What happened to personal pronouns?
Jan. 31st, 2009 08:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thismazDid the rules change, when I was asleep? How does anybody write a sentence like this - 'She has always performed well in the time she has been with ourselves'? That was in the reference letter from the employer of someone I interviewed for a job yesterday. For goodness sake, the word is 'us'!
And while I'm on one of my periodic language rants...
The English language has lots of words, and very, very few of them are perfect synonyms. It's what makes the language such fun, the fact that there are specific words that allow for subtle nuances of meaning.
I mean, when you appreciate something, it is a personal emotion experienced by you. When you are appreciative, you demonstrate your appreciation to the object or to the world in general. That's different, right?
I know that I’m fighting a losing battle with this one, but really, disinterested is not a synonym for uninterested. If you are not interested in something, you are uninterested. If you are disinterested, it means that you don't have a vested interest in it. It has occasional overtones of being altruistic.
And I know the language is constantly evolving, but some things just sound wrong. Why do I have to even say it? - dragged is the past tense of drag, NOT drug. A drug is a medicinal or other chemical compound that has an effect on the workings of the body. Using drug in place of dragged makes you sound illiterate.
(NOTE OF CLARIFICATION - I am using the word illiterate, not as an insult, but as it is defined - 1: having little or no education; especially: unable to read or write 2 a: showing or marked by a lack of familiarity with language and literature b: violating approved patterns of speaking or writing. Ref: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/illiterate)
/rant
*sighs* I think I must be getting old. I feel like I should be swirling my brandy glass and saying "When I was young..."
And while I'm on one of my periodic language rants...
The English language has lots of words, and very, very few of them are perfect synonyms. It's what makes the language such fun, the fact that there are specific words that allow for subtle nuances of meaning.
I mean, when you appreciate something, it is a personal emotion experienced by you. When you are appreciative, you demonstrate your appreciation to the object or to the world in general. That's different, right?
I know that I’m fighting a losing battle with this one, but really, disinterested is not a synonym for uninterested. If you are not interested in something, you are uninterested. If you are disinterested, it means that you don't have a vested interest in it. It has occasional overtones of being altruistic.
And I know the language is constantly evolving, but some things just sound wrong. Why do I have to even say it? - dragged is the past tense of drag, NOT drug. A drug is a medicinal or other chemical compound that has an effect on the workings of the body. Using drug in place of dragged makes you sound illiterate.
(NOTE OF CLARIFICATION - I am using the word illiterate, not as an insult, but as it is defined - 1: having little or no education; especially: unable to read or write 2 a: showing or marked by a lack of familiarity with language and literature b: violating approved patterns of speaking or writing. Ref: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/illiterate)
/rant
*sighs* I think I must be getting old. I feel like I should be swirling my brandy glass and saying "When I was young..."
