Speaks to

[powershowerforanhour]

Instead of "is a sign of" "indicative of" "a symptom of"
If speaks has to be in there, speaks of or about would be less annoying than "to".

Apologies if this thread has been done before, or if "speaks to" is actually grammatically correct and has been around for decades and I just never noticed.

Watching with interest. 'Speaks to' has indeed been around for a long time but I'm having difficulty clarifying when I'd use it. As a first stab at it, I'd use 'indicates' or similar when the connection was crystal clear. 'Speaks to' suggests to me that there is a connection but it's not immediately obvious. No idea whether this is technically correct.

I suspect that it's like dis/uninterested and discrete/discreet in that valid distinctions are being lost because people just think they mean the same thing. Which, sadly, they eventually will.

I can't say I've ever noticed this usage. In what context is it being used?

Can't find any examples but something like:

"The number of sick days taken by Gen Z speaks to their disaffection with the workplace". *

*I have no idea how many sick days Gen Z take or if they're any more disaffected than anyone else

I think in your example, if you said ‘Gen Z are off sick a lot which is indicative of their dissatisfaction’ - the topic of the conversation/paper/meeting is Gen Z’s sick days. Whereas if you say ‘Gen Z’s sick days speak to their dissatisfaction’ the topic is actually their dissatisfaction.

Yes, I don’t know if it’s incorrect exactly but it drives me bonkers. I keep meaning to find out when it first appeared as it feels like a new and pompous way of saying ‘it means’ or ‘it indicates’.

There’s also a lot of ‘I can’t speak to’ to mean ‘I don’t know’, usually followed by a but: ‘I can’t speak to the significance of X but I do know that Y is true.’

I think I’m irritated by it because there’s already a variety of more specific words and phrases which better convey your meaning and it feels like faux formality, like the dreaded ‘myself’. I think people use it when they want to sound smarter or more well informed than they are.

I feel the same way about ‘problematic’, which just means you disapprove of someone else’s position and don’t want to be questioned on your own.

"There’s also a lot of ‘I can’t speak to’ to mean ‘I don’t know’, usually followed by a but: ‘I can’t speak to the significance of X but I do know that Y is true.’"
Oh yes, that's even more annoying. I feel.the same away about "problematic"- smug bollocks.

I once hired someone who used the phrase during her interview for the job. She used it to mean "addresses" or "was occasioned by" or even "was aimed at"; as in "my work on this project speaks to the changes in the demographic of the market space at the time" (and so on ad infinitum in meaningless management drivel)

It grated then but she got the job because she otherwise seemed impressive. Oh, how many more times it grated as it later became apparent that she could talk the hind legs off a donkey, while causing mayhem, dissatisfaction and loss of revenue wherever she raised her head

The other thing that enrages me is people saying 'hence why..' You don't need the 'why'; it's redundant. Hence means 'because of this' (or, specially, 'from here'). So, for example, 'I'm blind, hence I don't need glasses'

"Speaks to" (or even "goes to") seems common in legal language discussing each side's arguments. It does grate a bit though!

Agree!
Ditto "from whence".

And "but yet".

I'm a speaker-to 😳. As I understand this (without looking it up):

Speaks to = raises a point about, as in @titchy's example;
Speaks of = tells about.

"I can't speak to their dissatisfaction" would mean I have nothing insightful to say about it.
I can speak of it, insight or no.

I much prefer ""smacks of"!

Ha that is much better!

Yes I hear “speaks to” a lot and I think it’s wrong ! E.g people at work say “i’ll speak to this slide “ when what they mean is they’ll talk “about” it , or “refer to “ it !
I don’t understand where this has come from. “Speaking to” surely is following by a recipient / audience of the topic, not the actual thing being talked about !? Happy to be corrected if people can explain this better than I can.

Yes, this! It’s driving me crazy. “Who is going to speak to this agenda item?” This is surely another creeping Americanism that has no place here!

See also "talk to" in the context of a corporate presentation. "Steve will talk to the numbers; Diane will talk to the forecasts ..."

Gah!

Idk, is it an Americanism or is it corporate/faux academic speak? It seems to have arisen from nowhere to be applied everywhere people want to sound serious and important.

Every time some self-important gibberish appears here it’s attributed to the US but I think we’re capable of inventing our own nonsense.

The rise of myself (to replace I/me) seems homegrown to me, as does the standalone “is it” response as a polite acknowledgment. (Maybe the latter is a London thing?)

I’ve just started a thread on this very thing, and then immediately saw this one.

so apologies for the repetition, but yes, I can’t stand it, and glad to see I am not alone.

and @trainedopossum you have totally summed up how I feel about “problematic”. That’s exactly it isn’t? Disapproving of someone else’s position but not wanting to be questioned on theirs, and not willing to actually explain why something is “problematic”. It’s just so lazy, such a catch all word which people seem to think exonerates them from clarifying.

I can’t stand this. I’ve no idea if the usage is correct or not, but I hate it. I’m glad to see I’m not alone!

I also can’t stand “that being said”, “that said”, and other variations which seems to be rampant these days, and not always used correctly. Winds me up either way though.

I’ve also heard “goes to” (“That goes to what we discussed earlier”) a few times recently, used in the same way as “speaks to”, in place of “indicates” I think.
I’m suspicious of “speaks to” not only because I think it sounds faux-formal but also because it’s doing too many things, filling in for too many different words and phrases.