls" when singing along to El Scorcho--I would flub the opening and pretend I didn't realize when to come in if people were around.

Now it's like fuck fuck fuckity fuckity Freeeeedoooom
 
I

isual

Member
the pause phrase, 'uhm' is slowly dissipating from my vocab.

I also find it a total turn off if a girl uses the words 'totally,cool,yeah,like' several times during a conversation.
 
D

Deleted member 102362

Unconfirmed Member
I've eliminated several words from both my real-life and online vocabularies. A specific example would be using the word "starving" to describe being hungry. I have never, not once in my life, ever had to experience starvation (for which I am thankful), and I feel it would be inappropriate to use it to describe normal hunger.
 
A

Anteater

Member
I started replacing the word shit with poo poo, it seems like people are less offended by it

This game is such poo poo, this guy is a poo poo head
 
Rentahamster

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
Most of the words in this thread were never of common use in my vocabulary to begin with, so I haven't really "actively eliminated" anything.

En Ex said:
I've eliminated several words from both my real-life and online vocabularies. A specific example would be using the word "starving" to describe being hungry. I have never, not once in my life, ever had to experience starvation (for which I am thankful), and I feel it would be inappropriate to use it to describe normal hunger.
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Discretionary hyperbole is inappropriate? In some cases, perhaps, but for "starving"? Seems a bit of an overreaction.
 
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abusori

Member
Nope, I don't censor myself. Which includes neogaf; I don't say anything in real life that I won't say here.
 
I

Igo

Member
I really need to stop saying things suck. It's such a poor way of expressing my displeasure with something.

As far as pejoratives go, retarded is probably the only word I made a real effort to stop using. The controversial stuff, like gay and faggot, were never really been a part of my vocabulary outside a very brief period in 2000, and I lay all the blame on counter-strike for that. Luckily, or perhaps not all things considered, with everyone and their mother using them at the time, they got old real fast. Likewise, I can't even recall the last time i've called someone a bitch, dick or bastard. They, along with douchebag, and i've never used that one, just seem like really weak insults.

Ela Hadrun said:
A couple of things I didn't realize were offensive. Gyp is the only one I can think of, but I know there were other.s
Click to expand...
Damn, I completely forgot about that one. Don't really hear that or jewed anymore.
 
M

mavs

Member
WonkersTHEWatilla said:
Not sure if this counts, but over time I've rid myself of unconsciously uttering the word "like" as a stalling filler in spoken sentences. It made me sound dumb.
Click to expand...

I'm more relaxed about this now, but it took a lot of work to eliminate that one. I stopped saying "it's like" in favor of "it's as if" for a while.
 
T

TommyT

Member
No. What I say usually depends on who I'm with (and the extent of their friendship). If they have a problem with certain words I'll tend not to use those words around them.

Since others mentioned it - I will say that on GAF I tend to think a bit more about how I want to word something. I don't particularly avoid words though. GAF has enough well educated people that when engaging in a discussion with them if you don't convey exactly what you're trying to say it can lead to a lot of hassle. I've been on the minority view of quite a few threads that if I hadn't though about how I wanted to get my point across I'm sure I would have ended up with a ban or two by now. It's quite surprising the juxtaposition that a poster will have whenever they actually want to get a valid point across about something vs when they just want a witty first reply. Or that people who regularly post thoughtful and obviously knowledgeable opinions can throw in a funny quip ever now and then.
 
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Milchjon

Member
Real life: I haven't completely eliminated any word, I'm just more sensible about the right context. I love horrible jokes, and in front of people that know me, I use almost any word. "Retarded" is the one word I consciously use less.


GAF: You have to go with the times, I guess. Not everyone will know you good enough to always know when you're sarcastic or hyperbolic or use it for shock value. I still don't believe in the recent policy changes, though.
 
Black_Stride

Black_Stride

do not tempt fate do not contrain Wonder Woman's thighs do not do not
Gone
Nigga - and all derivative, pretty much gone...even though all my friends still say it or some derivative when refering to each other.
 
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hateradio

The Most Dangerous Yes Man
I've never liked lol, omg, I couldn't care less, etc.; so I never use them, and have actively avoided them.
 
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