Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for January 27, 2009

Read all about it!

Soon my friends, soon. Within 5 years both the newspaper and the mail delivery will be down to three days a week. And we may have to walk to the corner for the privilege.

I have heard there are a billion people with access to the internet. That leaves 5 billion whitout.

Newspapers, like books have inherent value. Internet abjures value by it’s nature, and, by its mature purports more bushwa people assume is true than any method of mass communication that ever hit the face of the earth.

Internet is murdering English. Why is it that people that otherwise speak perfectly good English choose to call things ‘spot on’. I fet the point, but does anyone have a clue about where that came from.?

Why is it that every reference to another website is ‘over on’? That’s an incredibly annoying affectation.

But the one that frosts my knackers, so to speak, is ‘methinks’. Jesus, Will Shakes, this has run amok, and it’s infuriating. People actually type it as ‘Me thinks’, like it’s a grammatically correct subject and predicate. Gutdom dumbasses.

This merde has got to stop.

Get over it booze! Even though I’m with you on general usage, the great thing about the English language, is it’s facility and ability to morph. Some of your pet peeves are merely anachronisms, don’t let it get to you, stress kills.

wooo dogeys, boozethatswho, you done moidered that one spot on mate!

I’ve read that “U.S. News and World Report”, once the best of the weekly news magazines, has gone monthly. Weekly news has a definite odor, but monthly? Pee-yoo!

I’ll miss the newspapers when they’re gone, but then, I miss Studebakers and Philco TVs too. Time marches on. (Time, the concept, not Time the magazine. They’re doomed too.)

Speaking of grammar, it’s grammatically correct to put punctuation inside of quotation marks.

Alas, it is not the internet that is solely responsible for the degradation of the English language, though is does share a significant amount of the credit. Perhaps the worst offender is the so called text speak. There is nothing more annoying than getting an email or text message filled with non-sensical shorthand. However, I place a large part of the blame on education. The youth of our country are no longer required to expand their vocabulary as they once were. Reading classic, and often difficult, literature is not a requirement any longer. Finally, the lackadaisical approach to grammar and punctuation (not that I always get it right) is disheartening. People often no longer even make an attempt at proper grammar and punctuation.

Our superhighway of information is paving the way back to cave art.

lol :)

Soon to be replaced by the self destructing Pre-News bot…

Hard to curl up with a cup of cocoa and a Kindle. Print does not require batteries, can be folded and carried conveniently, can be used to capture jottings and can be easily recycled. I think the stories of its demise are greatly exaggerated.

That said, the prior postings provide a counter-argument, to wit:

grammer vs grammar it’s vs its (the indefinite possessive, as in hers and his) laxidasical vs lackadaisical

BTW, for Mr. Boozoo, the English and Aussies use “spot on” in everyday speak. The meaning is clear and unambiguous. That’s the beauty of our language - it’s all inclusive and constantly in motion.

I still can’t see the internet ever replacing newspapers as the main source for written news. I’ve noticed people (myself included) like to have hard copy, for storing information or for kind of a sense of permanence. Computer technology for me still has an ethereal quality about it, I still update my bankbook and hardly use the machines, pay in cash, etc.

I would say that LeonardWatson’s comments are spot on but I might offend boozoo. Sorry but spot on is a good espression. What would you prefer be said instead?

Perhaps two of the most offensive misuses of the English language are alot, which is incorrect. A lot is two words not one. The other is using the word peruse to mean skim, which is also incorrect. The word peruse actually means to read intently with great understanding.

Boozoo,

I agree with you to a degree. The phrases spot on and over on, are overused. While spot on is a common British phrase, historically it has not been widely used in American English. I think either phrase is appropriate when used sparingly and correctly.

Not to nit pick but technically your sentence “Why is it that people that otherwise speak perfectly good English choose to call things ‘spot on’.” is incorrect in that it should read “Why is it that people who otherwise speak English perfectly well choose to call things ‘spot on’.

Wanted Ads Extra, extra Read all about it.

I usually read the articles on the online via Internet every morning. That will save my money than buy wasteful newspapers.

You will seek few and far between to find those who care about proper English, other than the teachers, who have their hands full. Google WBOY Proofreader to find someone who is defending the English language from professional journalists.

Ya ever try and sit on the toilet and read a laptop? What if you don’t have a laptop? Carry the monitor into the bathroom so you can read in the tub? Lucy dropping!! There is no way to tuck a computer in you pocket to read on the plane. You can still do that with paperback book, a magazine or any daily newspaper. And as far as mail delivery? As long as there is internet shopping and shipping the mail will continue to run 5/6 days a week.

I get real joy out of getting up in the morning, fixing coffee and sitting down and reading the newspaper, even though our paper is cutting back, cutting out sections and generally in it’s death throes. Once done with the paper, I hunker before the computer and read gocomics. I must say, I wouldn’t have had the pleasure of your company if I just read the paper.

Until everyone can afford to have a Kindle or we’re willing to admit that we don’t give two cents about whether the poor can read, print versions of media will exist. Besides, though I love my laptop, I’m not taking the fragging thing to the beach–the reflection off the screen on a sunny day is atrocious. But a good, pulpy paperback…ah. Much more beach-friendly.

While on the subject of proper grammar and sentence structure, if you want to see bad examples just read your daily (if you still get it daily) newspaper. Reporters today do not know how to write and proofreaders can’t proof!

Got any idea what the most common error in the English language is today?

It’s confusing “its” and “it’s”, as has been done above at least twice.

its = the possessive of it - the dog got its tail slammed in the screen door

it’s = the contraction of “it is” - see usage above

This mistake is slowly creeping into publications once known for being virtually error free. They are becoming grammatical wastelands.

U.S. News is now bi-weekly w/special issues…joy. I’m about to let my 30-year subscription expire. It is so thin one cannot even level a table leg with it. Make no mistake–print is in dire straights. I still prefer print as well…Can’t stand the front page grammatical and composition errors daily. If it weren’t for the bleeep uptight British wheez all jus speke ‘merican y’all. Oh…and one final thought: if television made us stupid, then the Internet will be the death of us all:)

To GuntotingLiberal,

I think that different countries have different rules for punctuation being placed inside or outside quotation marks. I think the Americans do opposite of the British (and perhaps others).