Gratitude inflation? Absolutely!

Once upon a time, English people expressed their gratitude by saying ‘Thanks’. As a child, I would also sometimes say ‘Thank you’ on more formal accessions, such as when my brother and I were paraded in front of relatives to express our gratitude for the Christmas presents they had given us. Over time, ‘Thank you’ completely replaced its abbreviated version, and was eventually replaced by ‘Thank you very much’. This in turn gave way to ‘Thank you very much indeed’. As English people frequently express their thanks (even when receiving change in a shop!), this all became very tiring. But lo! The last year has now seen the arrival of the phrase ‘Thank you so much’. This usually has a stress on the ‘so’, but some people contrive to also add a stress on the word ‘much’.

These changes do not mean that English people are more grateful than they were in the past. Instead, they can be seen as examples of verbal inflation. This is when words are added to our speech like barnacles to the hull of a ship, perhaps to impress or possibly for no reason at all. For instance, we now live in an era in which all tragedies are ‘Greek’, and in which all opportunities come equipped with windows. There has more recently been the trend to add ‘up with’ to the word ‘meet’. It is no longer possible to meet a friend, one now has to ‘meet up with’ him or her.

Even the word ‘Yes’ has been replaced - in this case by the unnecessarily affirmative word ‘Absolutely’. Whole conversations take place in which each participant exchanges their absolute agreement with each other. This is of course after they have met up with each other.

Thanks for reading this blog.

See also: A cliche rears its ugly head