I agree that the rule about splitting an infinitive is absolutely bogus for English. Just because a bunch of old dead guys a few thousand years ago couldn't do it is no reason to limit ourselves now. Still, I do try to follow it. I'm just that kind of fuddy-duddy. :-)
I use a lot of dashes, too. I'm sure you've noticed!
(Don't even get me started on what has happened to fraught or begging the question!)
Ugh! Fraught! Don't get me started either, or I'll be at it all day! Myriad is my latest pet peeve. And I may have to give up on the present and past tense of the verb meaning to bring a child into the world. BIRTH IS A NOUN, PEOPLE... er... well, it used to be. Even some of the dictionaries have given up that lost battle by now. *sigh* I can't be the only one who gets sad over this kind of thing, can I?
Well, I had written a long reply to this, and then just before it was finished I managed to close the wrong tab and ... poof. :-Þ
The short version (yes, this is the short version!) is, the split infinitive and all those other rules were simply made up by an 18th century twit named Robert Lowth (http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/enc3/robert_lowth), who just decided he knew better than all the great English writers, who he criticized for "false syntax". He published a book in 1762, and because there was no English grammar book in existence at the time, it became the grammar book. But Lowth just made it all up on his own.
The other thing was, no, you're not the only one who gets sad over it -- although I tend to get furious rather than sad most of the time. I find myself yelling back at the radio and pounding on the newspaper every time I hear or read about a "fraught situation". I enjoy care-fully crafted creativity in language, but stupid mistakes are just irritating. Some journalist hears a "fancy" word and thinks it's cool but doesn't quite understand it, so they misuse it ... then others hear it and think "oh, that's a cool word" and copy the misuse, and before you know it it's all over the media that way, the general populace picks it up, and there you are.
My own pet peeve for quite awhile was "meme", which does not mean a cool idea (or worse, a game or quiz) that gets passed around from one person to another! But when I saw even Meredith -- who cherishes correct language as much as I do* -- using it that way, like everyone else in the blogosphere, I gave up.
* Thank heaven!! I honestly don't think I could bear it if my own daughter r0te l1kE m0s7 0f teh o7HeR keeds. =gak=
My own pet peeve for quite awhile was "meme", which does not mean a cool idea (or worse, a game or quiz) that gets passed around from one person to another!
But isn't that one of its meanings? I mean, doesn't it basically refer to any idea or set of ideas that gets passed from person to person?
Not really. A meme is actually a unit of social evolution (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme). The language changes CJ and I have been railing about are memes. Richard Dawkins, who originated it, used the term to refer to any cultural entity (such as a song, an idea or a religion) that an observer might consider a replicator.
Although the concept is so vaguely understood that there really is no precise meaning (which means we could both be right!), as I understand it, just passing from person to person isn't what makes something a meme. It has to actually propagate ... if we all do the "five things 'meme' " one week, and we all do the "what luxuries do you have 'meme' " another week, and then they vanish from sight forever, I don't think that's truly a meme, the way a newly coined word or a new song can be a meme. A meme spreads around the population as opposed to passing through it -- a meme is dye dropped into the water as opposed to a pebble that makes a temporary spreading ripple.
It's arguable whether or not the so-called "memes" I mentioned really are memes, but a link to a quiz -- which is often referred to as a meme simply because it spreads around the blogosphere -- is definitely not a meme. There's no real idea or concept there -- just a fun pastime. If a coined word is dye dropped into the bowl, and the "memes" in the preceding paragraphs are the ripples caused by a pebble, then I would liken a link to a quiz as a finger briefly touching the surface of the water and being withdrawn. Just because a brief disturbance spreads on the surface doesn't mean there's anything there.
That's the way I understand it, but it's a slippery idea and your mileage may vary. But whether the blogosphere's use of meme was originally correct or not, it's in common use now and dictionaries are all descriptive these days, so that will soon be the correct meaning. Which is delightfully recursive when you think about it: In the true sense of the word, meme is a meme!
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I use a lot of dashes, too. I'm sure you've noticed!
(Don't even get me started on what has happened to fraught or begging the question!)
Ugh! Fraught! Don't get me started either, or I'll be at it all day! Myriad is my latest pet peeve. And I may have to give up on the present and past tense of the verb meaning to bring a child into the world. BIRTH IS A NOUN, PEOPLE... er... well, it used to be. Even some of the dictionaries have given up that lost battle by now. *sigh* I can't be the only one who gets sad over this kind of thing, can I?
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The short version (yes, this is the short version!) is, the split infinitive and all those other rules were simply made up by an 18th century twit named Robert Lowth (http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/enc3/robert_lowth), who just decided he knew better than all the great English writers, who he criticized for "false syntax". He published a book in 1762, and because there was no English grammar book in existence at the time, it became the grammar book. But Lowth just made it all up on his own.
The other thing was, no, you're not the only one who gets sad over it -- although I tend to get furious rather than sad most of the time. I find myself yelling back at the radio and pounding on the newspaper every time I hear or read about a "fraught situation". I enjoy care-fully crafted creativity in language, but stupid mistakes are just irritating. Some journalist hears a "fancy" word and thinks it's cool but doesn't quite understand it, so they misuse it ... then others hear it and think "oh, that's a cool word" and copy the misuse, and before you know it it's all over the media that way, the general populace picks it up, and there you are.
My own pet peeve for quite awhile was "meme", which does not mean a cool idea (or worse, a game or quiz) that gets passed around from one person to another! But when I saw even Meredith -- who cherishes correct language as much as I do* -- using it that way, like everyone else in the blogosphere, I gave up.
* Thank heaven!! I honestly don't think I could bear it if my own daughter r0te l1kE m0s7 0f teh o7HeR keeds. =gak=
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But isn't that one of its meanings? I mean, doesn't it basically refer to any idea or set of ideas that gets passed from person to person?
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Although the concept is so vaguely understood that there really is no precise meaning (which means we could both be right!), as I understand it, just passing from person to person isn't what makes something a meme. It has to actually propagate ... if we all do the "five things 'meme' " one week, and we all do the "what luxuries do you have 'meme' " another week, and then they vanish from sight forever, I don't think that's truly a meme, the way a newly coined word or a new song can be a meme. A meme spreads around the population as opposed to passing through it -- a meme is dye dropped into the water as opposed to a pebble that makes a temporary spreading ripple.
It's arguable whether or not the so-called "memes" I mentioned really are memes, but a link to a quiz -- which is often referred to as a meme simply because it spreads around the blogosphere -- is definitely not a meme. There's no real idea or concept there -- just a fun pastime. If a coined word is dye dropped into the bowl, and the "memes" in the preceding paragraphs are the ripples caused by a pebble, then I would liken a link to a quiz as a finger briefly touching the surface of the water and being withdrawn. Just because a brief disturbance spreads on the surface doesn't mean there's anything there.
That's the way I understand it, but it's a slippery idea and your mileage may vary. But whether the blogosphere's use of meme was originally correct or not, it's in common use now and dictionaries are all descriptive these days, so that will soon be the correct meaning. Which is delightfully recursive when you think about it: In the true sense of the word, meme is a meme!
no subject