What happened to personal pronouns?

[thismaz]

Did 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..."

Comments

[draconin.livejournal.com]

Oh, I agree with you completely! I get so tired of people who seem unable to cope with the simplest language, let alone anything at all complex.

I had a massive argument with a fellow teacher some years back who sent back a report I'd written that contained the sentence (roughly) "If Johnny were to work harder his grades would improve". This *English* teacher had crossed out 'were' and written 'was'.

When I pointed out that it was the subjunctive case and that 'were' was correct, the reponse was "What's the subjunctive case?". I took it to her head of department, who had the gall to tell me that I was right but "no-one really cares these days"!

::Bangs head on desk::

The most annoying part of it was that this was back in the days when we wrote reports by hand and she had crossed out in pen. The entire report had to be re-written; not just my comment but all those by the other teachers!

PS. You may well have seen it before but if not... have you come across "The The Impotence of Proofreading by Taylor Mali (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=OonDPGwAyfQ)"

[mwrgana.livejournal.com]

"What's the subjunctive case?"

Just as well there's been no "dumbing down" of education, then, isn't it?

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

*goes to look up the definition of subjunctive case*
Oh, right. Okay. So that's what it's called.
*grins at you*

[draconin.livejournal.com]

Actually, I was having a lot of trouble convincing her that I was correct until I finally started whistling the tune to "If I were a rich man (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=RBHZFYpQ6nc)" from Fiddler on the Roof and, when she recognised it, said "Now, tell me the lyrics".

The double take was great!

In fact, the only reason I was even aware of the subjunctive case (and most other grammatical info) was because of learning German. The language teachers most definitely believed in teaching grammar!

[sunnyd-lite.livejournal.com]

I learned English tenses by studying French and Latin, never in English class and my teachers LIKED grammar.

And I need drugs when I read drug *holds out tea cup for a top up*

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

*adds a slug of brandy to your tea cup*

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

*joins you in banging head on desk* That's awful. When teachers stop caring, how can we be surprised that the kids don't learn. I don't mind people bending, or even, occasionally, breaking the rules, as long as I believe that they are doing it deliberately.
Thank you for that link. I hadn't seen it. It was very funny.

[draconin.livejournal.com]

I assure you that most teachers still care! :-) Unfortunately in Australia (and I think the US too) there was a trend about thirty years ago towards no longer teaching grammar. The theory was that you didn't teach it by 'rules' you taught it by osmosis. That all they had to do was read and write sufficiently and they'd take it all in without having to have it explained. Needless to say, it didn't work. We're now paying the price doubly because of the teachers coming through who were taught that way and have not since been fortunate enough to come across a lecturer who refused to kowtow and, instead, insisted they learn the rules.

If you've not come across Taylor Mali before then you're in for a real treat. Try "Like, You Know (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=SCNIBV87wV4)" and his others!

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

I assure you that most teachers still care!
Oh, I do know that's true, but that Head of English you quoted... not so much. I guess they'd given up.

there was a trend about thirty years ago towards no longer teaching grammar
In the UK too. I'm a product of that education system. But I know people who don't have a single book in their houses, so how it was supposed to work for them, is a mystery to me.

I've just spent three quarters of an hour watching Taylor Mali on YouTube. Thank you so much for the links.

[lit-gal.livejournal.com]

OH YEAH! And now they're trying to fix that by shoving worksheets in kids' faces without ever requiring them to actually USE correct grammar in their papers because that would take too much time to grade. *headdesk* I sometimes hate my colleagues.