Grammar
Its time to abolish the apostrophe. This poor little punctuation mark has been abused, neglected, contorted into unnatural positions. It is a tattered remnant of its former self, and deserves to be put peacefully to sleep.
So let’s give it a dignified end, and save it from further pain.
Where it was once the greengrocers’ prerogative to enslave apostrophes and bend them to their evil will (tomato’s, anyone?) the cancer has spread, and the apostrophe is beyond saving.
Continue reading "Festival of Obvious Ideas #12: Abolish the apostrophe" »
I admit it: I’m in danger of being a language bore.
I’m that guy who, when you say you’re ‘honing in’ on something, asks derisively if you’ve ever heard of a honing pigeon or a honing missile.
If you call me a ‘font of information’, I’m liable to take offence on the grounds that a font is a shallow bowl used for church christenings, and I’d rather be a fount, thank you.
Continue reading "Some key learnings about the debasement of language" »
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Jose Imenez says:
Confusing good writing with good thinking. Awk! No. not the Great Auk, but the Awk! of exasperation. Correct writing arrives from correct thinking, neither of which has been taught since Rockefeller tampered with education as noted in the book, “The Leipzig Connection” by Paolo Lioni. Liz claimed “Language… Read more »
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Darryl Price says:
Worse than “learnings” in place of “lessons”, the past 5-6 years has seen “pedagogy” - the art of being a teacher - and its various forms used to describe almost anything to do with schooling. Why not just keep it simple. Also - “way, shape or form” - a Ruddworthy… Read more »
[*Ed’s note to Gen Y: that isn’t a typo in the headline. It’s a cool joke, and Lucy explains it further down.]
I think I realised I was different when I corrected the grammar of my extremely attractive barista.
It was a Monday morning; he was frothing milk as we chatted idly about the drunken antics of our respective weekends. All the usual stuff - the people we knew in common, the places we had almost run into each other, the quality of the cocktail jugs at various Sydney locations. He might have been carefully watching the temperature gauge rise on that little jug of milk, but we both knew where the real heat was. Just as I was about to casually invite him to a rock gig he dropped a clanger.
‘Yeah I like World Bar. Dave and me were there last Thursday.’
Continue reading "Mind your language if you’re making a parse* at me" »
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It’s tiny but powerful.
Its incorrect insertion could mean the difference between life and death.
And it’s fighting for its very existence.
I’m referring to the apostrophe; specifically, the possessive apostrophe.
Even its proper name – saxon genitive – sounds more like a sexually transmitted disease than the pinnacle of punctuation.
Continue reading "Its time. Sorry, it’s time to save the apostrophe" »
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DK says:
Sorry ‘Jeff from Meroo’ (30 June 2009) but, as I’ve discovered, punctuation (and those of us who love its correct use) can be a dangerous thing. For example, your reference to ‘a internet’ should read ‘an internet’ (am I wrong about this?). I also don’t think you needed to use… Read more »
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bee says:
Re: Bernie’s “Bayonet or screw” remark posted earlier above: How odd - they’re the same options I was given my good lady wife when I switched on the bedroom telly last night to watch Lleyton at Wimbledon . . . Read more »
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