“Bomullifisering”

You did NOT expect this one from me…

I usually write about mountains. Peaks, trails, weather, gear. But every now and then, I stumble upon a thought that doesn’t belong on a summit – yet maybe still deserves a view. This is one of those.

A while ago, I coined a word: bomullifisering. It’s Norwegian, and it means something like “cottonification” – the process of wrapping hard truths in soft, vague, and harmless language. Think of it as linguistic bubble wrap.

Examples from everyday life:

• When the train is delayed, you don’t hear “we messed up”. You hear “we regret that some passengers may have experienced challenges.”
• In military terms, “kill” becomes “neutralize” or “take out.”
• In corporate HR, “fired” becomes “transitioned out of their role.”

It’s not just euphemism. It’s a cultural shift – a trend where institutions, companies, and even individuals avoid directness in favor of soft, non-committal phrasing. It’s everywhere: press releases, customer service, politics, tech updates, and even apologies.

The fog of responsibility

Bomullification often walks hand in hand with another trend: fragmented responsibility. When no one owns the problem, everyone speaks like a ghost. Infrastructure is split, services outsourced, and accountability diluted. The result? A system where things go wrong, but no one is really to blame – and the language reflects that.

“We’re sorry that some users may have experienced temporary instability due to factors outside our direct control.”

Translation: “It broke. We don’t know who broke it. Good luck.”

Why it matters

Language shapes perception. When we soften every failure, we risk losing clarity, urgency, and truth. Bomullification may feel polite, but it can also feel dishonest. And in a world that’s already complex, clarity is kindness.

Back to the mountains

On the trail, things are simple. If it rains, it rains. If you’re tired, you rest. If you take a wrong turn, you admit it and find your way back. No cotton. Just reality.

Maybe we need a bit more of that off the trail too.

This post was written with help from Microsoft Copilot, based on an idea I’ve been thinking about for years.