I who am a subject who according to the definitions belongs to generation Y, more or less, also called "millennials" and on which I have recently recounted my reflections on the matter and who have defined what happens as "cringe", having repeatedly spent some time reflecting on the strange words of our daily life, which perhaps come from other languages and which perhaps have become commonly used through a language that is not entirely mine, it seemed necessary to spend some time again and really consider " cringe” as an Englishism of which we make excessive use, in my opinion. I see it this way because, it is a term that I hear more and more used in very very different contexts which forced me to look for more information to get a precise idea of the meaning of the word, because if I had to learn it from listening experience , precisely in different contexts, honestly, I would not have deduced in the slightest that it meant what it means, which leaves me perplexed again on the choice of words for linguistic economy which are not economic, because they do not simplify the understanding of situations, they complicate it, and this for it doesn't make sense to me. But let's get back to us, what does "Cringe" mean? Literally, I understand, that it is used to define a situation that when you look at it causes you embarrassment, or more literally an involuntary contraction of the facial muscles, a bit like in disgust, and in the social network environment, where word is more prevalent, it comes up when we look at or share something we wish didn't exist, but. Yes, I know, I always come up with a but, what can I do, I'm someone who gets stuck in standbys and today it goes like this too. But, sorry, if it means that the situation I'm observing generates embarrassment for those who have done it, I'm basically embarrassed for them, because when I hear someone use the word cringe there is never an emotion of disgust and always, oh always, the contraction of the facial muscles does not occur? My but, arises from the fear that a strange use is being made of a word that brings with it a useful definition, but that if it is also used for situations that instead of Cringe could easily be defined as strange, avoidable, annoying, without however generate that widespread sense of embarrassment, the result is that the meaning is lost in the desire to use a word that is cool but which in reality was not the one I needed. Can't you find? That is, if I decide that in one way or another I have to insert the word cringe into the conversation because it gives me a tone to use the word cringe, don't you think it's a bit cringe to do so? The word inserted inappropriately, without a real stimulation of the involuntary facial contraction generated by disgust, embarrasses me for you who are not able to choose a better term to define what you are talking about. Hearing the word in the wrong place produces a deep facial muscle contraction in me, because I wonder where did you get it from if not the fashion of using it. And this cringe effect, not only does the word cringe itself but it brings with it a string of other terms that are slipped into conversations just to slip them in without actually being connected to the context and in line with the thought that is being expressed. Some of the most fashionable examples are the names of the cultural generations we talked about in the last episode and which lead us to hear “Boomers” or “millennials” to make references that have little to do with Boomers and millennials and again the my face involuntarily contracts, and so it happens with a thousand other words that we use without asking ourselves, yes we, if they really should stay there or not, if there is a better one for each single sentence, the pros and cons of a term or of the other. In practice, I could become a great user of the word "Cringe", is that I'm still fond of saying: "What the fuck are you saying?" or "What the fuck is he doing?", and boh, they seem even more effective, clearer, that's it.
Original episode in Italian
Spanish version
Other podcast projects from Michele Battistella and C Reattiva Sono una Fenice IT Soy un fènix ES They're a phoenix EN
#Standby original on Spotify
Standby in translation on Spotify english version
Modo de Espera on Spotify_standby spanish version
more link: Luck Tales Adventures, Michele IG
