A word about a word
Throughout my life, I’ve almost always found my own ‘thing’ and not been one to follow trends. Yes, I may be one of millions of Red Dwarf fans, but I developed this passion by myself - for myself - not because anyone else told me to do so.
The many people I see that have personalities manufactured by their peers and/or current fads shouldn’t bother me. But it *really* does. I realise that it’s virtually impossible to get through life without being influenced by others (cue a long discourse on Ideological State Apparatus), but I’m talking specifically here about following trends for the sake of. Just think of those god-awful frog/chick/dragon ringtones that you can’t avoid the adverts for. They’ve only taken off because it’s a trend.
Anyway, although I could continue moaning about this in a general sense for ages, there is something specific that I want to mention: The word “chav”. Don’t get me wrong - chavs themselves are, let’s face it, scum. But it’s the overuse of the word at the moment that’s really getting to me.
I read on Ceefax late last year that the word was voted the Best new word of 2004 (or something to that effect) by top dictionary chief-people. This, I’m sure, has contributed to the awareness of the word, aiding its propulsion as a trend.
Exactly how it could be voted as a “new” word, however, is beyond me; I myself used the word at least three years ago, as I remember having to explain to someone at the time what I meant in saying it. It’s just hearing it several times a day now is too much, too quickly. It’s not the most pleasant-sounding of words to start with; the effort to say “ch” gives the impression that the word is building to something bigger, but the sudden “av” that follows is anticlimactic, making it sound harsh.
Not that I often sit and evaluate the structure of words, or anything. As I said, I know this shouldn’t bother me, but hearing its constant use - quite often incorrectly, too - really does get my feckles up.
End of.