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Crippling Pedantry
There are times when being such an appalling pedantasist (go on, it’s wide open for you) takes you dangerously close to being on the receiving end of some actual bodily harm.
For example, on Tuesday night as I queued outside the cash machine I found myself being vaguely irked by the sign in a Whorephone Carhouse window which advertised the fact that the “all new iPod’s” were in. I found myself wanting to go in and complain about this sign, but since I get stared at blankly by the staff in these places when I even ask for something as obscure as a new phone, so I thought better of it on the grounds that the finer points of grammar may cause some kind of seizure.
And you don’t want to be responsible for that sort of thing do you?
So anyway… I dragged my thoughts back to the present and waited patiently in line as before. And then over the top of the surging beats from my own iPod’ I heard the couple of people behind me chatting away. I politely tried to ignore them, but all of a sudden one of them uttered something so awful my blood turned to ice.
“Yeah,” said the camper of the two, “it’s definitely much more busier isn’t it?”
I fought to control myself at this and, thankfully, won. It would have been so easy to swing round and hit him with my manbag, it really would, but somehow I suspect shouting “for God’s sake, you don’t form a comparative with ‘more’ and a suffix you illiterate moron” in the street would have made me seem somewhat unbalanced.
Or, at least, more unbalanced than normal.
But why is it that comparative and superlative forms are so difficult for people to understand these days? Is it just because grammar hasn’t been taught in schools for years, or has there been some kind of consensus that this sort of mangling of the language is actually fine?
For those of us who took a degree in this sort of thing it’s like a foreign world sometimes it really is.
Posted on March 27, 2008 | Filed Under My So-Called Life, The World we Live In
Comments
Response left by Carlbob on March 28th, 2008
I once had an R.E. teacher who corrected a pupil as follows:
“It’s not ‘I ain’t done nuffink’, it’s I ain’t done nuffin”
I muttered somethin along the lines of:
“actually it’s nothing with a ‘t’, ‘h’ and ‘g’, not to mention the double negative”
and got dentention for my troubles…ah, the modern education process at work people
Response left by Emma on March 31st, 2008
To be fair I don’t think a teacher would’ve dared to detain me over something like that. I’m not the best user of the English language but you can tell when it sounds wrong.
This is coming from someone who dressed down a teacher for throwing a board rubber at someone at the back of the room. I don’t take any s**t.
Response left by Pandemonia on April 3rd, 2008
Well, actually Pandemonia I think you take lots of shit! It just seems that you only seem to lose your tight hold on the patience of a saint when faced with figures of authority…
Emma, I am shocked at such blatantly rubbish teaching standards! The language is bad enough, but to then detain you? Blimey.
Response left by Rob on April 4th, 2008
I suppose that’s true to an extent. My inherent desire is to reduce fallout. On the whole I think I do well in that respect. Challenge authority where faulty and show understanding - and gently correct ignorance.
Or just go spare.
@}#!
Response left by Pandemonia on April 8th, 2008
And wouldn’t it be nice if patience = attractiveness. I’d be chased!
Response left by Pandemonia on April 8th, 2008
…shouldn’t it be ‘more unbalanceder’?
Response left by BiB on April 11th, 2008
Got something to say?
Glad it’s not just me then. Illiterate morons indeed.
I practically need beta-blockers these days thanks to rogue apostrophes, particularly those that have made it through (apparently) multiple stages of proof-reading before being lovingly struck into signage etc etc.
GAHHH!