You are MURDERING the King's English!!

Saussure used a structural approach to understanding the meaning of language. Chomsky used a very different post-structural approach (this was before he became known more for his political views than his linguistic analysis).

I've been a medical editor for many years. There are great source works on the kinds of problems listed here:

1. Maggio- Talking about People (which is a text on the use of gender neutral lnaguage)

2. Schwager- Medical Usage and Abuse

3. The classic- Strunk and White's Elements of Style

And I love "Eats, Shoots and Leaves."

Great editing, huh? :-)

"gender neutral lnaguage," LOL

Try: "gender-neutral language" instead.

slowcoach wrote:

And in living language, there is no wrong.

Yet, as Jim Fiore pointed out, unless we adhere to at least some degree of convention, communication becomes impossible (or at least difficult).

One of the things Noah Webster did when he compiled America's first dictionary was to establish a standard of American spelling, thus "labor" instead of the English "labour."

About a century ago, there was a movement to further simplify American English and use shorter, and thus, more efficient, spellings. One of the notable proponents of this cause was Melvil Dewey, the creator of the Dewey Decimal System. The unusual spelling of his name is a function of some of the choices made. He was permitted to modify his first name from its original "Melville", but was prohibited from changing his last name to the desired "Dui", as it would have created mass confusion in determining things line lineage, etc. It is one of the reasons that spellings like "spelt" for "spelled" came into usage, but fell rapidly out of favor and today are largely unused.

TV News reporters travel to troubled areas all around the World and inform us that Police or Soldiers are restoring Laura Norder.

She really gets around, but I think she is more trouble than she's worth.

It is one of the reasons that spellings like "spelt" for "spelled" came into usage, but fell rapidly out of favor and today are largely unused.

Except in Scrabble. yeah baby!

Indeed. How do you suppose Chomsky's work sheds light on this discussion?

Yep, those odd constructions can be death to the opponent when you have a tough rack.

correction wrote:

Many women's magazines will say, "If you go to the doctor, tell HER..." Absurd!

Many women's magazines write such things because most women actually see female doctors as their primary care physicians! And since almost 2/3 of every medical school class in the country is female - it is much more accurate.

another incorrect phrase:

"old stOmping ground"

along the same lines as "chOmping at the bit"

JimFiore wrote:

How about "forte", as in "The 5000 is my forte"? It should be pronounced as a single syllable, like "fort", not as two syllables, like the musical term of the same spelling (pronounced for'-tay), meaning "loud" or "strong". I don't know a single person who pronounces it correctly.

Not sure you are right about that one. I could look it up but I don't really care enough. I will tell you that when playing the piano, "piano" means "softly" and "forte" means "strongly". So when we use "forte" as a noun it may have been adapted from "strongly" to be "your strength". Not sure, you could be correct too. I have never heard anyone pronounce it that way though.

There is a guy I work with who is a smart guy who tries to interrupt you and end all discussion by saying, "Irregardless,..." He also says, "That happaned ON accident ..." and "Acrossed" and "I could care less... ".

I crack up every time I hear those gems.

Black guys, and one white dude from Jersey that I know, say "supposibly".

what it comes down to, is that a lot of people are not brought up with any manners, which includes speaking correctly. Part of it is being polite and having good phone etiquette too. My parents always made sure I had good manners and was polite. I always said please, thank you and when calling someone I would say, "Hello this is (my name), may I please speak to Mike." Another thing is that i see so many people hold their utensils in their fists and scoop the food into their mouths while not even closing them while chewing. They look like slobs. Even if they were not brought up with these manners, don't they notice people around them eating well? That brings me to another point, so many people use the word "good" when they are supposed to say "well." It's NOT, "I did good." It's, "I did well." dumbass

ban-ping wrote:

The new SAT essay will fix all this.

Speaking of murdering the language, it bugs me when people refer to the "SAT test." You know ... the Scholastic Aptitude Test test.

Similar mistakes are:

Enter your PIN number.

I've started an IRA account.

Dont forget ATM machine.

Zuzu's petals wrote:

Similar mistakes are:

Enter your PIN number.

I've started an IRA account.

Wheelbarrell .... that's a misuse that always drives be nuts.

And when people use the term "sub-par" to describe a bad performance. Isn't sub-par good?

jimmy buffett.... wrote:

You're welcome. And thanks to others for posting, I've learned a few things and had some laughs.

A few other common misuses that drive me crazy:

Reoccurrence (recurrence)

Supposebly

Flustrated

Cut the mustard (muster)

Another often misused phrase is "under the gun"

It is actually from early military origins. Under the gun really means that you have advanced to a position in which cannon fire cannot reach you as the trajectory will put the ordinance beyond you.

In the line of fire - you are in danger

Under the gun - you are safe.

as per

Zuzu's petals wrote:

I've started an IRA account.

The CIA agency and the FBI bureau will be right along. :-)

correction wrote:

Well said!

FYI, I'm female and still have no problem accepting that "he" or "him" is meant to be gender neutral when used that way.

Many women's magazines will say, "If you go to the doctor, tell HER..." Absurd!

Textbooks seem to do that too.