WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE?
Something very wrong has happened to our English language. And it happened quietly and quickly; worse is that what was considered correct is now considered passé. For those of us who had English grammar pounded into our heads and know correct usage and pronunciation, what can we do? Not much it seems and there is the scary part!
I blame it on today’s society of high tech this and high tech that. Don’t get me wrong for I am writing this on my laptop. Who would ever want to go back to a typewriter? Andy Rooney of “60 Minutes” stated that he still uses his typewriter. Oh my.
Words have become shortened due to texting. Today’s writers for television shows are young and they go with what they hear. And the actors or actresses have to read and learn the lines as they are written. But the bad thing is that a lot of these words are pronounced wrong and are becoming acceptable. Within the last month, I have heard two local weathermen pronounce a word wrong! Heaven help us all. Both of these men said “Short lived” with the word lived pronounced with a long i. No one has ever pronounced those two words together like that –till now.
And now the news commentators are saying “compare—able” instead of comp/arable. Where did that come from? It’s not right and it bothers me as does “badly” as in this sentence: I feel badly. No one feels badly: They feel bad.
Worst is this: “Let’s just keep this between you and I.” Wrong! It should be, “Let’s just keep this between you and me.” And I keep hearing the wrong statement over and over--grates on my last nerve.
My late college professor who taught “History of the English Language” is probably rolling over in her grave. The biggest problem with pronunciation of English words is that who is minding the store? Surely someone with the sense of what is right or wrong should stand up and speak his or her mind. I just did and hope that you, the reader, will help with this dilemma before English language as we knew it goes down the drain.
Sherry Hill
You speak the truth! I have always tried to speak and write correctly. Of course, I make mistakes, but at least I make an effort. I have heard and read so many simple mistakes over the years, I have started to second guess my own usage! Misspellings, misusages, and disregard for punctuation have become epidemic, to say the least.
ReplyDeleteYour comment is great! And I couldn't agree more. Now the thing is to put a semicolon in front of and. When I wrote the above in Word, I had underlined the word--lived. Didn't show up. Why are people on tv saying "short-lived?" You wouldn't say, "I have l[eye]vd a long time." As you stated, the epidemic is in full force!
ReplyDeleteI agree completely! As an English teacher, I abhor misuse of the language. The latest for me is using "disrespect" as a verb, as in "You disrespected me." Mr. A (my English teacher at Stonewall Jackson) must have turned over in his grave many times.
ReplyDelete