Motherhood richly deserves its lofty status and celebrity. It undeniably belongs just beneath God; and just above, the flag and apple pie. It also occupies an uncontested niche, a few wrungs up from gold deposits (mother lode), computer circuitry ( mother board), and a time-honored anthology of chidrens' nursery rhymes.
What distresses this writer is the absence of any veneration for the Mother Tongue. Where, for example, would Mother Goose, or our pledge to "Old Glory" be without it? Sadly, no national consciousness has surfaced in the cause of guarding and protecting our precious and beloved English language from the forces of decay. The following is presented as prima facie evidence of this neglect:
Verbicide: The practice of arbitrarily ascribing verb status to words previously recognized as nouns only.
"incentive" which has been given coinage as "incentivize", as in, "to get others involved, we must incentivize participation."
"message" with three (3) definitions in the Websters New Collegiate Dictionary; none of which are verbs has been "economized" by political pundits into "messaging" (v. trans.), as in "the brand x political party must do a better job of messaging its platform." (The economy must be found in the fact that "sending a message of....." requires four times (4) times the number of words. That's obviously too labor intensive.
"calendar" has transitioned into "calendaring" (v. trans), which has become a regrettable part of the spoken word of business, and is oft-heard in the vernacular of agenda: "Our next meeting will include the "calendaring" of the upcoming month."
A notable also-ran is "foundationing". which was summarily red-lined by this writer's spell-check software.
Misuseticide: Why can't disciples of our language make obvious distinctions of usage? For example, "further" has assumed the meaning of "farther". Can't we all agree that we travel farther on a gallon of Signal gasoline, and not further?
Does anything further need to be said? Well, yes.
In moments of candor, practitioners have been given to say, "To be honest" as a preface to a heavy disclosure. Oh, really! Should I be re-evaluating what you told me previously? Hmmm. Maybe, if you had said, "quite frankly", any doubts could have been dismissed.
Overuseticide: "Twenty-four/seven" ("constantly" still works for me, and it's a two syllable-advantage in energy efficiency) "There you go". (The standard charge for servers at a restaurant) Well, where am I supposed to go, now that the meal is placed in front of me? "Good job!" (The classic phrase where high praise and low expectations converge) Usually heard where minimal effort is expended, then acknowledged. Commonly used with kids, while they perform tasks that are routinely expected of them as in: "You may have swung at the ball three times, and missed, but good job, Ned!" In classroom evaluation, that's a "D-level" result, at best; accorded a courtesy "B". (It is hoped that a "B" grade in the classroom still signifies above average performance.)
Frankensteinicide: Words so grotesque that they must have been created with spare parts in the baron's laboratory. Foremost examples include: "Misunderestimated" (Dr. G.W. Bush), and "refudiate" (Dr. S. Palin).
Please note that with all the "cides" previously taken, all were employed for illustrative, one-time-only purposes.
Ironically, this eviscerating of the English language stems from the fact that it is a living language. With every passing year, Merriam and his merry band of Websters invite new words and definitions into our lexicon. Verbiage that was once unkown or frowned upon by scholars has become accepted. "Refudiate", for example, may well eventually be accorded rights of entry.
Latin, on the other hand, is stone-cold dead. Apart from adaptations in animal-plant classification, and medical terminology, it is totally immune to the abuses previously described. "In hoc signo vinces" means the same as it did 2,500 years ago; when all of Gaul was divided into five parts! There is absolutely no need to fret over revision or addition with this most respected of western idioms, and the fount from which sprung not only our Mother Tongue, but also the romance languages of French, Spanish, and Italian. The Romans knew what they were doing, didn't they??
So while, in some quarters, the hue and cry has gone out to "take back our government", let us lovers of a pure, perfect, and undefiled idiom unite with one voice to counter-call, "Bring Back Our Latin!!!"
Here's to you, my mentor, Miss Schmidt.
Verbicide: The practice of arbitrarily ascribing verb status to words previously recognized as nouns only.
"incentive" which has been given coinage as "incentivize", as in, "to get others involved, we must incentivize participation."
"message" with three (3) definitions in the Websters New Collegiate Dictionary; none of which are verbs has been "economized" by political pundits into "messaging" (v. trans.), as in "the brand x political party must do a better job of messaging its platform." (The economy must be found in the fact that "sending a message of....." requires four times (4) times the number of words. That's obviously too labor intensive.
"calendar" has transitioned into "calendaring" (v. trans), which has become a regrettable part of the spoken word of business, and is oft-heard in the vernacular of agenda: "Our next meeting will include the "calendaring" of the upcoming month."
A notable also-ran is "foundationing". which was summarily red-lined by this writer's spell-check software.
Misuseticide: Why can't disciples of our language make obvious distinctions of usage? For example, "further" has assumed the meaning of "farther". Can't we all agree that we travel farther on a gallon of Signal gasoline, and not further?
Does anything further need to be said? Well, yes.
In moments of candor, practitioners have been given to say, "To be honest" as a preface to a heavy disclosure. Oh, really! Should I be re-evaluating what you told me previously? Hmmm. Maybe, if you had said, "quite frankly", any doubts could have been dismissed.
Overuseticide: "Twenty-four/seven" ("constantly" still works for me, and it's a two syllable-advantage in energy efficiency) "There you go". (The standard charge for servers at a restaurant) Well, where am I supposed to go, now that the meal is placed in front of me? "Good job!" (The classic phrase where high praise and low expectations converge) Usually heard where minimal effort is expended, then acknowledged. Commonly used with kids, while they perform tasks that are routinely expected of them as in: "You may have swung at the ball three times, and missed, but good job, Ned!" In classroom evaluation, that's a "D-level" result, at best; accorded a courtesy "B". (It is hoped that a "B" grade in the classroom still signifies above average performance.)
Frankensteinicide: Words so grotesque that they must have been created with spare parts in the baron's laboratory. Foremost examples include: "Misunderestimated" (Dr. G.W. Bush), and "refudiate" (Dr. S. Palin).
Please note that with all the "cides" previously taken, all were employed for illustrative, one-time-only purposes.
Ironically, this eviscerating of the English language stems from the fact that it is a living language. With every passing year, Merriam and his merry band of Websters invite new words and definitions into our lexicon. Verbiage that was once unkown or frowned upon by scholars has become accepted. "Refudiate", for example, may well eventually be accorded rights of entry.
Latin, on the other hand, is stone-cold dead. Apart from adaptations in animal-plant classification, and medical terminology, it is totally immune to the abuses previously described. "In hoc signo vinces" means the same as it did 2,500 years ago; when all of Gaul was divided into five parts! There is absolutely no need to fret over revision or addition with this most respected of western idioms, and the fount from which sprung not only our Mother Tongue, but also the romance languages of French, Spanish, and Italian. The Romans knew what they were doing, didn't they??
So while, in some quarters, the hue and cry has gone out to "take back our government", let us lovers of a pure, perfect, and undefiled idiom unite with one voice to counter-call, "Bring Back Our Latin!!!"
Here's to you, my mentor, Miss Schmidt.
