ROSEN: The trouble with English
By Mike Rosen, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published February 1, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
'The election of the first woman or black president of the United States would surely be an historic event." No it wouldn't! But it would certainly be a historic event. Putting history and politics aside, let's focus on the grammar.
This happens to be one of my pet grammatical peeves. I suspect it's because people somehow feel "an historic" sounds more elegant than "a historic" that they break a fundamental rule in this case. If you aspirate the "h" at the beginning of a word - that is, if you can hear the "h" - you precede it with the article "a." If you don't hear the "h," you precede it with "an." So you eat a hot dog or you're an heir to an estate. You wouldn't say, "he hit an home run," so why would you say "it's an historic event?" (Don't ask me about "herb;" that's pronounced both ways.)
While we're talking about home runs, when you hit one with the bases loaded you knock in four runs, so you get credit for four RBIs, pronounced "ribbies" if you've ever played the game. For some reason, sportswriters and broadcasters have lately taken (I know, that's a split infinitive, but I allow myself some of those) to writing or saying, "four RBI," leaving out the "s." They may believe they're being grammatically correct but they're wrong on two different levels.
First, sports jargon is often granted special exemption from the rules of grammar, as in expressions like "he went yard" or "you the man." It's a cultural thing. Secondly, "RBI," in this case, is a compound noun treated as a unitary term. Hence, even though you'd say four "runs batted in" if you spelled out or spoke all the words, when you use the abbreviation as a term, you say four "RBIs." As another example, you'd correctly say four "prisoners of war" but it's also correct to say "four POWs" if you use the abbreviation, not four "POW" or, heaven forbid, "four Ps O W." When referring to several attorneys general, you say "AGs."
Then there's the annoying use of the word "problematic." It's a great word as shorthand for describing some thorny issue or predicament that's unsettled, uncertain, debatable, indeterminate, baffling or difficult to get your hands around. I don't like it when broadcasters, reporters or analysts casually use it to describe something that's merely troublesome or just a run-of-the-mill problem, as in "the snowstorm has made the rush hour drive problematic." Why not just say the rush hour drive is "a problem" or even "an ordeal." Save "problematic" for things like the selection of a Republican candidate for president in 2008, a solution to centuries of strife in the Middle East or what women really want.
Or how about "height" pronounced, "hieth?" The only correct pronunciation is "hite." Check the dictionary. "Weight" is spelled much the same way and you wouldn't pronounce it "wayth." "Height" ends in a "t," not an "h," like the word, "length." It's not spelled, "heighth."
I also hear the word "supposably" used by people who really mean to say "supposedly." The words have different meanings. "Supposably," rarely used, means something conceivable or capable of being supposed. "Supposedly" refers to something presumed to be true, although it may not be. There's no "ab" in "supposedly," if that's what you mean to say.
And when you're poking holes in your lawn in the spring, aerating it to make it breathe more easily, that's "AIR-rating," two syllables, not "AIR-re-yating," three syllables. Similarly, someone in the real estate business (technically, a member of the National Association of Realtors) is a Realtor, "REAL-tor," two syllables, not "RE-le-tor," three syllables.
The wasteful addition of syllables like this is a drag on productivity, eating away at our nation's gross domestic product. This is why China is gaining on us!
Mike Rosen's radio show airs daily from 9 a.m. to noon on 850 KOA. He can be reached by e-mail at mikerosen@850koa.com.
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February 1, 2008
4:38 a.m.
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CL writes:
Rosen doth protest too much.
February 1, 2008
6:20 a.m.
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North40independent writes:
I would bet Mr. Rosen learned his writing, enlish skills and debating skills the old fashioned way, by long hours of repitition and practice. I bet he knows how to do long division without a calculator too, might even know how to use a slide rule. For those who don't know what a slide rule is, it's a form of mechanical calculator that helped engineers put a man on the moon before computers were smaller then a room in size and about as usefull as a primative cell phone that does not have an internet connection or camera these days. Long division...ask a teenager to put the calculator down and see how many can actually do it.
What does this all mean? Aside from from some maybe not so interesting details it means he actually learned his trade and is offended when people can not do basic writing or grammer. Would you rather read four line articles such as "Tazer this F**K Bush" or something more thoughtfull and in depth? Pardon the pun but the devil is in the details.
February 1, 2008
7:07 a.m.
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Mike_In_Hartsel writes:
Details, North40? So, what's "enlish skills"?
February 1, 2008
7:47 a.m.
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Spencer writes:
This is the kind of stuff Rosen should always write about. By the way, how are you supposed to pronounce Nuclear?
February 1, 2008
8:17 a.m.
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GorillaGrodd writes:
Another one that drives me nuts: "jewelry". It's pronounced joo-uhl-ree, no joo-luh-ree, and yet I hear the latter pronunciation on the radio all the time.
February 1, 2008
9:09 a.m.
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ItsJustme writes:
OK - There's no such word as irregardless. Wolves is pronounced with a "v" sound, not wolfs. When writing, "it's" is a contraction only and does not represent possession. That would be "its." "Who's" also is a contraction. The possessive is "whose." There's no such word as "your's", either. It's always "yours."
February 1, 2008
9:35 a.m.
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jay writes:
Seriously Mike? You get more irrelevant by the day
February 1, 2008
11:16 a.m.
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ltbusby writes:
I am not a grammarian, but when people mix up good and well, I feel the beginnings of a small seizure welling up inside. Others that annoy are animal pleurals. "Deer" not "deers"; "reindeer" not "reindeers"; "elk" not "elks" (unless it is the brotherhood club), etc. I also hate when people take a noun and try to make it into a verb (even if it is in the dictionary) like "incentivize". The final pet peeve is use vs. utilize. They mean exactly the same. Often people use the latter to sound more formal or smarter, but it just wastes letters and syllables.
February 1, 2008
11:22 a.m.
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Grind writes:
Made me laugh. Needed it today. Thanks Mike!
February 1, 2008
12:12 p.m.
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malis writes:
Mike, stumbling around for column ideas as usual, cribs the obvious from other places where it's done much better. He added only one thing I haven't seen before..."hieth and wayth?" I've never heard anyone, anywhere, use those pronunciations, ever...has anyone else? I think Mike probably made that up because he needed a couple more column-inches.
If you find the topic interesting, go find a book called "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" or read Bill Safire's Sunday NY Times column, "On Language."
February 1, 2008
12:13 p.m.
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stuckiniowa writes:
itbusby --- kind of like when people use pleural when the really mean plural? The "pleural" is a membrane in the chest cavity of said animal "plurals."
February 1, 2008
12:14 p.m.
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Theoldguy writes:
Mike, as always when I read your words or hear your voice there is something to be learned. As always. Speaking the English language (American version) is a lifelong task. The beauty of the language is that there are so many different words available to precisely say what one means to say. The problem with slang or sports jargon is that ones mind has to pause with "WHAT!!!!" when it should be listening. These are times when I seriously wonder if I have ADD. John Madden is one of those that seriously cause me to question the teaching abilities of all those past English teachers.
I will have to agree with "Grind" it was fun reading your column today.
North40independant
I still have my slide rule in the original case. One never knows when they'll run out of batteries or a power failure will "just happen" during the formal procedure of "filing one's income tax". Also, to carry ones mathematical education farther learned how to use an abacus just in case I ruined the slide rule. Limited, but still a basic means to compute numbers.
February 1, 2008
12:15 p.m.
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irisman writes:
For once, Mike Rosen is right. English is so badly degraded, that it's in danger of becoming a dead language. I would like to add three pet peeves to the list.
1. The phrase "wrong place at the wrong time" whenever an innocent person gets killed. Not only is it a terrible cliche', but it's usually dead wrong. In the news story about those two people who were killed by stray bullet right after midnight on Jan1,somebody said they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. How could that be? They were at home celebrating the New Year.
2. Spell checkers, a total abomination: they often provide the wrong word, but the writer is too uneducated to notice or is too lazy to proof read.
3. Copspeak, the pretentious language used by the police,in which they prefer say "male juvenile" instead of boy, or "vehicle" instead of car or truck.
February 1, 2008
12:18 p.m.
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stuckiniowa writes:
GMW -- according to the dictionary (Websters) -- there are 3 accepted pronunciations for the word "nuclear." One of those is the way that the President and countless other people who shop at Walmart pronounce it. Just because it makes your ears bleed when you hear it, doesnt make it wrong
February 1, 2008
12:26 p.m.
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Logical writes:
jay and malis, it is likely that you benefitted from this article, if you gave it some thought. Go vote for Hillary or Obama and continue to dumb-down our schools.
February 1, 2008
12:34 p.m.
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Eli writes:
Malis,
I have heard people use the "heith" pronunciation before, but not "wayth".
February 1, 2008
1:18 p.m.
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JB writes:
OK, I usually can't deal with Mike Rosen, but this is a great column! I would like to add another to the list...
"I'm going to unthaw a steak for dinner."
One does not unthaw anything, you thaw it. Technically, if you are going to unthaw something, yo would be freezing it!
February 1, 2008
2:16 p.m.
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ltbusby writes:
no, stuckiniowa, it is not the same. I was referring to the spoken language not the written one. Typos, especially without the help of spell checker, are inevitable. But if you would have listened to the words spoken you would not have been able to tell if I said "plural" or "pleural". By the way, the proper form when used alone is pleura (n), which is the membrane. Pleural is a adjective to further describe something else, like the pleural cavity.
February 1, 2008
2:19 p.m.
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eagleye writes:
How about "hot water heater." If the water is already hot, why would you heat it?
February 1, 2008
2:35 p.m.
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STOPUSAGiveaway writes:
Oh, if only that were all Mr Rosen....it seems that catering to ILLEGALS ILLEGITIMATES ILLITERATES costs this nations workers-taxpayers double for E V E R Y T H I N G....and we are the ONLY nation on planet EARTH without an official language and
due to the Senate in violation of its Oath o Office not voting ENGLISH as the language of this nation....and
the nation where the same receives their freedoms while other peoples sons die for the their TREASON
Meanwhile, the world especially MEXICO dictates who should enter the USA(while they kill those who enter Mexico's southern borders)and what benefits their ILLEGALS should remain the recipients of US laws, tax dollars and the making of US citizenship nothing more than being the recipient of sperm donations so the recipient can cross the USA borders easier than most citizens can obtain a vacation--then the recipient breeders makes a calculated trip to the nearest ER and births for auto-welfare ciizenship from womb to tomb with multiple other sperm donations at over 70%.....
Whats the point?
The CHINESE COMMUNIST whom we are forced to depend due to CLINTONS WTO and continued trade giveaways by Bush the two are hard at work against us dba the USA....
and the CHINESE COMMUNIST will not sit ad listen to excuses.. after they have built up their MILLIONS of men army-military and takover all our NATIONAL DEFENSE assisted by the same TRAITORS aka Clinton and Bush Jr Sr and a lot of other coward traitors....
so talking about English is near a moot point...but talk or type while you have the luxury--
now many US Troops have died or been blown up for FREEDOM the Iraqis: while we have Open Borders.....and this article and response have been entered.
The USA deserve whatever comes and when it does the shocked wlll be those whom have taken it all for granted.....
Do Unto Others....
One Nation Under GOD
February 1, 2008
3:09 p.m.
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Eli writes:
Stopusagiveaway,
Um...what the hell did you just say?
February 1, 2008
3:17 p.m.
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Shaupeen writes:
Hey logical, this isn't even close to a political thread. Take your obvious frustration with your political party elsewhere. There needs to be some places that remain free of your vile bile.
Go away.
February 1, 2008
4:02 p.m.
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peterpi writes:
"Nucular" is just flat out wrong. I suspect that Pres. Bush uses it to show that he's a good ol' boy. Not one of those air-head Ivy-League college types.
There's another word that Rosen could have talked about. It's used often in commercials, and pronounced as three syllables instead of four. It hurts my teeth when I hear it. Unfortunately, I'm having a brain freeze, so I can't think of it at the moment. Maybe I'm in denial.
February 1, 2008
4:23 p.m.
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peterpi writes:
I thought of it. People who pronounce "comfortable" as "kumfterble" instead of "com-fort-a-ble". Like I said, it shows up all the time on TV. You'd think advertisers would want to put their best foot forward. Yet they hire these yokels who say "kumfterble". Those yokels ought to be sent to a high mountain monastery under a permanent vow of silence.
February 1, 2008
11:26 p.m.
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Lowtaxequalsfreedom writes:
Listeners obsessed with proper English often fail to comprehend the speaker.
February 2, 2008
12:37 a.m.
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jconder45 writes:
One that Rosen, among many others these days, is guilty of misusing: "sea change". It has come to mean a massive, sudden change, but the original meaning, which was preserved until recent times, was of a slow transformation, such as that effected by the gradual action of the sea on, for example, a rock or a shell. It originated in Shakespeare's "The Tempest".
If "sea change" is going to be used now to refer to a sudden change, then something has to take the older meaning.
February 2, 2008
7:55 a.m.
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North40independent writes:
not one comment about teenagers and long division. no one disagrees? can it be we all agree that taking short cuts while learning a skill deminishes ones' ability to learn that skill.
thanks...a well deserved comment on my part for miss spelling the word english.
isn't it funny how the mind can interpet a little degradetion of our written language but go to far and it's unreadable or does not mean what it was intended to say.
February 2, 2008
10:04 a.m.
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eagleye writes:
I cringe every time I hear the Commander-in-Chief say "new-cu-ler." To me, it's like fingernails on a chalkboard. But, as someone already pointed out, it is currently an accepted pronunciation, according to Merriam-Webster et al. Not the preferred pronunciation, but acceptable.
I suppose it's like the Brits cringe when we say "aluminum," vs. their pronunciation (and spelling) "aluminium."
February 3, 2008
10:18 a.m.
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kathyM writes:
"Standard English" is the form of our language we expect to read and hear in public forums, business, and the like. There is nothing wrong with that expectation. Nonstandard English is not evil, nor is it an automatic indication of intelligence. It is simply the way a person speaks and writes in private (e.g., at home, with friends). The problem is many people don't change their usage to fit the situation. And even worse, many don't realize there is more than one way to communicate in English.
If you wear formalwear to go mountain climbing, people won't view you as smart or credible, even if you make a fourteener in your tux. The same goes with using our language. The style should fit the situation.
February 3, 2008
11:53 a.m.
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cptnick writes:
Thank you for a very interesting Shell oil shale article. I am interested if there are other companies that have Green River formation R&D permission. This looks like there could be investment opportunities here. Thank you!
Nicholas
February 3, 2008
3:07 p.m.
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kathyM writes:
Thank you, Gene. I thought my English degree and 20+ years of teaching college students and business executives would come in handy somewhere.
February 3, 2008
4:55 p.m.
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Brain writes:
How about the word lose or is it loose? I think most postings are intended to have "loose" English but some just completely "lose" their English.
February 4, 2008
7:04 p.m.
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chaz writes:
kathyM seems to be right on target. Communication is still a two-way process. I teach. Believe it or not...there are quite a few high school graduates, (I graduated high school") who do not now, nor ever will, speak the "King's English." If my car mechanic tells me that I gotta broke steering connection, I am not going to chastise him for his grammar. Communication has taken place and I am going to have him make the necessary repairs. I'm not even going to snicker behind his back to my properly educated companion. All of that aside, I agree with your premise completely and will add to your growing list of pet peeves...very critical or extremely critical or any other degree of excess added to an ultimate diagnosis.
February 6, 2008
4:20 p.m.
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eagleye writes:
Here's another one that's becoming more and more common: Using "weary" instead of "wary." Check out a current article on 9news.com that's headlined, "Nuggets weary of Shaq joining the West." Unless Mr. O'Neal has made a habit of frequently joining the Western Conference, and the Nuggest are growing tired of it, methinks "wary" would have been a better choice.
February 7, 2008
7:39 a.m.
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enginerd writes:
An apt topic for quote unquote Febyuary. It goes without saying "Ya done good". Irregardless, there is enough pet peeves for a whole nuther column.
February 14, 2008
5:33 p.m.
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tmv writes:
Linda Seebach responded to this Rosen article on Feb. 7, 2008. She begins by saying that "Mike Rosen is quite correct--". How can something be "quite correct?" It is either correct or incorrect. It is an absolute. Ironic that this an article about using correct grammar.
February 26, 2008
10:57 a.m.
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primafacie writes:
Pronunciation has been a challenge for many a president: "Cuber" (John Kennedy). "Nookier" (Jimmy Carter). "Ah fehl yore pine" (Bill Clinton).
Whatever.