I think they have saved one of the worst examples to the last. I hate the expression, which of course ought to be could have. I also hate some of the new trends where, for instance British people insist on using the term train station, when station has always been enough, because if it is a police station or bus station, the descriptive noun always appears. Then there is bad diction, like on TV when they speak of a boxet, meaning a box set, or people insist on adding ee to some words, so baby becomes babee or people refer to a house as a propertee, rather than a house or (if they really must) a property. (Behind this use of property for a house, I suspect is the idea of a dwelling being more of a commodity to be profited from, than one that one can live in. I think the constant buying and selling of houses for profit, as objects to be exploited, by some, adds to increased house prices, creating difficulties for low earners ). As for talking of issues all the time instead of using more descriptive words like problems, difficulties, (sometimes also called difficultees !), concerns etc. Then there are the irritating words and expressions that sometimes become fashionable for a while to use like Joined up thinking, coined, I think, by some clever dick politician, and copied by others ad nauseum. Then there are words like really and really really ! Yes, of course there are much more important things to concern ourselves about, but at least I have let off steam for a bit on some of the little things that niggle me sometimes. I know that language is something living, but I do think it is good to do our best to keep it up to a certain standard. That is also much kinder to foreigners trying to learn and understand English. Liselotte for instance, is excellent in her English, better even than many English people, but every now and then I need to explain the meanings of words, sometimes because people have been clumsy in their use.
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 20:10:18 +0000
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