Words and meanings

It is strange, isn't it, how the meanings - both overt and subtle - of certain words change over time. One of the best examples of this is the word gay - in my parents' generation it was an innocent expression describing bright, cheerful or happy; in my formative years it became used to express homosexuality - still often a term of abuse in those days. More recently, the courts have accepted it to mean useless or non-functioning - as in 'my computer is being gay today' - interestingly my copy of the OED pre-dates this variation, but the online version covers it as 'not impressive, stylish or attractive'.

Similarly, I recently had a discussion with my parents about the use of bad language on TV (you know the discussion...) and found myself trying to explain, as delicately as possible, that certain words that they would freely use are now considered far more offensive than the generally acknowledged obscenities.

What has this got to do with business? Well in marketing terms - everything.  A large facet of the marketing industry revolves around the adaptation of words for a specific purpose.

I'm sure you already know that the official name for evolution of words and meanings is Etymology.

To a marketeer the pinnacle of achievement is to have your brand become common usage such as Hoover, Ansafone etc, or alternatively to have an established every-day word become inextricably linked with your product; to this day the word posh is linked in my mind to Bowyers sausages and that must have been 30 years ago.

On the other hands, marketing jargon and management-speak can grab hold of every-day words and render them meaningless or even negative. For some time Private Eye magazine has had a running feature mocking the use of the word solutions in business names - with the best will in the word, this will reflect on your business name. Similarly, the word opportunity has been abused to the extent that it practically sends shivers down my spine because I know that 9 times out of 10 the next sentence will be asking me to part with money, normally on a premise so whimsical as to be comical.

These  negative connotations were once described to me as dead cow - as in, 'which would you prefer, a well-matured Angus Sirloin, or a piece of dead cow?'

Restaurant owners could try this out on their menus - after all, it's only words, isn't it?