redundancy

Apple announced Friday that it will recall some of its ultracompact USB power adapters because, “under certain conditions,” the adapter’s metal prongs can break off and remain in a power outlet, “creating the risk of electric shock.”

The press release continued: “Customer safety is always Apple’s top priority so it has voluntarily decided to exchange every ultracompact power adapter for a new redesigned adapter, free of charge.”

The act of deciding, by definition, is a voluntary process, a conclusion arrived at by one’s own judgment. It differs from an outside recommendation or mandate. Clearly, Apple’s PR people were trying to downplay this recall, using the euphemism “exchange.” They did so, in part, by stressing the fact that Apple arrived at the decision on its own; no outside agency pressured or forced them to recall the adapters. The redundant verbiage “voluntarily decided” helped make that point. A voluntary decision, though linguistically bothersome, sounds less worrisome than a forced recall.

The short press release ended on a chipper note, with the company’s boiler plate, the standard, glowing company summary. Notice the number of revolutions, or variations thereof, contained in these three sentences:

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

When you send in your faulty power adapter, please throw in a thesaurus.