I'm going to sound like an old-maid schoolteacher here.
(I have been a schoolteacher, but never an old maid!)
Hopefully the axes I grind will prove helpful to some...
Our use of American English has deteriorated, and continues to do so.
You may say "Who cares?", but you should care.
When our language becomes imprecise, our thoughts become imprecise.
This last point is somewhat academic, since kids are increasingly taught what to think, rather than how to think.
Here are a few common but shameful examples; there are many more:
correct meanings:
nauseated (feeling sick, like you may vomit)
nauseous (making others feel sick, like they may vomit)
typical use: "I took that medicine and it made me nauseous"
Really? the medicine caused you to nauseate the people around you?
After generations of sex education, why haven't kids (and adults) learned the basic vocabulary of anatomy?
Ladies first:
correct meanings:
vulva (the external female genitals)
vagina (the internal passage connecting the vulva to the cervix)
We don't want to forget the guys:
correct meanings:
prostate (a male sex gland)
prostrate (lying flat and facedown)
And finally, for those who might be undecided:
correct meanings:
transvestite (someone who wears clothes of the opposite sex)
transsexual (someone who has had their body altered to resemble the opposite sex)
Yes, I know "transgender" is the politically-correct term, and "transsexual" is not;
I don't use politically-correct terms, especially when they're wrong.
"gender" refers to attributes of a language ("he" or "she");
"sex" describes a person's anatomy ("male" or "female")
(And yes, I know about the supposed difference between their anatomy and their mindset. More political correctness.)
Here's another deterioration of the language; omitting the final letter on some words:
bath bathe (When you take a bath, you bathe)
breath breathe (When you take a breath, you breathe)
cloth clothe
cloths clothes
(When you wear cloth, you clothe yourself, because clothes are made of cloth)
I increasingly see phrases like "I bath my children every day" or "it's easier to breath in rural areas" !
What is this trend of omitting the final "e"?
Is that the influence of some foreign language? Or is it just ignorance?
It confuses nouns with verbs, and serves no useful purpose.
While languages evolve and change over time, and evolution ultimately results in improvements, it also produces defects which are eventually weeded out;
We need to do some serious weeding.
(I have been a schoolteacher, but never an old maid!)
Hopefully the axes I grind will prove helpful to some...
Our use of American English has deteriorated, and continues to do so.
You may say "Who cares?", but you should care.
When our language becomes imprecise, our thoughts become imprecise.
This last point is somewhat academic, since kids are increasingly taught what to think, rather than how to think.
Here are a few common but shameful examples; there are many more:
correct meanings:
nauseated (feeling sick, like you may vomit)
nauseous (making others feel sick, like they may vomit)
typical use: "I took that medicine and it made me nauseous"
Really? the medicine caused you to nauseate the people around you?
After generations of sex education, why haven't kids (and adults) learned the basic vocabulary of anatomy?
Ladies first:
correct meanings:
vulva (the external female genitals)
vagina (the internal passage connecting the vulva to the cervix)
We don't want to forget the guys:
correct meanings:
prostate (a male sex gland)
prostrate (lying flat and facedown)
And finally, for those who might be undecided:
correct meanings:
transvestite (someone who wears clothes of the opposite sex)
transsexual (someone who has had their body altered to resemble the opposite sex)
Yes, I know "transgender" is the politically-correct term, and "transsexual" is not;
I don't use politically-correct terms, especially when they're wrong.
"gender" refers to attributes of a language ("he" or "she");
"sex" describes a person's anatomy ("male" or "female")
(And yes, I know about the supposed difference between their anatomy and their mindset. More political correctness.)
Here's another deterioration of the language; omitting the final letter on some words:
bath bathe (When you take a bath, you bathe)
breath breathe (When you take a breath, you breathe)
cloth clothe
cloths clothes
(When you wear cloth, you clothe yourself, because clothes are made of cloth)
I increasingly see phrases like "I bath my children every day" or "it's easier to breath in rural areas" !
What is this trend of omitting the final "e"?
Is that the influence of some foreign language? Or is it just ignorance?
It confuses nouns with verbs, and serves no useful purpose.
While languages evolve and change over time, and evolution ultimately results in improvements, it also produces defects which are eventually weeded out;
We need to do some serious weeding.
