Use Fewer Words but Say More

 

American comedian¹ George Carlin is remembered for telling jokes about politics, religion and even the English language. He used humor to express his dislike of things such as misused² words and the overuse of common expressions.

One of his pet peeves⁴ was when television reporters and program hosts used redundancies. The word “redundancy” has a few meanings. The one we will explore today involves use of a word or phrase that repeats something else and is not needed.

Carlin made fun of redundant⁶ phrases such as “honest truth” “plan ahead” and “join together” in his stand-up comedy act and books.

On this Everyday Grammar program, we will talk about common redundancies and suggest ways to avoid them in writing.

Why use redundancy?

English speakers often speak in a repetitive style. It is so deeply ingrained in us that we rarely notice it. In fact, I just used a somewhat redundant phrase: deeply ingrained.

So why do English speakers use redundancy? Well, we sometimes do it for emphasis. One might say, “Personally, I would rather go to the parade.” The word “personally” is unneeded but makes a stronger statement.

Other times, redundancy makes very direct language sound kinder, such as in indirect questions.

Redundant language also is used in some forms of writing, such as literature, speech writing and legal writing.

But in other kinds of formal writing, redundancy is not a good idea. That includes school-related and business writing. It can weaken statements and make readers lose interest in the subject.

“Less is more” is a good rule to follow as one attempts to produce quality written work.

So now let’s explore five common redundancies to look out for.

Introducing examples

The first one is in setting up examples.

In formal writing, we use phrases like “for example” “for instance” and “such as” to present examples. So, adding the phrases “and so on” “and more” or the Latin term “et cetera” to a list of examples is redundant.

Here is an example of what to avoid:

Carlin often joked about redundant phrases such as “honest truth” “plan ahead” and “join together” and more.

You can rewrite it by removing the phrases “such as” or “and more.” You don’t need both.

Adding information

Another problem happens when trying to present additional information on a subject.

When starting a sentence with phrases such as “in addition to” “like” or “also,” one should avoid using one of these same phrases in the statement. Here is an example of what not to write:

In addition to condemning⁷ the violence, they also protested the new policies.

You should remove the word “also” in the second part of the sentence since “in addition to” already expresses the idea of “also.”

Redundant pairs

Another problem is what are called “redundant pairs” -- two words that together suggest each other. This includes a phrase such as “future plans.” We know, for instance, that “plans” are about the future.

“End result” and “final outcome” are other examples.

Redundant pairs can also involve putting a useless preposition after a verb. Think of the phrase “protest against.” The verb “protest” already expresses the idea of being “against” something.

Overusing adverbs

Another kind of redundancy is the overuse or misuse³ of adverbs.

The adverbs “very,” “really,” “extremely” and “incredibly” are examples of intensifiers. They make adjectives stronger. Intensifiers are often not a wise choice for formal writing, however.

“Very unique” is an example of a misused intensifier. The word “very” is redundant because “unique” means “very special or unusual.”

Other adverbs are simply needless⁸. Two such examples are the phrases “shouted loudly” and “completely destroyed.” We know that destruction suggests total ruin and shouting refers to being very loud.

Time-related phrases

Writers in English are also guilty of wordy time-related phrases.

For example, the phrase “period of time” and “time period” are redundant since “period” refers to a measure of time.

A few others are “at the present time” (which can be replaced with “at present”); “delay until later” (which can be replaced with “delay”); and “since the time when” (which can be replaced with “since”).

Writing sample

Now, let’s hear an example of a sentence that uses more words than necessary to express an idea. It comes from the Purdue University Online Writing Lab:

Before the travel agent was completely able to finish explaining the various differences among all of the many very unique vacation packages his travel agency was offering, the customer changed her future plans.

And here is how Purdue suggests rewriting it:

Before the travel agent finished explaining the differences among the unique vacation packages his travel agency was offering, the customer changed her plans.

The rewritten sentence is shorter and clearer.

Ways to avoid redundancy

Here are three things that may help you avoid redundancy in formal written work:

First, plan time to write. This will give you space to carefully examine and rewrite your work until you are satisfied with the result. Starting a formal writing task late is never a good idea.

Choose your words wisely. As you write, use words that help remove redundant language. Instead of writing “very tired,” for instance, write “exhausted.” Instead of “looked closely,” you might write “examined.”

And, finally, avoid fillers – words and phrases that add no meaning but just fill space, such as wordy time phrases. Supervisors⁹ and professors usually disapprove¹⁰ of and can easily identify fillers.

I’m Alice Bryant.

Words in This Story

pet peeve⁵ – n. something that annoys or bothers a person very much

host – n. a person who talks to guests on a television or radio show

phrase – n. a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence

ingrained – adj. deeply rooted: existing for a long time and very difficult to change

emphasis – n. a forceful quality in the way something is said or written

unique – adj. very special or unusual

online – adj. done over the Internet

various – adj. referring to several different or many different things, people, etc.

task – n. a piece of work that has been given to someone

1 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

2 misused   

v.使用…不当( misuse的过去式和过去分词 )；把…派作不正当的用途；虐待；滥用

参考例句：

• He misused his dog shamefully. 他可耻地虐待自己的狗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had grossly misused his power. 他严重滥用职权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 misuse   

n.误用，滥用；vt.误用，滥用

参考例句：

• It disturbs me profoundly that you so misuse your talents.你如此滥用自己的才能，使我深感不安。
• He was sacked for computer misuse.他因滥用计算机而被解雇了。

4 peeves   

n.麻烦的事物，怨恨，触怒( peeve的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It peeves me to be ordered out of my own house. 命令我从自己的家中出去，真太气人了。 来自辞典例句
• Write down two of your pet peeves about home or any other situation. 写下两个你厌烦的家务事或其他的情况。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

5 peeve   

v.气恼，怨恨；n.麻烦的事物，怨恨

参考例句：

• She was in a peeve over it.她对这很气恼。
• She was very peeved about being left out.她为被遗漏而恼怒。

6 redundant   

adj.多余的，过剩的；(食物)丰富的；被解雇的

参考例句：

• There are too many redundant words in this book.这本书里多余的词太多。
• Nearly all the redundant worker have been absorbed into other departments.几乎所有冗员，都已调往其他部门任职。

7 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 needless   

adj.不必，无须，不必要的，无用的

参考例句：

• Needless to say,I agree.无须说，我是同意的。
• It is needless to add that you are in want of a second.你需要一个助手，那是不必说的。

9 supervisors   

n.监督者，管理者( supervisor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I think the best technical people make the best supervisors. 我认为最好的技术人员可以成为最好的管理人员。 来自辞典例句
• Even the foremen or first-level supervisors have a staffing responsibility. 甚至领班或第一线的监督人员也有任用的责任。 来自辞典例句

10 disapprove   

v.不赞成，不同意，不批准

参考例句：

• I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
• She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员，但她的父母不赞成。