Poor Language
Originally published in The Daily Journal on 18 October 2001.
“Because this election means so much more than it did before the tragedy on Tuesday, September 11.” This fragment appeared in campaign literature sent out by the NJ Democratic State Committee/2001 Victory for Bill Hughes, Jr. For me, it hurts his cause rather than helps it.
And so it is with so much that is written today. America has become lax in its writing.
“The reality is that rotating media does fail, both the drives and the media.” Media, of course, is plural and requires the verb do.
Not long ago, Pennsylvania’s license plate extolled the tagline; “You’ve Got a Friend in Pennsylvania.” To my ears one does not need to combine have and got to express where my friends are.
Another trend that has debased our language is what I call verbing. Verbing is the action of using a noun as a verb.
“I’m in need of an idea for a math bulletin board. I teach third grade and I want the board to be some sort of review of math facts. I plan on making it interactive with the students placing velcroed numbers on [it] to make problems. I’m stuck on a title or theme for the board. Any ideas?”
“In other words, no matter how many sales per square foot a retailer logs in the real world, a failure to reach out to customers online can mean that you’re in danger of being Woolworthed.”
It becomes great sport to find gaffes in print.
Microsoft goofed when it distributed mail that read, “Yes! Register my colleagues and I for the Microsoft Discovery Tour.”
A local company wrote to its employees, “This day provides you with an opportunity to have a child look up to you and be proud of what you do, or quote unquote, be their hero.” Yes, quote and unquote were written. Obviously, this notice was transcribed literally. The use of their as a possessive pronoun of child is equally troubling.
The Internet is a haven for improper English. Random House noted in a discussion of the word salubrious that it is often misspelled celubrious. This is why teachers emphasize the use of a dictionary. If you do not know how to spell a word, look it up!
Be careful, however, of what source you rely upon for spelling. “Here, here for Oakland” is not picked up by spell checkers as the San Francisco Chronicle learned recently. A much better source electronically is Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.
Poor language usage is nothing new. George Orwell wrote a wonderful essay, Politics and the English Language in 1946 in which he described the state of the English language as “ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish.” He continued, “but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts.”
Hear, hear.
Also blogged on this date . . .
- Vote No on All Ballot Questions - 2007
- Jerry Carter Shows His True Colors - 2006
- Dying With Your Team - 2006
- Caching w/ Ski - 2003
Tags: Language