- By Jim Evans
- Entertainment
Print 
SMART TALK
by Dr. Parley Speake
EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME: At the Center for English as a First Language, where we help Americans who can't use their own language fluently, we call this polysyllabificationitis. Our founder, an anonymous educator, designed the name to be an example of the illness. This disorder has patients believing that more syllables make one sound smarter.
Maybe we should call it Stuffed Shirt Syndrome.
By extended period of time, doesn't the speaker or writer mean long time? Then say so and get on with it. Period of time is redundant, anyway; you could just as well say long period, but that's two syllables longer that long time, so it's your second choice. And saying extended instead of long is like saying laceration when it's a cut. In other words, get over yourself.
Here's a Big Lesson: Simple English is better English. Words are tools much like those of a mechanic. Having and knowing how to use a coil spring depressor is great when you need it, but 99% of the time, you work with screwdrivers, pliers, and wrenches. And 99% of the time, the best speakers and writers use the simplest words possible.
That's been true for a long time.