We often see and hear the word “focus” being used. It is even used in phrases such as “more focus” and “less focus.” However, if you focus with a camera or a pair of binoculars, there is no such thing as more or less in focus. Either something is in focus or it is not, and there is only one focal point. You cannot focus on more than one point.
Why is the word “focus” used so much? Why can’t we say emphasize, concentrate, stress, or any other word or phrase that is more fitting in the particular context?
I am not a native speaker of English, but I know that the word “focus” is a much misused word in several languages.
What do you think? Is it OK to use the word in all the contexts that it is? Or is its excessive use a sign of language decline?
I don’t think it’s a sign of language decline at all. ‘Focus’ can deal with the clarity of an image, in which case something would be ‘in focus’ or ‘out of focus’, but it can also deal with a person’s concentration of attention/energy on a subject matter (or anything else), in which case the person should be able to ‘focus less’ or ‘focus more’ on the particular subject.
^^^What he said…different words can have different connotations depending on how they are used. Thats true in most languages actually. And ‘common usage’ sometimes does differ from ‘dictionary definition’(though not as often as you would think).
I’m not sure what you mean by ‘language decline’ either. Languages are constantly changing. Chaucer and Shakesphere both wrote in what is technicly ‘new English’, but their sentence structures and word usage differed wildly from modern english speakers. Personally I see language as a beautiful example of what Hayek described as something being ‘defined in its emergance.’ There’s no authority that dictates what words mean or how they are used. Its defined by how people use them.
Well, yes, and language can become more sophisticated, beautiful, etc., but it can also deteriorate. With the flourishing of poor government schools the probability of the latter increases. The misuse of terms like “like” and “you know” are clear examples of deterioration. There is such a thing as good and poor language, although this is, of course, not decided by government institutions.