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"Corporate Buzzwords" in English | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| Muz9 Diglot Groupie Netherlands Joined 5317 days ago 84 posts - 112 votes  Speaks: Dutch*, English Studies: Spanish, Arabic (Written), Somali | Message 9 of 34 11 January 2010 at 11:08am | IP Logged | ||
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In my country (Netherlands) business folks really love to use English business terminology in their daily speech even some of these buzzwords! They think it has some kind of chic factor to it, it is sad to hear it.
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| Splog Diglot Senior Member Czech Republic anthonylauder.c Joined 5462 days ago 1062 posts - 3263 votes Speaks: English*, Czech Studies: Mandarin | Message 10 of 34 11 January 2010 at 11:24am | IP Logged | ||
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I had a boss who used to say things like "I am going to run a few ideas up the flagpole and see who salutes".
This was annoying, so I conspired with my teammates that whenever he uttered such nonsense we would all give him blank stares. When he rephrased things properly "So, who like these ideas?" we would respond with enthusiasm. It was like training a monkey! My take on this is that lots of people have jobs they hate, and particularly in the corporate world where many frustrated managers feel the need to add some "linguistic sparkle" to make their work seem more glamorous and worthwhile than it is. My brother's take on this is that it makes them feel more powerful: A ex-boss of mine claimed somebody has stolen some paperclips: "When I find this SOB I am going to get his C*ck on a block, and have him singing like a choirboy" Contrast this with people who have real power (where things are actually downplayed rather than inflated): A mafia-boss who is about to have somebody killed: "We are going to give him a slap on the wrist". Edited by Splog on 11 January 2010 at 11:42am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| omigod666 Newbie Australia Joined 5834 days ago 17 posts - 27 votes Studies: French | Message 11 of 34 11 January 2010 at 12:45pm | IP Logged | ||
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To this day, I still don't know what "an elephant in the room" means in a corporate setting.
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| JW Hexaglot Senior Member United States youtube.com/user/egw Joined 5915 days ago 1802 posts - 2011 votes 22 sounds Speaks: English*, German, Spanish, Ancient Greek, French, Biblical Hebrew Studies: Luxembourgish, Dutch, Greek, Italian | Message 12 of 34 11 January 2010 at 2:21pm | IP Logged | ||
Our CEO used it all the time which, of course, resulted in everyone else using it as well... 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| DaraghM Diglot Senior Member Ireland Joined 5944 days ago 1947 posts - 2923 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French, Russian, Hungarian | Message 13 of 34 11 January 2010 at 3:12pm | IP Logged | ||
This usually means everyone is discussing small issues, and nobody is discussing the big issue. E.g. "Will this mean we won't get our new water cooler?" as the finance department discuss closing your section. Edited by DaraghM on 11 January 2010 at 3:13pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| cordelia0507 Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5631 days ago 1473 posts - 2176 votes Speaks: Swedish* Studies: German, Russian | Message 14 of 34 11 January 2010 at 7:27pm | IP Logged | ||
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Drinking the kool-aid is one of my absolute fave American expressions.
I have never heard a non-American person say it, but it's really spot on and definitely a useful expression for some situations. The actual Kool-aid drink is not on sale this side of the Atlantic and that's probably a good thing for peoples dental health and waistline. My American ex-boss (very senior person) used to coolly ask the British and German colleauges "What have you been smoking??"(in a New York accent) when they suggested something he thought was stupid. It was very funny to see peoples reactions when he did that.. they had no idea what to respond. This man never used corporate BS jargon because he probably didn't know it. What he knew, he thought was nonsense. Very refreshing. ------------------------------ Corporate BS jargon is a pain in the neck and totally ridiculous. Some people can't help themselves but to throw these expressions around as soon as they open their mouth. I can't stand it and I only use it in situations where it absolutely can't be avoided. It's useful if you want to take ignorant or junior people down a peg or sound like a real "hot-shot" or "insider." But it also makes you sound silly/cheezy/pretentious. My point is: People who know their job and industry don't need to throw cheezy corporate expressions or MBA terminology around to show that they know what they are doing. I think people who sound like a corporate poster boy and is constantly on about "value added", teamplayers, KPIs, synergy and ballpark figures are incredibly tiresome and annoying. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
 meramarina Diglot Moderator United States Joined 5760 days ago 1341 posts - 2303 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: German, Italian, French Personal Language Map | Message 15 of 34 11 January 2010 at 8:16pm | IP Logged | ||
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I forgot one of my personal least favorite nonsense phrases: "The big picture." "We have to look at the big picture here . . . " meaning, nothing, really, just that we need perspective, we need to put this into a larger context, etc, or just something you can say when you don't like somebody's idea.
Regarding the elephant expression, it's usually a "pink elephant," and means something enormous and obvious that no one will talk about. By the way, if you are ever admitted to the hospital, don't worry, because you cannot die. The word just doesn't exist in healthcare. Nobody ever says "death" and no one can "die." You "expire." And then you go to the Big Picture in the sky. Another one from the hospital: post-mortem organ donation is "sharing." Hmmm . . . it's really not, but if you hear this said, "Call the Sharing Network" it's not nearly as warm and happy as it sounds. Or there might be a "negative patient outcome." I saw that one on Buzzwhack last night and remembered just how popular that term is with insurance companies! Edited by meramarina on 11 January 2010 at 8:26pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| darkwhispersdal Senior Member Wales Joined 5833 days ago 294 posts - 363 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Ancient Greek, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, Japanese, Latin | Message 16 of 34 11 January 2010 at 8:26pm | IP Logged | ||
I thought it was a white elephant. We have been offically told to not "practice the black arts" anymore which literally means all enzyme know how you've got in your head you'll give to us without question. Though it may mean something different anyone else heard this one? 1 person has voted this message useful |
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