By Diego Nascimento
My articles are read in Portuguese / English versions in more than thirty countries around the world (Google charts confirm this), and for this reason, I have the task of guiding my readers on various topics. Among them is the correct use of written and spoken language. The fact that I have friends from different nationalities has shown that the excessive and inappropriate use of slang has also made communication difficult in various corners of the planet. It is a problem that has invaded the workplace, classrooms and, as a whole, it brings communication disorders into families. From here I can see your expression of astonishment (ha, ha …). I would just ask you to stay with me and understand the reasons.
In Brazil, for example, you just have to go out on the streets to hear words that sound strange to your ears, but which are common to new generations or older groups who still hold terminologies that belong to the past and that create barriers in today’s dialogues. The worst is when a person mistreats words by utterly wrong pronunciations, outside the verbal context and with zero understanding. A real crime against the mother tongue that, if we analyze it, is a public patrimony.
I have participated in numerous job interviews (from a recruiter’s position) in which candidates had great goodwill and apparent strengths, but when they started to speak they threw out all the expectations presented by the resume. It’s a sad reality. What about writing? That is even worse. They offer a “free day” for final point, comma and other punctuation marks that give meaning to the text. How to entrust public service tasks (internal / external) or even a sales job to those who want to torture the correct use of the language?
I agree that there is a section of the population that presents limitations due to a school deficit (and that can be made up), but I know of groups that ignore good vocabulary because of laziness or fads and thereby lose great opportunities simply by choosing words and expressions strange and inelegant. In any case, I want to be clear that I am not begging for the use of sophisticated language; I am just calling for common sense and practice. Also please understand that there are certain communities that, because of cultural and longstanding issues, make use of a language system all their own, and that must be respected. Under no circumstances is bullying justified.
I would like to conclude by saying that you may think that for certain functions the use of an inappropriate vocabulary full of slang words does not present problems. That would be your mistake. We are human beings formed by habits, and this is the best time to change the course of your life. What’s fun today can become a serious issue when it comes to finding work, attending a course or even completing school / academic assignments. How about rewriting your story? Start talking the right way!