The Banned Words List
The prohibition of words and the linguistic gymnastics of high school English
Beginning with my freshman year of high school, my peers and I had to reckon with what our English teachers lovingly referred to as “The Banned Words List.” It had started innocently enough. Many of the words were ones that the world of writing would be wholly better without. From “good,” and “bad,” to “happy,” and “sad,” they were the words for which there were almost unequivocally better substitutes.
But avoiding others required undeniable feats of linguistic acrobatics. Among the list of banned words were all “linking verbs.” And for those who were taught English under less restrictive circumstances and don’t even know what linking verbs are, allow me to be the bearer of bizarre news.
From 9th grade onward in my district, the words “am,” “is,” “are,” “do,” “does,” “seem,” “be,” “look,” and “feel” were all among the seemingly inexhaustive index of linking verbs that needed to be avoided at all costs.
Though throughout our Freshman year, there was a certain leniency toward the nearly ubiquitous bridge words, by the end of only the second semester, each use of them resulted in point deductions. In Cheltenham, these moratoriums on words were as sacred to our English teachers as the costume-wearing panther mascot was to our infamed football team.
But as 9th grade came to a close and 10th and 11th grade rounded the bend, the tally of words to avoid grew more and more arduous to comply with. That ardor certainly felt confining. But I have to admit that there’s still something to be said for this unrelenting list.
As years have gone on and my memories of high school have begun eluding me, that hallowed list of banned words has still loomed ever-present in the back of my mind. With the passage of time, though, many of the off-limit words have managed to creep their way back into my vocabulary, much to the quiet chagrin of my twelvth grade teacher forced to read my Facebook screeds.
The other day, I decided to reach out to the now-retired AP Lit and Composition instructor to see if that banned words list was one he still had around. Asking the question, I envisaged the tabulation of forbidden words neatly laminated and housed within an ornate, wooden portrait — fixed on a wall in wait for the rare, inquiring former student.
Or perhaps it was locked snugly within a vault, free from the reaches of the outside world should any disgruntled pupil of the past ever seek a hard-wrought revenge for the pedagogue’s rigid writing ways.
Maybe the English educator kept the sacred record on a scroll of papyrus, encased within a cubicle glass display and perched atop an embellished stone pedestal.
But within a couple days of sending my former teacher a Facebook message — lo and behold — he managed to retrieve the list. And suddenly, (I know — it’s on the list, too. Forgive me.) there the forbidden words stood before me — in all of their nearly-forgotten, bygone glory.
These words include:
a man who…
annoying
appropriate
“as” to begin a clause or sentence
basically
compares greatly
contrasting
creative
different
each and every
etc.
exciting
exist
for all to [see, hear, etc.]
frolic
immediately
interesting
“it” or “there” (to begin a sentence)
lifestyle
meaningful
one with nature / oneness / as one with …
opposite
peers
proceeded to…
random
reality
save the [earth, environment, whales, ecology, planet, rainforest, etc.]
somewhat
suddenly
the fact that…
transform
truly
typical
unique
view [verb form]
veryall linking verbs
all passive-voice verbs
To see the list again after nearly a decade was a strange sight. Even while I can’t help but see a certain rigidity in the idea that the words “suddenly,” “immediately,” “exist,” “random,” and “transform” ought to be avoided at all costs, it’s hard to deny that there’s a certain merit to this docket, too.
While it wasn’t a lot of fun working within these parameters at the time, I think the mental gymnastics required to avoid such common words did elicit growth. And even when I look back at the English professors I had in college, I don’t feel as though their lessons ever brought more of an opportunity to hone our craft than the high school teachers I considered so hilariously inelastic.
As trying as it was to circumnavigate my way around each quotidian word and phrase on the unabating list of unsanctioned words, there’s just no telling who I’d be as a writer if I’d never had to.
Very well written, Ben.
I tell you though, since I never worked with a teacher who had blacklisted part of my language, I never had to somersault my way through weird sentences.
My take on forbidden word is that if you are really in the story you're telling, and can feel the rhythm of the narrative, the next word that comes to mind is usually the right one, banned or not 😎
And now the banned words list would include words commonly used by AI - to ensure your story isn't considered an AI piece. Like resonate and enhance. And: In conclusion or embarked.