Buttoned, Bugged, and Bothered
Most of us have things that push our buttons, bug us silly, or bother us to distraction. This is one of mine.
News presenters who make basic grammar mistakes:
“Me and him. . .” “Her and I. . .” “the most pretty girl. . .” “A explorer. . .”
and then there are the verb tense errors.
These are basic grammar usage errors that news presenters should have learned in elementary school, but I assume they have university degrees and had to actually communicate to earn those degrees. I admit that I tend to be comma confused and seldom remember whom instead of who, but these types of errors are not excusable in people who work as communicators.
6 Responses to Buttoned, Bugged, and Bothered
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ADHD Brains Are Different
From another blogger – might have been Now Norma Knits – I went to Al Gore’s blog. Oh my! I thought I might scream. And, he’s not writing like I am (I assume?) off the cuff as though speaking to a friend – he’s writing as a Very Important Someone, trying to send a Very Important Message. I was really stunned. All he needed to do was read it once; he’d surely have caught all those errors – but maybe Very Important Someone’s are Very Busy.
I know. Getting the nuances wrong is expected. Makes them human. There was a newscaster in College Station who call the Texas A&M mascot, Reveille, “revile” on air. This dog is known and loved by all there so She did not last long.
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And not forgetting the use of the definite article in the right place.
We can speculate on some of the reasons for the lax attitude some writers treat their grammer:
a) poorly thought in schools and hence learned. This is most unlikely. I can recall the days my elder son was in elementary and middle schools with English classes stuffed full of language drills, filling the blanks, antonyms, synonyms, essays, and what have you. So there is no escaping from mastering the grammar fundamentals at any early age, a very solid grounding indeed. And English is not even his mother tongue.
b) high tolerance level by the readers. Most do not have the time to be “nitpicking” and the vicious cycle continues so much so that sometimes the errant writer may think his/hers may actually be the correct way.
c) the substance (message) is more important than the form (proper grammar). Most people may think that VIPs are the worst perpetrators but I happen to think otherwise. VIPs tend to guard the respect they garner as earned and would do little such as commiting simple errors in English grammar to erode that image. Al Gore may be a rarity in this respect.
d) a lack of the proof reading habit. This could be the result of the pressure from meeting deadlines, but it’s really no excuse, time management-wise.
e) Disrespectful to the readers. The power of attribution will soon relegate these writers, if any, to oblivion.
Certainly true, however, when my daughter was in France her senior year she found the English class more grammar oriented than her classes in the United States had been. She learned quite a bit of English grammar in a French classroom.
I have less sympathy for gross errors in written material than these people who chat away on television with their blatantly apparent errors routinely.
And hearing “these kind of something” drives me nuts…
I wonder if they cringe when they hear it later of if it simple escapes them.