I’m guessing the idea is that the imprecision makes the duration or value in question seem longer or greater: “nearly half a decade” sounds more impressive than “four years”. It’s a kind of veiled numerical hyperbole.
Yes, I think impressiveness is what these writers think they're gaining by being less precise. Also, "Veiled Numerical Hyperbole" would be a great title for a book--or a band name!
It seems to me that it's just an instance of some people's desire to sound more literate or more erudite by using more (or just longer) words. Not that they do in the end. Cf utilise rather than use :-)
Clearly a lot of writing is being done by people who think half a decade is a really really really long time.
I agree. More power to them, but also: HA HA HA HA!
I’m guessing the idea is that the imprecision makes the duration or value in question seem longer or greater: “nearly half a decade” sounds more impressive than “four years”. It’s a kind of veiled numerical hyperbole.
Yes, I think impressiveness is what these writers think they're gaining by being less precise. Also, "Veiled Numerical Hyperbole" would be a great title for a book--or a band name!
It seems to me that it's just an instance of some people's desire to sound more literate or more erudite by using more (or just longer) words. Not that they do in the end. Cf utilise rather than use :-)
Yes, there's a lot of syllable inflation out there. "Utilize" for "use" is a good example. Also "competencies"--ugh.