These phrases make their English sound so highhanded — even somewhat threatening — but we learn to tolerate them because they are actually part of their professional jargon. The problem, though, is that owing to our repeated exposure to them, these stock phrases creep into our own writing and speech. carillo carilloBut should we really allow abstruse tradition and peer-group pressure to tyrannize us into using these officious stock phrases despite our better judgment? To start with, the most commonly used officious English words or phrases today are these six: "about," "regarding," "concerning," "touching on," "in terms of," and "on account of." Next, Oct. 12, 2023: Avoiding very officious stock phrases in our English -2isit Jose Carillo's English Forum, http://josecarilloforum.com.

Source: Manila Times October 04, 2023 16:36 UTC