- —
There’s nothing really wrong with the new technical school name of Wiregrass Georgia Technical College. But that’s quite a mouthful for folks used to calling its tech school the two-syllable Val-Tech.
Val-Tech was an abbreviation that always worked. It shortened Valdosta Technical Institute then Valdosta Technical College to a name that sounded like Cal-Tech, as well as similar to the old shortening of the term vocational-technical to Vo-Tech.
Val-Tech was a perfect nickname. It became a nickname more closely associated with the school than its actual name.
Wiregrass Georgia Technical College will take more work to abbreviate into a more manageable thing to say.
It could go the Valdosta State University route that simply uses the initials VSU. But even that doesn’t quite do it: WGTC. One, just saying the “w” has as many syllables as saying VSU. Two, WGTC sounds like a television station more than a school’s letters. So, initials should be out.
Wi-Tech has a good ring to it. Wi-Tech keeps the name at two syllables. Easy to say. But potentially confusing. Hearing it, some folks may think it is actually Y-Tech, which will lead people to ask what the Y stands for? So that’s probably out.
Georgia Tech won’t work.
Grass-Tech probably has too much of a drug connotation. Or it sounds like an oxymoron: What’s so technical about grass?
Maybe Wire-Tech? Wire sounds technical, at least. It keeps the name down to two syllables. People can easily say it. Wire-Tech. Wire-Tech. Wire-Tech. See. Trips off the tongue. You can imagine people chanting it if the school ever has a sports team.
Or people may simply call it Wiregrass. Not need for the tech. Two syllables. Simply uses the school’s first name. As long as too many other things don’t name themselves after our South Georgia wiregrass designation, it might work.
Wiregrass. Wiregrass. Wiregrass.
But let’s face it. For the next 20 years, most local folks are still going to call it Val-Tech.
Dean Poling is The Valdosta Daily Times assistant managing editor. There’s nothing really wrong with the new technical school name of Wiregrass Georgia Technical College. But that’s quite a mouthful for folks used to calling its tech school the two-syllable Val-Tech.
Val-Tech was an abbreviation that always worked. It shortened Valdosta Technical Institute then Valdosta Technical College to a name that sounded like Cal-Tech, as well as similar to the old shortening of the term vocational-technical to Vo-Tech.
Val-Tech was a perfect nickname. It became a nickname more closely associated with the school than its actual name.
Wiregrass Georgia Technical College will take more work to abbreviate into a more manageable thing to say.
It could go the Valdosta State University route that simply uses the initials VSU. But even that doesn’t quite do it: WGTC. One, just saying the “w” has as many syllables as saying VSU. Two, WGTC sounds like a television station more than a school’s letters. So, initials should be out.
Wi-Tech has a good ring to it. Wi-Tech keeps the name at two syllables. Easy to say. But potentially confusing. Hearing it, some folks may think it is actually Y-Tech, which will lead people to ask what the Y stands for? So that’s probably out.
Georgia Tech won’t work.
Grass-Tech probably has too much of a drug connotation. Or it sounds like an oxymoron: What’s so technical about grass?
Maybe Wire-Tech? Wire sounds technical, at least. It keeps the name down to two syllables. People can easily say it. Wire-Tech. Wire-Tech. Wire-Tech. See. Trips off the tongue. You can imagine people chanting it if the school ever has a sports team.
Or people may simply call it Wiregrass. Not need for the tech. Two syllables. Simply uses the school’s first name. As long as too many other things don’t name themselves after our South Georgia wiregrass designation, it might work.
Wiregrass. Wiregrass. Wiregrass.
But let’s face it. For the next 20 years, most local folks are still going to call it Val-Tech.
Dean Poling is The Valdosta Daily Times assistant managing editor.
