Say what you mean!

["Karen L. Zorn" <k -dot- zorn -at- zorntech -dot- com>]

<rant> Over the last week there have been manynews stories regarding HP and
"pretexting." One talk radio host (Diane Rehm, NPR) asked for a definition.
After the definition, I thought, "well, why didn't they just say *that*?"
Then over the weekend I read an article in the newspaper's business section
where a company "pre-warned" investors that profits would not be as
forecasted. When did "pre-warn" become a word? The dictionary defines "warn"
as: "To notify or apprise in advance." So does "pre-warn" mean that you're
warned before being warned? (Frankly, I'm surprised the editor didn't pick
this up!)

I've been in the TW business for many years. Over this time I've had to
adjust my written vocabulary to an increasingly smaller word set in order to
accommodate localization issues, be absolutely clear in the information I'm
communicating, and address different reading levels. But making up words to
obscure one's activities or meaning has finally sent this usually
mild-mannered TW into fits! Or, are we seeing another turn in English such
as "e" as in e-mail, e-account; and "I" as in iPod, iNet? </rant> 

Do you have other examples? What do you think?

Karen L. Zorn
Zorn Technologies, Inc.
Mesa, AZ

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