I came across a really useful online essay/collection of thoughts about the language people should (or should not) use when teaching physics or physical science. The author is Donald Simanek, an emeritus professor of physics and he begins with a quote from one of my favorite books.

His essay is very worthwhile for anyone teaching physics. It’s probably not the “single best thing” you can do to improve your teaching, but it’s nonetheless a wonderful collection of common errors of language that we use. And imperfections in the speech of an instructor really can have a significant effect on pedagogy. So far I’ve even found a couple of statements that I make on his list. They’re easy to dismiss as unimportant or as being too pedantic. However, if what I’m saying and what I’m trying to say are 2 different things, it really can make things more difficult for students.