Sunday, October 14, 2007
Irritating Words: To Source
Some words suddenly detach themselves from ordinary discourse. This may be pleasant - I'm okay with most current yoofspeak - but, especially in the commercial world, it can be fantastically irritating. The word that inspires these thoughts is 'source' used as a verb. It is said by antique dealers, builders, architects, designers, presenters of house makeover shows, gardeners and, soon, everybody. Typically, it appears in sentences like 'I can source those for you'. Yesterday, it was said to me by somebody in an antique shop. 'Do you often have these kind of lights?" I asked, 'Yes,' he replied, 'we can usually source those.' Now, consider what this actually means. The word 'source' is a membership card. He did not say 'get' or 'find' because they are things that one feels anybody can do. 'Source' professionalises the getting and finding process. To 'source' something is an expert or elite activity. Furthermore, 'sourcing' makes it clear that the elite have access to a club of providers to which you have no access. This immediately raises the value of the product in question. One 'buys' baked beans but one 'sources' original thirties Anglepoise lamps. Thus the world is divided into those that can 'source' and those that can't. And, if you can't, you must pay the prices demanded by those that can. 'Source' is, in fact, a euphemism for 'I have a lock on this market. I can get hold of this for about £10 and you can't. Therefore you must pay £763.47 exactly.' Perhaps, - and here is the final twist of the knife - you could actually find the thing in question for £10, but the word 'source' is intended to intimidate you into thinking that you can't. Anyway, with that, I will go and source the papers.
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A blog about, among other things, imaginary ideas - What ifs? and Imagine thats. What if photographs looked nothing like what we see with our eyes? Imagine that the Berlin Wall had never come down. What if we were the punchline of an interminable joke? All contributions welcome.
I find "these kind of" just as irritating. It comes from a childhood in which I was belaboured by teachers with absolutes.
ReplyDeleteIt might have been salutary to ask him what he was talking about. "What do you mean, exactly, 'source'? Where I come from, 'source' is a noun. Do you mean 'get hold of'? Are you just trying to sound important, you silly little twerp?"
I should have done, Dennis. I had dinner with the literary critic Christopher Ricks once and the very camp waiter was reading the 'specials'.Suddenly Ricks stopped him and said, "That's the third time you've used the word 'exotic', what exactly do you mean by it?' Camp waiter said no more.
ReplyDeleteThe genesis is French, that film Jean de florette and its follow on, Manon des Sources ('86). A spring, but used in the context of water at the oasis.
ReplyDeleteWhile, you're sure that the 30's lamps will work in the new gaff. Given its overt statement of careful hunter, as seen in the photo of a few days ago.
In a similar vein, it is increasingly common to hear of buildings, facilities or machines being 'commissioned' or 'decommisioned'. To commission a building, facility or machine, simply means to build, furnish, or put it into operating service. To decommission simply means to strip it down, clear it away, or take it out of operating service. However, the 'Assurance' industry has hijacked these terms, and uses them to imply that there is a sophisticated and important process at work in both of these cases. A process which can only be authorised by the people in Assurance.
ReplyDelete'Assurance' itself is the new term for 'Health and Safety'. Assurance implies a cooperative process, acting to assist, and to provide the employee with confidence and trust. This avoids the negative connotations of 'Health and Safety', which implies pedantic regulation, delaying and impeding people from getting things done.
Yes, Gordon, I think I might get this blog 'quality assured'. Not sure about the thirties laps at all, Vince. I might try a bit of sourcing.
ReplyDeleteI source my coffee every morning. It is a long walk to Costa Rica, but the rain forest is lovely this time of year.
ReplyDeleteI think he meant "sorce," as in "sorcery." Those antiques dealers do sometimes seem to have a deal going with supernatural provenders ("provenance" is another word they like).
ReplyDeleteBy the way, where is Philip Walling? He should be here to point out that it's Americans turning all those nouns into verbs.
Its part of the promotion of bogus professionalism. Case in point the replacement of "advisor" with "counsellor". I'm with Confucius, the first task should be the clarification of language. Actually no, first we kill all the lawyers then we do the language thingy.
ReplyDeleteAha! A new job: a blog-auditor!
ReplyDeleteMaybe, Bryan, it's 'sauce', not 'source'. They're informing you that when they find said item, they will pour ketchup or some such condiment all over it.
ReplyDeleteBtw, have you noticed EVERYONE using the word 'robust'? All over the shop. It was a robust defence, a robust offence, a robust approach etc etc etc. Driving me mad.
J Cheever Loophole
You're spot-on, Mr Cheever-Loophole. I believe the contemporary popularity of 'robust' can be traced to the world of Information Technology, where a robust system is one which can recover from a whole range of exceptional inputs and situations. The term was then incorporated into the Systems Engineering lexicon. (Systems Engineering is rooted in the world of IT, but has now spread into all major engineering projects). Thence it spread to Assurance, Health and Safety, and Government in general. And from there, it spread, via the media, to the world of sport.
ReplyDelete