Tag Archives: Uncanny Valley

day 2766: Garbage Language

“My words are plain to anyone with understanding, clear to those with knowledge.”

From the title of this post, you can probably already imagine what you are going to read about how we should and shouldn’t speak.  That is correct, but I’m going to take a different angle than maybe what is expected.  Anna Weiner wrote in her latest book, “Uncanny Valley” that corporations in Silicon Valley speak in “Garbage Language”.  This means that they grab onto words and then make that part of their corporate lexicon and culture.  Silicon Valley is not unique here.  Every company, every organization, has their own set of words that are used to fill space or describe something that could much more easily said, but they just might not sound as “smart” as using one of these new words. Reporter, Molly Young, captured a bunch of these in a recent article on the site, Vulture. Here’s a few: “Parallel Pathing, Growth Hacking, Syncs (vs meetings), Radar Screen, Complexify, Co-Execute, Replatform, Shareability,” etc.  You get the idea. When we speak in terms that others have to wonder what they mean, then are we creating productivity or just leaving room for interpretation, thus wasting time?

We know that our language should not be the description of “garbage” as we are not to use vulgar word, if we are trying to bring glory to God in our work. But, I would go as far as to say that we should also be cognizant of how we use “Garbage Language” as Weiner defines.  Why?  Because one of the most important things we can do is to respect others and what is more precious to all of us than our time.  So, if we are doing things that waste others times then we have to ask ourselves, are doing right by them?  So, let’s be respectful and sensitive to all in how we communicate.

Reference: Proverbs 8:9 (New Living Translation)