This is actually my blog. Here is a direct link to the “Making and Impact” post.
Enjoy!
I used to say that when I was a very young child. Then I learned to use the correct word (scratch) and all is right with the world. I wish other people were able/willing to learn the correct word as well.
As for “incent”–I’ve never heard it before in my life. I guess I can consider myself lucky.
Whenever someone complains about the language being misused, someone else comes along and gives us that lame “our language is evolving” excuse. It makes me sad and frustrated that our language is actually de-volving, rather than evolving because of people who are ignorant of the existing language.
Lame excuse? In what sense is it either lame or an excuse? And what do you mean by “de-volving” – does the change in language have some sort of teleological end to it? And how is someone who speaks a language possibly ignorant of the language?
I swear, people get all mystical about words sometimes. They’s just words, folks. They’s not handed down from on high.
Daniel
IMHO, if you make up a word because you don’t know the existing word, you are being neglectful to the language, and that is wrong.
A language is not “living” or “evolving” if its speakers don’t take the time to actually learn it, and instead bastardize their little stockpile of words in an attempt to get a point across. If your point is that important, you should respect it enough to find real words to convey it.
I agree with much of what you say, Daniel, but the extreme descriptivism practiced by some people in order to excuse any and every ridiculous neologism does get a bit irritating after a while.
I’m a copyeditor of business documents. This word is on my permanent watchlist. I usually replace it with “to provide incentive.”
Don’t even get me started on “impactful.”
What’s a real word?
Daniel
Your sadness and frustration are a result of your own ignorance. Language doesn’t devolve, and it doesn’t really evolve either. Barring pidgins, all natural languages are functionally equivalent compared to earlier (or later) forms of said languages. That’s been true for about 50,000 years.
This thread, and many others like it, are really depressing. The SDMB has a very enlightened approach to gay rights and many other issues, but a worse bunch of language bigots I have rarely seen. English speakers are so fucking insecure.
-fh
I am sorry for all the confusement this word has caused. Pacifically, that people are so upset. It must of been quite a shock to hear English butchered in such a way. Hopefully we can get past it. Irregardless, you have incented me to use more impactful speech from now on.
And if anyone had the least bit of trouble understanding Skammer’s paragraph (assuming you could read it over the sound of nails screeching down your psychological chalkboard), please raise your hand, and we’ll volunteer you for the next round of linguistic studies.
Me, I think it was a masterful bit of writing, conveying two contradictory meanings through content and style. It demonstrates how every word has it(I’m really struggling not to put an apostrophe here)s place.
Daniel
Well, boo-FUCKING-hoo! What’s the neglected language gonna do? Run away from home? Call a social worker? Write a tell-all book (“Chapter 1: Aardvark Abuse”)?
Oh boy, a foodfight over my OP! You go, guys! 
You know, there are some words that enter the language that are beautiful and useful. I’m a great fan of “administrivia” because it so clearly and accurately conveys what it’s supposed to convey.
But when someone rewrites words because (a) they think it will make themselves sound superior or (b) they’re too damn lazy to say the perfectly accurate word that’s currently being used and understood by the majority of their listeners, then I just go ballistic. And since in my line of work I CAN’T have a watchlist (except of the words that cause that “sound of nails screeching down your psychological chalkboard” (thanks, DanielWithrow!), then I have to just suffer.
Oh, and try to figure out how to spell them. Without hurling all over my keyboard.
And now back to the foodfight!
How am I ignorant when someone thinks that “conversate” is a word and it catches on and people start using it? That’s an example of what frustrates me. Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.
I’m perfectly open to any opinions people may have about language, but I’m still entitled to my frustration.
Oh, and when “loose” is considered an alternate spelling of “lose”, I will find the nearest tall building and jump. 