Friday, July 24, 2009

MY "RAISON D’ÊTRE"

MY OPINION

I started this blog over two years ago in the hopes that highlighting writing errors by professional writers, radio personalities and newscasters would encourage them to be more careful in proofreading and presenting their work. They have great influence because they are, in effect, teachers and it is incumbant upon them to be good leaders of English usage in their chosen medium.
I must have had some success with my constant harangues because many of the local media have blocked my e-mail address on their web pages.
Even when I try to congratulate some of them on their good work, my efforts are blocked.
So be it. I will survive. And I will be ever more diligent in encouraging good English usage because if what is said or written is incorrect, the message cannot be understood. As a result, readers, or listeners, are subtley subjected to a "dumbing down" of the language and that is a shame!
It is not my job, as a reader, to try to puzzle out what is said or written. It is the job of the composer to make his work intelligible. If his is incorrect, his work is unintelligible. If he cannot, or will not, put forth the effort to make his work correct, then he reaps what he sows. Unfortunately, so does the reader or listener.(This is not a religious diatribe; it is just a good metaphor.)

On the other side of the coin, congratulations to photographer, Scott Webster of the Windsor Star, for spotting the sign below. Is it any wonder that I expect to be writing this blog for quite some time to come!





SOMETIME/SOME TIME

Explain the correct useage of "sometime" and "some time".
Create sentences for "sometime" and "some time" that clearly express the meanings.


TODAY'S WORD

The word for today is "recondite".
What part of speech is "recondite"?
Define "recondite" and use it in a sentence.


CORRECTIONS & EXPLANATIONS

Corrections and explanations for this week's entries will be posted Saturday.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Would you writ a post offering analysis and opinion on interpreting the phrase "acting stupidly" as maligning and what it would mean to calibrate those words differently?