One compound adjective was overused in English a decade ago.
Are we still overusing it today?
Find out what this adjective was and whether we still use it too much today.
An audience-centric podcast
Lindsay and Aubrey share that All Ears English is an audience-centric podcast.
They think about the listeners whenever they are planning episodes and recording.
The hosts make sure that they create content that will be helpful to their audience.
Lindsay adds that all listeners matter to them.
The AEE team wants to provide value in every episode.
Compound adjectives
In today’s episode, Lindsay and AUbrey are talking about compound adjectives.
These are adjectives where two words are combined to form a new word.
Lindsay and Aubrey recorded an episode recently about how to use compound adjectives.
Also don’t miss the episode that inspired this topic: AEE 2064: How Structure and Strategies Help You Speak Spontaneously with Matt Abrahams.
Today Lindsay and Aubrey will teach about adding ‘centric’ to words.
This means ‘focused on’ and shows that something is centered upon it or focused around it.
What can you add ‘centric’ to?
Though ‘centric’ can be added to many adjectives, it doesn’t work for all of them.
It’s also important to not overuse it.
Aubrey and Lindsay share an article from a decade ago about the overuse of this.
Today Lindsay and Aubrey share examples of words to add ‘centric’ to.
You can use these right away in your daily conversations in English.
#1: Audience-centric
This means the writer, podcaster, etc. is focused on their audience.
Example:
- Matt Abrahams: “I’m a big fan of finding structure, being audience-centric and focusing on connection.”
- The writers wanted to be audience-centric so they studied feedback from focus groups.
#2: Customer-centric / client-centric
This would often be when you are providing a service or selling a product.
In that case, you want to be centered upon your customers or client.
Example:
- Product sales are down. I’m not sure we’re as customer-centric as we need to be.
- They lost the contract when they weren’t client-centric enough.
#3: Kid-centric
This is often used to describe an event that is fun for kids.
A kid-centric activity gives kids a chance to have fun and be entertained.
Example:
- The event was definitely kid-centric, with most of the activities appealing to young children.
- Let’s make sure the fundraiser is kid-centric since many families with children will be attending.
Punctuation of compound adjectives
With compound adjectives, the possibilities are endless.
You can combine many words to create new words and make your conversations more vibrant and interesting.
Not all words that have ‘centric’ have to be hyphenated.
Words like egocentric and ethnocentric are stand-alone words.
When they come before a noun, compound adjectives should be hyphenated.
If after the noun, they don’t need to be.
- Is this a dog-friendly hotel?
- Is this hotel dog friendly?
Roleplay
Here is a quick roleplay to show how this vocabulary is used in conversation.
In this scenario, Lindsay and Aubrey are planning an event together.
Lindsay: I saw posters that were printed and I really like them.
Aubrey: I agree! They are very customer-centric and would appeal to the crowds we are hoping to draw.
Lindsay: Definitely. I know the marketing team was trying to be audience-centric. I think they nailed it.
Aubrey: Are we expecting many kids to attend? I noticed the activities weren’t very kid-centric.
Lindsay: That’s a good point. We may want to add kid-friendly entertainment.
Takeaway
Many words are combined in English to create compound adjectives.
The word ‘centric’ is useful in emphasizing that focus is being placed on something in particular.
Try some of the vocabulary shared by Lindsay and Aubrey today.
Don’t be afraid to use new vocabulary to add color to your conversations.
What are other compound adjectives you use often?
Share one in the comments below.
