Language clutter vs Minimalism

Estoy enganchado al minimalismo, hooked on it all the way. Me he dado cuenta de que estoy rodeado de trastos que no necesito, clutter se dice en inglés. Nick knacks, trinckets, souvenirs, old letters, photos… you name it! No me hacen estar contento y me enturbian la vida y por eso he comenzado a seguir la vieja máxima española de a menos bulto, más claridad.

Pero he pensado que debemos emplear este minimalismo también en los idiomas y la manera cómo los empleamos. Decía Thoreau Simplify. Simplify. Y tenía razón.

Esto quiere decir que debemos emplear las palabras justas cuando escribimos y cuando hablamos de manera formal.

Voy a dar un ejemplo de language clutter que he encontrado en la red. La carta pretende enseñar cómo se escribe una carta de excusa por errores cometidos. I cross out the clutter, la palabrería vana e inútil que sólo sirve para demostrar que el que ha escrito la carta es un lameculos imbécil. A menos palabras, más claridad.

Subject: My Apologies

Dear Brian,

I want to apologize for mixing up the files for XYZ Company and ABC Company. My careless mistake hurt our sales pitches, and almost lost us two key clients.

When we work together on a sales pitch, it is important that we can confidently rely on each other to complete our assignments. When I made a mistake, I let you down.

I am currently developing strategies to ensure that I never make that kind of sloppy error again. I have developed an even clearer organization for my online client files that will make it impossible for me to confuse one file for another. I have also spoken with our supervisor and explained that the error was completely my fault, not yours.

I understand that I have damaged our working relationship. However, I greatly value you as a colleague, and I believe that we have worked well together as a sales team in the past. I hope that you will be willing to work together in the future. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to make this possible.

Sincerely,

Mark