Hum

Normally, I wouldn’t bother, because I’m not too much of a grammar Nazi. Maybe a mild one. I’m one of those liberal language folks who realizes language as a whole is gradually mutable, as determined by the masses.

Then I saw this comment on /., and it inspired me to finish the post:

Language is a dynamic, evolving thing. Decimated is no longer used to refer to the Roman army selecting 1 out of every 10 soldiers from a mutinous unit for execution; it’s fairly universally accepted to mean that a large portion of the subject group was destroyed. Words changing meaning can be annoying, but it’s part of the process of language. “Nice” was the first to go; it used to mean “infinitely fine and complex”, now it’s that white sofa in the Ikea catalogue. Isn’t that awesome?

Things like “die-sect” used to annoy me, though. There’s a double “s” folks! You “by-sect” and you “dis-sect.” But whatever, it’s too late. “Die-sect” has already been formally accepted. And English is rife with exceptions anyway. Though through tough times, I say unto thee, “Cool hwip.”

But, I’ve seen some particularly egregious mishandling of “good” vs “well” lately, so here’s a friendly refresher, so that as you consciously violate strict propriety, you can think back and marvel at the ways of yore:

“Good” is an adjective. Nouns are good.
“Well” is an adverb. Actions are done well.

Here’s a quick quiz:

http://www.english-zone.com/grammar/gd-wll1.html

This begs the question, “Did I just beg the question correctly?” And the answer is, “No one cares anymore.”

まじ？？。。。め

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This entry was posted by Ron on Thursday, February 26th, 2009 at 2:10 am and is filed under Language. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.