By Kenneth Rosen
When my family lived in New York City my father would take us out to eat, breaking up the monotonous dinners we shared at home. Along with my sister Rachele, my mother and me, he made sure to bring along a black ballpoint pen.
Before deciding where to eat he’d read the menu on display outside and add or subtract apostrophes or commas, correcting misspelled words with a flick of his marker to then stand back and admire his masterpiece.
“Amazing isn’t it?” he asked, “They can’t even spell aspa-ra-gus.”
Often when I was young and in a jubilee over something that happened at school I would say, “Me and Rachele were…,” but before I could finish my story, he’d interject, “Rachele and I.”
His incessant grammar correcting became a nuisance, but I never truly appreciated his efforts until now. He sent me an email (we communicate mostly through emails) the other day and the subject line read “Words.”
I opened the attached document containing an article from the New York State Bar Association Journal. The article, “Language Tips,” discussed the transformation of our language into one that best suits our needs and us.
Emphasis has been put on the possibility that the Internet and text messaging may be defiling our language. However, it may truthfully not be the downfall.
Gertrude Block, the author of the article, says that, “Perhaps each individual should decide on a case-by-case basis whether to join the avant-garde or to retain traditional usage.”
She concludes the article with a quote from the poet John Ciardi:
“Those who care have a duty to resist. Changes that occur against such resistance are tested changes. The language is better for them—and for the resistance.”
I believe these to be words we should all consider during the coming week.
Farther and Further
I recently got these two confused on a paper for my Nonfiction Writing II class, so now I impart my recently corrected mistake to you.
Farther: Physical distance, “Yo, I gotta go to the bathroom, how much farther?”
Further: Metaphorical distance, “If you complain about your grade any further, I will lower it more.”
Hidden Verbs
Thanks to WordPress, I have begun to notice when I falter with hidden verbs. A hidden verb is, essentially, overwriting. When making your writing more concise you also have the ability to strengthen it by being less abstract.
Avoid: “to be” or “to have”
Examples: “We made a determination” can easily be corrected to, “We determined.”
“We made an application” becomes, “We applied.”
“Is filled with” becomes, “Contains.”
Next week we tackle punctuation!
