REPEAT AGAIN!... The Art of Redundancies

I was listening the quite popular ‘Junior School’s Challenge Quiz’ yesterday when I realized yet again another poignant example of us marring our children’s English with the constant use of redundancies in our interaction with them. Redundant words or phrases (otherwise called pleonasms) are excessive use of and when removed, will not deduct from the overall meaning of the expression.

So with that said, how many times have you cringed or wondered Did he just say that?(or even say it aloud) on hearing someone, especially a public figure (let’s say the Minister of Education) say something like ”In my personal opinion, the regular routine is not to ... but to build bridges of communication”? OMG!! Did he really just say that? Yes, he did, and like him, far too many individuals within the public domain, are quilty of this abuse of the english language either by association, perpetuation, accident or whatever excuse you may conjure up for this practice.
Of considerable notice (in no particular order) are: politicians, media broadcasters/ journalists, pastors, police and practicing orators who are relentlessly guilty as charged for this transgression.

Here are a few such expressions. The ones I have commented on are the more frequently heard. Tell me, which one/s are you guilty of? Which ones am I?
o Actual experience... Hasnt it got to be real once its an experience?
o Advance planning ... Lets plan in reverse
o Baby boy was born ...
o Cease and desist... CCN you are guiltyas charged!
o Close proximity... CCN you are guilty!
o Complete opposite – slightly opposite maybe?
o ATM machine & PIN number – even the bank tellers use this.
o HIV virus – call me a liar here, but I have heard medical practitioners say this HIV means Human Immunodeficiency Virus
o Armed gunman – as of this day, let us say ’armed roseman’ (armed with a rose, haha)
o ER room – Let’s take him to the Emergency room room
o Free gift – What other kind is there Digicel, Courts etc? Restricted?
o 7 a.m. in the morning – ahmmmmm! 7AM in the night perhaps? CVM!
o Pair of twins – Isn’t that how they usually come?
o Revert back – well, revert means to go back
o Past history – as opposed to future history maybe?
o In the future I would like to become... Teacher/ coaches, PLEASE STOP THIS NOW! It’s even said it on SCQ
o Repeat again... Return again... Revert back... oh Lord! 3 of the oldest & hopefully, outdated.
o Personal opinion... isnt ’opinion’ a personal thought?
o Period of time... period of mass maybe? Or would distance be better?
o Summarize briefly... Even teachers are guilty
o Join together... So what should the marriage officers now say?
o In spite of the fact that
o In the field of economics/ law enforcement
o Attached together
o Commute back and forth...
o Each and every...
o Empty space...
o End result
o Estimated roughly at
o filled to capacity
o Free gift
o Frozen ice
o General public
o Green in color
o Natural instinct
o Never at any time
o Null and void
o Pair of twins
o Past experience
o Reason is because
o Regular routine
o Small speck
o A sudden explosion
o Surrounded on all sides
CHECK THIS OUT!
If we were to revert back to the days when an orator would deliver eloquent well-sounding speeches, especially at formal functions or persuade the general public with his verbose prolix and when all and sundry would listen in wonderment just to capture his latest and new innovations in the art of skillful rhetotic, we would admit, it was all a bunch of vocal acrobatics and oral sophistry. = 67 words

Oops! Did I just laced my well-worded sentence with redundancies? Guilty as charged!.... So how about it mading it simple. Less being more?:
If we were to revert to the days when an orator would deliver and when all would listen in wonderment just to capture his latest rhetotic, we would admit, it was all a bunch of sophistry. = 36 words

React…. Reflect…. & Reciprocate….!