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I got this in my email and thought it was really interesting. I thought I would share it.
By Gene Weingarten,
Pulitzer-prize-winning author
The English language, which arose from humble Anglo-Saxon roots to become the lingua franca of 600 million people worldwide and the dominant lexicon of international discourse, is dead. It succumbed last month at the age of 1,617 after a long illness. It is survived by an ignominiously diminished form of itself.
The end came quietly on Aug. 21 on the letters page of The Washington Post. A reader castigated the newspaper for having written that Sasha Obama was the “youngest” daughter of the president and first lady, rather than their “younger” daughter. In so doing, however, the letter writer called the first couple the “Obama’s.” This, too, was published, constituting an illiterate proofreading of an illiterate criticism of an illiteracy. Moments later, already severely weakened, English died of shame.
The language’s demise took few by surprise. Signs of its failing health had been evident for some time on the pages of America’s daily newspapers, the flexible yet linguistically authoritative forums through which the day-to-day state of the language has traditionally been measured. Beset by the need to cut costs, and influenced by decreased public attention to grammar, punctuation and syntax in an era of unedited blogs and abbreviated instant communication, newspaper publishers have been cutting back on the use of copy editing, sometimes eliminating it entirely.
In the past year alone, as the language lay imperiled, the ironically clueless misspelling “pronounciation” has been seen in the Boston Globe, the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the Deseret Morning News, Washington Jewish Week and the Contra Costa (Calif.) Times, where it appeared in a correction that apologized for a previous mispronunciation.
On Aug. 6, the very first word of an article in the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal was “Alot,” which the newspaper employed to estimate the number of Winston-Salemites who would be vacationing that month.
The Lewiston (Maine) Sun-Journal has written of “spading and neutering.” The Miami Herald reported on someone who “eeks out a living” — alas, not by running an amusement-park haunted house. The Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star described professional football as a “doggy dog world.” The Vallejo (Calif.) Times-Herald and the South Bend (Ind.) Tribune were the two most recent papers, out of dozens, to report on the treatment of “prostrate cancer.”
Observers say, however, that no development contributed more dramatically to the death of the language than the sudden and startling ubiquity of the vomitous verbal construction “reach out to” as a synonym for “call on the phone,” or “attempt to contact.” A jargony phrase bloated with bogus compassion — once the province only of 12-step programs and sensitivity training seminars — “reach out to” is now commonplace in newspapers. In the last half-year, the New York Times alone has used it more than 20 times in a number of contextually indefensible ways, including to report that the Blagojevich jury had asked the judge a question.
It was not immediately clear to what degree the English language will be mourned, or if it will be mourned at all. In the United States, English has become increasingly irrelevant, particularly among young adults. Once the most popular major at the nation’s leading colleges and universities, it now often trails more pragmatic disciplines, such as economics, politics, government, and, ironically, “communications,” which increasingly involves learning to write mobile-device-friendly ads for products like Cheez Doodles.
Many people interviewed for this obituary appeared unmoved by the news, including Anthony Incognito of Crystal City, a typical man in the street.
“Between you and I,” he said, “I could care less.”
Topic: Spring Hill!
I’m late to the party, but I wanted to share what a lovely meal I had at Spring Hill this evening. My 8 year old and I had a date & he explained that he wanted to go somewhere new. We wandered around and ended up at Spring Hill. So, from the start I’d like to point out that we were not dream customers: a salad, an appetizer, some bread, no drinks, and dessert. Nonetheless, our waiter treated us as if we’d ordered entrees, wine, and so forth. Delightful.
We had the butter lettuce salad. Huge. Lovely satiny leaves, and a lovely citrusy vinaegrette balanced out by (I think)pecorino. Shaved radishes added a layer of flavor and color.
Warm bread with butter and sea salt. Simple, delicious.
Papardelle with oxtail. Oh my. The oxtail tasted beefy and earthy and rich. I caught the 8 year old licking his fingers. Several times. I might’ve cooked the pappardelle a moment more, and I’m an al dente kind of a gal, but that’s a small complaint.
For dessert, the boy had a valrhona bourbon chocolate cake with salted peanut butter ice cream. What can I say, he’s experiencing a growth spurt! I shared the ice cream, which was dense and rich with a fresh, toasty salty sweetness that made me think it would probably be the best drunk food ever. (Oh, and let me just add here that I wish I still drank because their wine and cocktail menus looked outstanding.) He maintained that he was too full for the cake, but somehow, someway, it vanished.
And I enjoyed my cup of coffee thoroughly. Not over-roasted, not too weak or too strong. Just right.
We loved watching the kitchen folks work, as well. I can’t imagine that I’d like to be under that sort of a microscope, but it’s fascinating to watch their speed, efficiency, and skill.
Big fun. And delicious.
On Sunday, somewhere between the Luna Park Cafe at breakfast (called them with no luck), to the water-taxi heading toward downtown (checked with them on the ride back towards home) and walking to Safeco Field (need lots of luck here) I lost a black leather wrist band with many Rolling Stones logos on it.
It’s an item that can be purchased again, however this particular one holds significant sentimental value.
If you found it or knows who did, PLEASE help get it back to me and fill the void that has been created in my life.
It’s crazy how a 51 year old man has been affected by the loss of something as simple as this, but it hurts!!!
Thank you in advance for any assistance you may be able to offer.
In the midst of Tea Party candidates in other states attacking the constitutionality (and existence) of the minimum wage, we have our own, home grown, “reasonable” Republic, Dino Rossi.
Oh, we support the federal minimum wage, says the Rossi campaign, it’s only the pesky state minimum wage that needs deflation. Lower for teenagers, capped for adults.
Imagine a Republic majority in the US Senate, when the vote comes up to trim, limit, or eliminate the minimum wage, how do you think Dino will vote? Will he buck his caucus and defend the minimum wage?
Don’t count on it.
That’s all I need to know about the “reasonableness” of the GOP. It is a myth.
Welcome to Nia! Free Class Saturday, October 9, 2010 from 9:00 a.m.-9:50 a.m. Start your day with a free introductory Nia class led by Jill Pagano and Lesley Tinker, Black Belt Nia Instructors. Nia is a cardiovascular and whole body conditioning practice. Done barefoot to music, each Nia class provides a unique focus for warming up, moving, and cooling down. Experience the benefits of Nia for yourself. Immediately, you will feel more invigorated, vital, and refreshed. Keep practicing Nia and you will feel more flexible, agile, mobile, strong, and stable. Pre-registration required: http://www.NiaDivas.com
—I think there’s something we should all be talking about. With our families. With our friends. With each other.
In the past month, there have been two shooting incidents here in West Seattle that have left a total of four people dead (including two children) and two others seriously wounded. In both cases, mental illness was a factor that was almost certainly known to family members beforehand.
I feel that these tragedies — and thousands like them that occur each year — are preventable. Regardless of how we, as individuals, feel about the Second Amendment, I would hope we could agree that people with severe mental illness or suicidal urges should not be allowed anywhere near a gun.
If you are close to someone who has access to a gun and is delusional, or has made threats to harm himself or others, then you are society’s first line of defense.
Please do something to get that weapon out of harm’s way.
Help WSB!
We are working on installing the car seat for our first child (due this month!). It’s proving difficult. We followed the directions to put the (giant) car seat into our (tiny) car, but it still seems to have too much give.
The word on the street is that fire departments are the places to go for child restraint inspections, but I’m not finding any info about that online. Does anyone have any experience getting installation help or an inspection or both?
Thanks!
West Seattle, Washington
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