I hate people that butcher the English language. Admittedly, I probably notice it more than most people, being both an English major and a snob (And if you say they're the same thing...okay, fair point), but honestly, some of these things just aren't hard.
From Newsarama (abridged, so as to get to the point): "If you thought Newsarama’s series [...] ended [...], well, you got another thing coming... Another few things, actually."
Let's follow that sentence logically, shall we? If you thought...and you were wrong...that means you have another THINK coming. Not another THING. ANOTHER THINK. With a 'k'. THINK.
While we're at it, let's go over a few things.
"I could care less" means you still care a little. "I COULDN'T care less" means you don't care at all.
"A lot" is two words. "Alot" is not a word.
"'And remember, it's a dog EAT dog world out there; not a doggie dog one.'" - Casey McCall, SPORTS NIGHT
Everyone needs to learn how to speak correctly before I end up beating them senseless with a tire iron.
That's all.
Since I took Latin, bad English has grated on me like sand in bread. The number of people who don't know how to use whom in a sentence. I tell ya.
ReplyDeleteThough in Newsarama's defense, I always took that as a shortened expression for "Although you think X thing, the thing you have got coming is not the thing you think you have coming, but another". Which is clumsy, if hilarious, but otherwise you're using think as a noun and a verb to refer to the same object, never mind that "think" is almost never used as a noun in American English, so as a colloquialism, I let it slide.
P.S. "people that butcher the English language" should probably be "people who butcher the English language". Just FYI. ;-)
Kat, honestly, no one likes a know-it-all.
ReplyDelete*runs away*
That's actually a common misconception. Recent studies indicate that know-it-alls have, on average, 47 sexual partners in a calendar year, and that just counts the ones we don't send crying home to momma. Hand to God.
ReplyDelete'Course in my rant I f'd up a line: Ahem: In the third sentence, it reads:
ReplyDelete"To be truthful you might say that you are a picky descriptivist"
It should read:
"To be truthful you might say that you are a picky prescriptivist"
And a few times I mixed up the order of pre in prescriptive by putting down per*
Speaking strictly in a literary sense:
ReplyDeletePrescriptive English is invaluable because of its precision, clarity, and logical construction. Descriptive English is good for dialogue, but has no business in a narrative or instructive passage.
Ya cain't jes' throw 'way all the rulz o' Inglish cuz dat's how de Prol'tariat tawk. Perscriptive Inglish ben'fits firm thousan's o' years o' trial 'n' err'r spearmintation an' syenz teechin' us how best ta kumunikate cumplex thawts.
Wow, that's an awesome reply Gru. I think this whole debate really does prove how much of a "doggie dog" world we live in.
ReplyDelete