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<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'>Dear
Editors,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'>For
your Friday morning mild amusement --<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'>I
just had yet another annoying encounter with the word “utilize” which
seems more and more commonly used in sentences where the word “use”
is the better choice. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'>So
I went to the Internet to see if others share my reaction, and of course there
is quite a bit written about it! In case you are interested, here’s
one example, from the blog of a man named Bob Sutor: <a
href="http://www.sutor.com/newsite/blog-open/?p=4227">http://www.sutor.com/newsite/blog-open/?p=4227</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><span
style='font-size:16.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'>“Use”
vs. “Utilize”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><em><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'>This entry is one in a series
that tackles issues of proper word use and grammar in English.</span></em><span
style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'>The incorrect yet increasingly
common use of “utilize” instead of the simpler “use” is
well documented in several places around the web. See, for example,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center;background:#F4F4F4'><span
style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:#555555'>Indeed,
<strong><span style='font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>utilize</span></strong>
can often be no more than a pretentious substitute for <strong><span
style='font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>use</span></strong>, and this should
be avoided. However, <strong><span style='font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>utilize</span></strong>
does have its own meaning: ‘to turn to profitable use; to make a
practical use for’. This is not the same sense as ‘to bring into
service’, which is what <strong><span style='font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>use</span></strong>
fundamentally means.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'>at <a
href="http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19980828" target="_blank"
title="Go to article">Random House</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'>When words such as these are
used incorrectly, the people to whom you are speaking may think:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul type=disc>
<li class=MsoNormal style='color:black;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto;text-align:center;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1'><span style='font-size:
9.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>you are ignorant of the
definition of the word, so what else is wrong in what you are saying? <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='color:black;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto;text-align:center;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1'><span style='font-size:
9.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>you are using a pretentious
“big word” to sound more sophisticated than you are <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='color:black;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto;text-align:center;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1'><span style='font-size:
9.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>you are slipping into jargon and
can’t explain something in simple terms <o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'>None of these reflect well on
you as a speaker, a writer, or as a communicator in general.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'>Here’s some guidance:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul type=disc>
<li class=MsoNormal style='color:black;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto;text-align:center;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2'><span style='font-size:
9.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>If you are about to say
“utilize” but “use” would work just as well, then
say “use.” <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class=MsoNormal style='color:black;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto;text-align:center;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2'><span style='font-size:
9.5pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>If you previously thought
something was useless, but you got clever and now it isn’t, you are
utilizing it. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:black'>Note that outside the United
States, “utilize” will likely be spelled “utilise.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'>Have
a great weekend all!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'>Marilyn
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'>Marilyn
C. Wilson, PhD</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'>Sr.
Career Development Specialist</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'>Career
Development Center</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'>MIT ~
GECDC</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";
color:black'> </span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'>617-258-9149<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'>Twitter:
mcwillow</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><a href="mailto:mcwilson@mit.edu"><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:blue'>mcwilson@mit.edu</span></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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