Today I heard a man on television speaking about deportees say "approximately about 576 people"; a couple of minutes later he said "about 1,154 people" and I felt myself turning into my old high-school English teacher, Mr. D. P. Morris. First of all, the phrase "approximately about" is redundant and should never be used. Say one or the other, but not both. In addition, please don't use the qualifiers except with a non-specific, inexact figure. It is okay in the examples I cited to say "approximately 600" and "about 1,150" but neither "approximate" nor "anout" is appropriate with such specific numbers as 576 or 1,154. It's too bad the man on television couldnt't hear me. He might have learned something. I'm just saying.
Speaking properly used to be the mark of an educated person but those days have gone with the wind. Swearing in public used to be the mark of an uncouth lout but nowadays even our elected representatives in suits and ties do it without a second thought. Interesting. Sad, but interesting.
Someone has said that the only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys. I guess the ability to grow a beard and having the urge to, um, procreate are of no consequence.
On another newscast today a woman said, and I quote, "In 2023 California's budget deficit was $32 billion dollars. In 2024 it doubled to $46 billion dollars." I found myself yelling at the television screen that 32 doubled is 64, not 46. Did the printed copy she was reading contain a typo that she read faithfully without thinking about it or was the copy correct and the reader was dyslexic? We'll never know because the reader didn't correct herself and no one else on the set asked a question or made a comment about the discrepancy.
Today is May 1st, which I just learned is the mid-point between the vernal equinox and the summer solstice. There are three other such mid-points during the year: between the summer solstice and the autumnal equinox, between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice, and between the winter solstice and the vernal equinox. Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to learn the dates on which these mid-points fall and report the information in a comment.
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I'm kidding, but didn't it make you think of Mission Impossible?
I'm taking you at your word. The message self-destructed. Before it did I could feel the ire rising in me about poor grammar. I am constantly screaming at my television. Mom said that a person swears when they don't have the intelligence to use other words. I do disagree. There are times when a good swear word punctuates a strong feeling. However I am insulted when politicians and actors swear just to do it.
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ReplyDeleteOur 59-year-old younger son reminded me recently that I told them swearing was the sign of a poor vocabulary. I also remember saying to people that I never curse but where I spit, grass never grows again. Somehow the post managed to resurrect itself.
Yes, the fault you point out is heard frequently and is very annoying. It is also an indicator that the person speaking is not worth listening to and not very intelligent. So the fault has its uses.
ReplyDeleteSo many of the so-called ‘swear words’ are one-syllable Anglo-Saxon words used by everyone in England before 1066 when the Norman conquerors came in and imposed their culture on the populace and those words became unacceptable and went underground, only to erupt in times of stress to emphasize how one really felt about something. I suppose it is still largely true today but some folks are not reluctant to use them in normal conversation.
DeleteSwear words are fillers for many people, just in the way that 'like' is used. I'd prefer to hear 'err' and 'um' although they irritate me, too.
ReplyDeleteA filler phrase that really irritates me is ‘ you know’. No, I don’t know. Another one is ‘okay?’ which is being replaced more and more lately by ‘right?’, especially among the younger generation. Thank you, Janice.
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