In early 2016, the respected Associated Press added several entries to their style manual; Among these is the maxim that the word accident should be avoided when referring to automobile accidents in which negligence has been “claimed or proven”.
Accident happened. And while the AP may object to the use of ‘accident’ in cases involving negligence, we in the dictionary would not.
The Associated Press explained their decision by saying accident “may be read by some as a term of vindication for the person responsible.”
For vehicle accidents: When negligence is confirmed or proven, avoid using the word accident. In such cases, use crash, collision or other terms.
– APStylebook (@APStylebook) August 25, 2016
While this claim doesn’t get as much attention as the AP’s 2012 tweet about the use of a certain adverb (“We currently support modern usage of the word Hope”), it’s still worth a look. review.
The advice regarding this word is rather specific, as it only relates to car accidents and thus may not have much effect on how you choose to use (or avoid) accident. It’s also just one of a long line of warnings about using the generic word “things we don’t want to happen to us”.
If one considers the full range of pitfalls that await the average English speaker who wants to describe a simple car accident, it seems inevitable that violating some of the usage advice is inevitable. from. To demonstrate this, let us imagine a completely fictional scenario in which you witness a terrible traffic accident and are being interviewed by a police officer who is determined to protect semantic purity of English.
PO: “Describe, as clearly as possible, what you saw.”
You: “I was walking home when I witnessed this…”
PO: “Stop now! You said problem? you don’t know that The New York Times Handbook of Style and Usage Specifies that ‘One problem is a minor occurrence or disturbance. When used to refer to accidents or events with serious consequences, the word seems to trivialize them’? People were seriously injured; Please find a more appropriate word.”
You: “Ummm…ok. I was walking home when I saw the incident, and…”
PO: “Mistake? Do you seriously call this a risk? Although Mark Davidson wrote in his 2005 book True, False and Risky that ‘From risk … only suitable for minor accidents’?”
You: “I was walking home when I saw this car collide with another parked at the bus stop…”
PO: “Back it up there, Sparky. These cars don’t collide: ‘For a collision…at least two objects must be in motion. Thus, a moving vehicle does not collide with a parked vehicle or some other stationary object.’ It’s from John Bremner Word on Word1980.”
You: “Well, then they didn’t collide, but a car went down the road…”
PO: “’Zoom, an aeronautical term, refers only to upward mobility.’ Theodore Bernstein, See your language. Written in 1958, but it still holds true today. Retry.”
You: “Listen, I’m a bit shocked by all this. I just saw what looks like a painful accident, and I’m having a hard time finding the right words…”
PO: “Why do you call it an accident? Do you know for a fact that neither side is at fault? Our eyewitness reports are displayed in AP fashion or not at all. And besides, Frank Vizetelly’s A Desk-Book of Errors in English told us that ‘accidents should never be called painful.’ See, it’s a painful wound and an accidental injury. I will ask you once again to describe what you have seen and try to use precise enough language.”
You: “The car exploded.”
Glad you won’t be asked to use it often accident in an intentional manner as specified by the Associated Press. And if you do, you may want to know that our legal dictionary specifies that accident sometimes occurs “by carelessness, ignorance, ignorance, or a combination of causes.”
Categories: Usage Notes
Source: vothisaucamau.edu.vn
