Concept in Definition ABC

When we communicate we make various mistakes, which are known as vices of the language. One of them is pleonasm, which consists of using words unnecessarily to communicate an idea. This phenomenon is also known as redundancy.

Some illustrative examples are: "go up to the top", "bleeding blood", "go down to the bottom", "I saw it with my own eyes" or "go inside", "give it to me" or "human person".

In all these cases there is a word that is left over and that does not contribute anything message. Pleonasms are very common in everyday language, but this does not mean that they are correct.

A way to express something with greater intensity

Even though the pleonasm is a mistake linguistics Obviously, it has a certain usefulness, because with it we manage to convey an idea in a more expressive, more ornate or even more beautiful way. So if I say "how are you guys?" the pronoun you is unnecessary, but it makes sense to use it because in this way the force of the message.

Do not confuse pleonasms with fillers

The fillers, also known as hoses or pigtails, are words or sounds that we say completely involuntarily and that do not contribute anything relevant to the communication. The use of fillers in small doses is not problematic, but when they are abused the message that is transmitted ends up being impoverished.

On the other hand, fillers convey unsafety in the speaker, lack of preparation or little knowledge about a subject. Among the most common fillers we can mention the following: end the statements with an interrogative eh, start saying something by saying "what I want to say to you" or unjustifiably repeat words like well, well, true okay.

Both fillers and pleonasms have something in common, since in both cases there is a repetitive component that distorts communication.

Other language vices

Pleonasms and fillers are not the only vices of language. Barbarisms are grammatical errors that consist of pronouncing or to write incorrectly the words (the word very strong is a barbarism because it should be written very strong). Decheism is based on misusing the preposition of (the sentence "I think you're right" is incorrect, as it should be said "I think you're right").

Amphibologies take place when ideas are expressed that could be interpreted in a very different sense (if I affirm this is the pig of my friend", it is not known if my friend has a pig or if I am insulting my friend).

Photo: Fotolia - Dariusz Kopestynski