Call it my inevitable downslide into curmudgeonhood, but increasing misuse of English drives me batty. I cringe when I listen to the news these days or just hear snippets of folks’ conversations. I honestly don’t think it’s just a Southern thing… in listening to people from all over the country (or reading their emails, blog posts and social-media rants), it’s evident proper use of the English language as a whole is careening downhill faster than a tubby guy on a just-waxed bobsled.
Let’s look at three instances, shall we? I have others, but these were the ones I ranted about to my poor, long-suffering husband on the way to church this morning.
“Former” means at one time, but no longer. For instance, “I’m a former radio announcer.” However, you mustn’t use “former” when you simply mean past. Just the other day I saw online a reference to someone being “a former alumnus” of a school. Now, unless the conferred degree was rescinded, you never refer to someone as being a “former alumnus” or a “former graduate.” The proper terminology – assuming you need a qualifier at all – is “past alumnus” or “past graduate,” indicating the individual is not among the new crop of alumni or graduates. Although, generally, “alumnus” or “graduate” would suffice on its own.
As an aside, I do know someone whose college degree was rescinded – she graduated from BYU half a bazillion years ago, and when the high mucky-mucks there learned she wasn’t Mormon, they actually did yank her degree back. So, in that regard, she actually is a former graduate… but that’s the one concession I’ll make on this count.
Another misuse that jangles my innards is when someone says, “That house was originally built in the 1950s.” I always ache to respond with, “You don’t say. And when was it subsequently built?” Of course, I never do because the blank stare of nonunderstanding is so painful to watch. It’s kind of like attempting to discuss philosophy with a goat – it’s frustrating as all get out and it just annoys the goat. What in the name of all that is small and furry is wrong with merely saying, “That house was built in the 1950s”? Or, if an addition was constructed on the existing home, perhaps even, “The original structure dates back to the 1950s”?
The last example is, “Whenever I was brought up, we always…” The headscratcher for me here is this: “How often were you brought up?” I was brought up precisely once. “When I was brought up” would be appropriate phrasing. As I mentioned previously, it’s not just a regional thing. This particular phrasing plagued me long before I ever left the bastion of civilized speech known as New England for rural Tennessee.
What are some of the misuses of English that make your skin want to crawl off and slither under a rock? Post them in the comments. Let’s commiserate together.
About the Author:
Rita M. Reali is a two-time international award-winning author and longtime editor who most enjoys editing memoir, general fiction and romance, along with inspirational writing. She’s self-published five novels: Glimpse of Emerald, Diagnosis: Love, The Unintended Hero, Second Chances and Tender Mercies – the first five in the seven-volume Sheldon Family Saga. The sixth novel in the series, Brothers by Betrayal, is scheduled for an early 2024 release. Her first children’s book, The Purringest Kitty Finds His Home, was released at the end of February. As a former disc jockey in her native Connecticut, Rita used to spend her days “talking to people who weren’t there” – a skill which transferred perfectly to her being an author. Now she talks to characters who aren’t there on “a little chunk of heaven in rural Tennessee.” Contact Rita. To purchase your own personally inscribed copy of any of Rita’s books, download this order form at her website.
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