Re: the grammar of spam
and that's what makes English a dynamic language. Once upon a time
spelling was left to the writer and there was no generally agreed upon
way to spell a word. If you look at the letters of Benjamin Franklin
(another printer...) and Thomas Jefferson they routinely change the way
they spell words sometimes in the same letter. So as the quote goes "a
foolish consistency is the hobgoblins of little minds...."
Creativity in spelling and grammar adds some spice to life. -thom
Richard Vallon Jr. wrote:
We are dating ourselves- the English language as practiced appears to
be dead.
Richard Vallon Jr. age 49- educated by Jesuits...( or is that
Jesuit's?) (-:
On Oct 6, 2007, at 4:28 PM, BOB KISS wrote:
DEAR CLAY,
It is upsetting when students make these mistakes. It is more
upsetting when these mistakes are made by businesses in e-mails.
But, imagine this. About 6 years ago I was approached by a local
publisher to recruit local fine art photographers to contribute
images for a
book for which they received reasonable compensation, In many cases
this
was their first opportunity to see their work published. Now, remember,
this is a publisher with decades of experience publishing magazines and
books.
The cover has the title in enormous, bold, type, "PHOTO'S FROM
WITHIN". From a publisher. Adults who proof read every day. Now,
what is
THAT about??? Let's consider that there were the publisher himself, his
editor, a copy writer, and the graphic designer who did the cover
layout.
We won't even consider all the adjunct personnel within the publisher's
office who might have indicated the error (had they known it was an
error)...not to mention the bloody printer!?!?
My pet peeve is, "I could care less" which means that you do care
some. The correct statement is, of course, "I couldn't care less" which
means that you just don't care.
In closing I will add, "It was the least I could do...if I could
have done any less, I certainly would have!" ;-))
CHEERS!
BOB
-----Original Message-----
From: Clay Harmon [mailto:wcharmon@wt.net]
Sent: Saturday, October 06, 2007 5:03 PM
To: alt-photo-process-l@usask.ca
Subject: Re: the grammar of spam
My pet peeve lately has been the inappropriate use of the possessive
form of a noun instead of the plural form. I just received an email
yesterday from Phase One, the digital back makers, with the following
heading:
Capture One 4: Working with the Pro's
Argghh.
I notice this particular mistake popping up quite frequently on the
internet. I guess good grammar is optional nowadays. One clue might
be the answer I received from my youngest daughter the other night
when I asked her if she knew the difference between an infinitive and
a gerund. She replied that she had no idea what either word meant.
She is a freshman in high school at an ostensibly good school. I
have a feeling some of her teachers might have the same response to
my question.
I just realized I sound like a curmudgeon. Oh well, maybe the world
is really going to hell in a handbasket.
Clay
On Oct 6, 2007, at 1:53 PM, Judy Seigel wrote:
I have been mocked (or praised?) on this very list as grammarian,
(or maybe it was "goddess of between you and me"?), but I share
this off-topic topic as not entirely frivolous....
AFAIK, no bank or reputable business e-mails customers about
anything, let alone asks them to "sign in" with their credentials
(my husband's bank phones if there's a question). But I have never
seen any communication from a legitimate institution, financial or
otherwise, not in proper
business English.
The following, in my queue today, is NOT a joke, as the rest of the
pitch was obviously serious. Some people must bite, or they
wouldn't bother (would they)? So grammar isn't all snobbery (just
the fun part).
Anyway, for the general amusement:
"We've designed our service to ensure that all our customer are
assured and protected. To this notification you are required to
validate your profile to enable us serve you more better. Sign In to
start the validation process."
(next, about my darkroom)
J.
__________ NOD32 2575 (20071006) Information __________
This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system.
http://www.eset.com
|