Forget “decatastrophization (Blog post of March 15). The new word of the month is brachylogy, meaning to say as much as possible in as few words as possible. It’s modernist compression before its time. Ezra Pound would love it.
It’s a handy term for a cluster of highly compressed speech acts among the Greeks (mini-genres one could say): maxims, riddles, proverbs et al.
These all manage to be succinct because they don’t provide evidence or arguments or emotional coloration for the message they send. They leave all that up to the listener/reader. When you hear a brachylogy coming down the tracks, you know you have to be on your toes.
Enough said!
It’s a handy term for a cluster of highly compressed speech acts among the Greeks (mini-genres one could say): maxims, riddles, proverbs et al.
These all manage to be succinct because they don’t provide evidence or arguments or emotional coloration for the message they send. They leave all that up to the listener/reader. When you hear a brachylogy coming down the tracks, you know you have to be on your toes.
Enough said!