It sometimes seems like we base our English manual on the same principle of fairness that we use for quarrelsome kids. While this may have some limited effect when dealing with one’s progeny—“Now Billy, I know you wanted to be an astronaut for Halloween, but you chose a super costume. Hero and Clara have cherished the dream of becoming an astronaut for weeks. now…”—it tends to be problematic when we apply it to language problems (“Now impactI know you want to be a verb, but you chose your noun outfit, and affect has been a verb for decades now…”).
The proof of the verb ‘to impact’ predates the proof of the noun by about 200 years.
the notion that impact should not be used as a verb is a fairly common verb. There are some compelling stylistic arguments against some of the current uses of the word, and there are some that are not very appealing. Here are some of the not-so-attractive ones.
Impact is a noun, not a verb.—Richard Block, New Mexican Santa Fe (Santa Fe, NM), February 2, 2002
There was a lonely time, a long time ago, when meteors appeared in the sky and made a big impact. I am your true antique, for I can recall when impact was not a verb. These days, one thing always impacts something else, and I’m obviously not talking about activities in the dentist’s office. Impact, verb, is merely a layer of pseudo-technique, a feeble attempt to make the obvious seem subtle, or remote, or special. It’s more like a weasel.—Rex Murphy, Globe and letter (Toronto, Ont.), January 6, 2001
Influencers do exist and every good team needs one, but “impact” is not a verb and it never will be.—Paul Woody, Richmond TimesJanuary 2, 2000
What’s wrong with these statements? After all, many brave and fearless defenders of English believe that impact should not be used as a verb, and our language, in its typical richness, has provided us with many verbs that one can use instead (such as affect, impact, affect, et cetera.). The problem with saying that a certain word should never be used as a certain part of speech is that pesky things like evidence tend to disprove such general statements.
Cold things must be apple (sic). A Prooued Practice for All Young Chirurgians1588
The above quote not only illustrates the use of impact as a verb, it provides evidence of such usage about 200 years before the word began to be used as a noun (the noun use of impact appeared at the end of the 18th century). Impact has been used frequently as a verb for over 400 years now; Its earliest usage was mainly to describe problems with the way the body worked (dealing with affected teeth, intestines and the like) that no one needs to read about at lunch, so we’ll skip giving you pictorial quotes about this use.
If the verb form of impact much older than the noun form, why did we decide that it somehow doesn’t fit? One possibility is that the figurative usage has misled people. Impact began to be used figuratively as a noun (used to refer to “effect”, instead of “collision”) in the early 19th century. In the early 20th century, the verb took a figurative path, and when used intransitively (“have an effect”), people start complaining about it.
In the late 20th century, the figurative use of impact increased significantly, which may contribute to the impression that the use of the word as a verb is a recent development.
At the session of technology influencing the development of electronic publishing…—weekly publisherJanuary 1, 1982
The need to hold stocks during these 12 months will affect mutual funds.—Robert Lenzer, Barron’sDecember 20, 1976
It is perfectly reasonable to dislike this usage of the word and argue that other words would be a better choice. To assert, however, that something that has been used as a verb for more than four centuries is not really a verb, we must point out, a logically indefensible position. .
Whether you choose to use impact as a verb is up to you. If you decide to make a mistake on the prudent side, no one will blame you for your choice. Impact has also been widely used as an adjective over the past few hundred years, but if you feel the need to make some definitive statement about the word, we can suggest that you feel comfortable. while declaring in a stentorian voice the following: “Impact not an adverb!” No one can fault you for that.
Categories: Usage Notes
Source: vothisaucamau.edu.vn
