Do words have an expiration date? – 02/28/2024 – Thaís Nicoleti

In a recent article, I welcomed the arrival of an initiative to simplify legal language, especially in what it still retains as ornamental (use of rare vocabulary, excessive adjectives, accumulation of long words and Latinisms, among other devices). Although the idea was well received, there are those who imagine that the intention is to subject the magistrates’ language to some type of demotion. Certainly, that was not the intention. The interesting thing about discussions about writing and language, however, is that they rarely end in a good agreement.

Recently, I witnessed a debate on social media about the use of the terms “admais”, “outrossim” and “destarte”. Some treated these words as archaisms, swearing that nobody but employs them. For my part, I always doubt anyone who uses “nobody” as an argument of authority, but one of the debaters, more diligent, had already done research in corpora of the Portuguese language and, based on this, he assured that the words remain alive. Given this, the discussion did not end, but changed direction. We then moved on to the field of recommendations.

This is another issue that, from time to time, resurfaces in the debate. After all, what is the best way to write a text? Is writing cutting words? The mystery has still not been solved to this day, perhaps because, among other reasons, there is no single way to be successful in this task. There are works written in the most varied styles that impress us equally. That’s why the desired “cake recipe” has not yet been discovered by humans.

Meanwhile, artificial intelligence has been working to standardize texts, very useful for writing medicine leaflets and instruction manuals, but useless for expressing what happens in the recesses of the human soul, where our vocabulary must live. There, somewhere, are the words that come to mind when composing a text.

“Furthermore”, “otherwise” and “thus”, these days, they rest more than they work, although they live and enjoy good health, but, in the pen of some scribes, they are ready to take action with each new paragraph. Therein lies the problem.

Anyone who has had contact with entrance exam essays and, above all, Enem essays advertised as exemplary will certainly have seen these three little words in them with surprising frequency. Are young people applying for university entrance exams common users of these terms or do they believe in their driving force towards achieving the highest grade?

Most likely, as Enem writing, in particular, emphasizes the use of argumentative operators that explicitly articulate paragraphs, many students are advised to use conjunctions at the beginning of them. So far, so good, but, apparently, the “tips” for writing this type of text are a little more specific.

There are websites that offer pre-made essay templates, but, let’s face it, it’s difficult to guess what the topic chosen by the exam board will be. Their strategy is to offer the student “safe options” of connectives, such as “in addition” and “otherwise”, which only serve to add information, without establishing more complex relationships between them (condition, purpose, concession, proportion, opposition, cause and effect, etc.) – it is worth remembering that incorrect use of the connective leads to loss of points. “Destarte”, in turn, serves to conclude the text and, incredible as it may seem, still alternates with “in view of the arguments presented above”.

The fact that exemplary essays sometimes, although not always, contain these connectives does not mean that such use has been rewarded. This is not a relationship of cause and effect, but a relationship of concession: they got full marks not because of these “blunders”, but despite them. Nothing against the terms themselves, let’s reiterate. After all, it is extremely inelegant to wish someone else’s death, even when it comes to words.

The art of writing well is less about suppressing words or expressions (for whatever reasons) than about mastering as many linguistic resources as possible. All those who express our ideas and feelings freely are valuable. Excessive ornamentation leaves the text stilted; Very simple language, on the other hand, has limits; repetitions are boring, but sometimes they are emphatic or merely necessary. Ultimately, it is very difficult to say which is the best path, because there are many good or, at least, viable paths. One thing, however, is certain: the more knowledge, the better.

LINK PRESENT: Did you like this text? Subscribers can access five free accesses from any link per day. Just click the blue F below.