Vocabulary Issues

The Super Bowl is over, but the commentators live on. Oh!  Did you know that the Patriots won?  Yeah, I'll bet you did, especially if you were one of the 1,250,000 or so adoring fans who showed up on City Hall Plaza the other day to honor the Patriots for finally going all . . . the . . . way!

Or, of course, if you live in St. Louis.

Did you also listen carefully to John Madden (my all-time favorite for his enthusiasm) and Pat Summerall?  How about the other announcers over the past few weeks?  Have you heard what I've heard?

"Wow. The Patriots, they're sure a changed team!"  "Drew Bledsoe, he's been a real stand-up guy this season."  "Owner Bob Kraft, he sure got his money's worth this year!"

See the problem?  While most of these announcers know more about football than I'll ever know or care about, they're beginning a new campaign to change the English language -- not necessarily for the better.  And even though most of the listeners aren't really hearing what's being said, they're integrating it and using it.

The issue is, of course, the double subject.  Once the subject has been identified, there's no need to follow it immediately with a pronoun.  It's becoming almost like a verbal tic.  I sure wish they'd stop!

On the subject of words, there are a few vocabulary choices I'm hoping we'll all stop making, including the use of more importantly.  As used, it's wrong.  The correct phrase needs to be most important, which is a shorthand form for what is most important.  I wish we'd all just forget that most (or more) importantly even exists.

Here are two more: hone and home in on.  More and more people are "honing in on" something, to my regret.  Hone means to sharpen; home in on means to go to some place directly (think homing pigeon).  One hones one's skills and homes in on a target.

The last two occur in written form: alot and a lot. Actually, by using spell check, these are no problem at all; my spell check requires me to write alot deliberately by removing the space. It recognizes that the word is not a suitable one.  When I see it in print, I think that someone was lazy and not using all the tools available.  Of course, I realize that the person might not even have spell check, but with computers, most of us do!  And while I detest grammar check, spell check does make my life easier by recognizing mistyped and dubious words.

One way to remember that a lot is two words is to mentally pair it with its opposite: a little.

That's it for this month - short month, short newsletter. Have a great time watching the Olympics and try not to listen too closely to the announcers!