Filed under: Books, College Students, Education, Elementary Education, High School, Life, Parents, Professors, Reading, Resources, Students, Teachers, University
Kids who grow up with no television in their homes either (a) make friends quick with a kid whose family worships the ‘mote, or (b) they read a lot. My utter lack of pop culture references from the mid-seventies through the mid-nineties should do all the explaining as to which path I took.
The outcome being, I ended up with a stellar vocabulary, full of words I’d only ever seen in print and therefore usually couldn’t pronounce correctly. Whatever. At least I knew what they meant.
And there were some I knew how to say. (With feeling). When I was eight my 18-year-old babysitter burned the chicken pot pies that were to be our dinner. My mother never bought us crappy processed food, which meant my brother and I were infatuated with all sugary, well-preserved, and insanely processed foodstuffs.
I was understandably pissed when the sitter burned my only shot at packaged food for the month and filled the kitchen with smoke. To vent my anger I hollered, “What are you trying to do, asphyxiate us?!” She had no idea what that meant, and almost sent me to my room because she thought I’d called her something so horrible, not even teenager her had ever heard that particular obscenity before.
There is also the common problem, among adults and too-smart-for-their-own-good children, of only ever hearing a word or a phrase and never figuring out the correct spelling. There are so many words that sound alike but are spelled differently, and each version of the stupidly exact-sounding word means something completely different. I’ve got their, there, and they’re down cold, but it took a while for me to get affect and effect straight. The English language, in my bitchy opinion, has some definite asinine qualities.
Or perhaps I should ask more questions. Until I was in college and saw this phrase written on the board as a common mistake college sophomores made when writing papers for the professor, I had always thought “For all intents and purposes” was “For all intensive purposes.”
According to Paul Brians, author of Common Errors in English Usage, I’m not the only native English-speaker to screw that phrase up. Which made me feel better for about point seven seconds until I saw the bit where he describes the phrase as “Another example of the oral transformation of language by people who don’t read much.” Ouch, Professor Brians. That was totally uncalled for.
I read plenty, thank you. The books I read (fine literature and lots of science-y non-fiction) just haven’t ever contained that exact phrase. I am still very smart and am an excellent reader. And clearly I have nary a hang-up about the whole intents/intensive blunder.
Further Reading:
Common Errors in English Usage
Confusing Words
Grammar and Punctuation Resources
Posted by Alexa Harrington
Alexa,
As someone who was an English major I’ve run across the same thing and can totally relate to how long it took you to “get” affect and effect. Sometimes you’ll even find that using English correctly will make you sound strange and wrong. How many people write “I wish I was…” when anytime you are using “wish” it has to be “were.” Same with “If I was…” no, it has to be “if I were!” Not only that but look where my punctuation ends….inside those quotes. That’s how it is suppose to be, but how many people do it? Many people use “less” when they should be using “fewer” or say “because of” when “of” is actually repetitious. In the end, I think you have to decide when it really matters. Most of the time it does not and to go around correcting people or labeling people as uneducated or as non-readers is pompous. The children’s series “A Series of Unfortunate Events” really does a great job showing the absurdity of it all with the character of Aunt Josephine in “The Wide Window.” She says, “Grammar is the greatest joy in life, don’t you find?” She’s a woman who is scared of everything in life but knows her grammar and is ready to correct anyone who uses it incorrectly. In the end, correcting the villian’s grammar is her undoing…but I won’t give it all away. The point is, no matter how much we know, we only show how much we DON’T know by placing ourselves above others.
Ain’t it the truth? 
Lynn–
So I’m okay then? And I can stop going back and forth between being annoyed by people who get the obvious stuff wrong (“obvious” being the rules I actually have nailed down), and worrying that I no doubt screw up my grammar and punctuation every day on a higher education blog?
I don’t say “ain’t” (Lynn…), but my husband grew up in Atlanta and went to college in North Carolina, and I’ve found “y’all” to be a really useful word. My grandmother visibly shudders when I say it in front of her (she’s an unabashed corrector of other people’s grammar). She taught me all about every piece of silverware that might ever grace a table, as well as the importance (it’s more important than almost anything) of writing thank-you notes. The only instances when it’s okay to skip the thank-you notes is if you’re in a coma or you’re dead.
Take care,
Alexa
Comment by admin 10.16.09 @ 11:11 amYes, you’re OK!
I struggle with this all the time. It is hard to hear (or read) someone use grammar improperly. I guess it is like listening to someone hitting the wrong note in a song you know well. It is hard to be perfect all the time though. Often I find a typo (and typing thoughts too fast) can make me look like I don’t “know my stuff.” So, it’s better to keep criticism of others to a minimum.
I can only imagine how difficult it is for your grandmother to relate to today’s society!
I grew up in a few different places: NY, NJ, and FL. I’ve heard plenty of “ya’lls” and “youz.” I can see you cringing now at “youz” Alexa, but they are both attempting to achieve the same thing…make the already plural “you” plural.
Comment by Lynn M 10.19.09 @ 8:38 am