Cliches

[Alexandre Enkerli]

A few notes.
Can't remember which episode it was (some time during Fall 2005) but
The Word Nerds had a podcast episode on clichés:
http://thewordnerds.libsyn.com/
http://thewordnerds.org/
They also sounded much more like prescriptivists than they usually do.
Something tells me that U.S. language ideology gives clichés a moral
connotation, especially when discussed by teachers.

Language Log has some very insightful things to say about the issue of
use of our work by journalists. Their conclusion is usually that we
should put more content in public view.
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/%7Emyl/languagelog/archives/001961.html

Getting people not to think prescriptively is very difficult but can
be done. My wife did it recently in a course on oral communication.
Not sure how she did it.
Analysis of specific clichés and/or of the term «cliché» is probably
what they expect anyway. It is pretty much what the Word Nerds usually
do and it serves a purpose.
Telling people about the "technical" definition of "cliché" is a bit
dangerous as it's easy to sound out of touch with common language use.
Even in class, it can be a tricky strategy ("when we use the term
'tribe' in anthropology, we usually mean a very specific type of
political structure"). I must admit, it might be my own failings, but
I still have a hard time with some of these situations, even in the
classroom. Outside the classroom, I sometimes get negative reactions.
And not just because people think I'm a geek...
Functional and metaphorical analyses of clichés can be fascinating to
almost anyone (think Lakoff) and may easily sidestep the whole
"pedantic prescriptivist" issue. With a few good examples from
political discourse (Silverstein's analysis of Lincoln and Bush must
contain some). Local usage, if well-known, could titillate regional
pride.

Please do report back on how it went and, if possible, post links to
any content coming out of it!

On 2/3/07, Kephart, Ronald <rkephart at unf.edu> wrote:
>
>  All,
>
>  Apparently, after 17+ years at this place, somebody in "media relations"
>  realized there's a linguist on campus and that I am it. So, when a
> columnist
>  for the local paper called for an interview on cliches, I was drafted. I
> did
>  the phone interview and the resulting article made me appear to be among
> the
>  crypto-fascist language police. It probably didn't help that I suggested
>  that expressions such as "at the end of the day" may spread "like a virus"
>  thru a population- viruses are bad, so cliches are bad. Plus, there was no
>  mention of my mention of Dawkins and memes. Aaargh!
> http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/012707/bum_7597467.shtml
>
>  The "cliches" they were interested in, by the way ( a cliché I guess), are
>  things like "at the end of the day," "in the red/black," "level playing
>  field," "level of support," etc.
>
>  Anyways... now they want me to do a tv spot on this in a series called "Ask
>  the UNF Expert," which will air on Feb 12. Suddenly, I'm an expert on
>  cliches? Frankly, I find the whole thing kind of boring (a cliché,
> perhaps?)
>  and I'd really like to rent a chimpanzee suit to wear to this thing, but
>  I've already promised to behave. I do plan to go in with an agenda that
>  might include calling attention to: (1) the difference between language
>  prescription and description; (2) the metaphorical nature of many (most?)
>  cliches; (3) the interactive functions of cliches as transitions and so on;
>  (4) the fact that cliché itself is a French word being used to negatively
>  characterize a part of English discourse (shades of 1066); (5) The
>  possibility that they're misusing the word cliché; (6) ?
>
>  So, at the end of the day, and having said that, if anyone has suggestions
>  or comments on something I'm missing here, I'll greatly appreciate any
> level
>  of support.
>
>  Ron
>
>  --
>  Ronald Kephart
>  Associate Professor of Anthropology
>  University of North Florida
>  (904) 620-1659
>


-- 
Alexandre
http://enkerli.wordpress.com/