Pacifica Riptide

Editor Bites Tongue: Language Pet Peeves Revisited

In Martin Snapp's January 20 column, he speaks of his vocabulary misuse pet peeves, which I share with him, although my list is much longer. As a former language teacher and grammar cop, I feel his pain. Many of my views changed, however, after I read You Are What You Speak: Grammar Grouches, Language Laws, and the Politics of Identity by Robert Lane Greene. I still prefer and appreciate correct diction, punctuation, and vocabulary use, but I now choose my battles more carefully. I never correct anyone in public (I actually never did) and do not correct my family and friends at all unless they ask me.

As far as the word "issue" is concerned, it came into wider use to avoid the negativity of "problem," but then created "issues" of its own. In my doctoral class many years back, we used the acronym SITNA to refer to a "Situation That Needed Attention." It was neither a problem nor an issue, but something else entirely. If we could find a word to serve this purpose today, I would be happy. And my current hot misuse pet peeve? Using "less," when it should be "fewer," as in "Less women buy these shoes." I just shudder and bite my tongue, especially when I hear news anchors on TV abusing this word.
Evie Groch
El Cerrito

(from The Montclarion 2/10/2012: El Cerrito Journal Letters to the Editor)

The Debunking Handbook: Just the Facts, Ma'am

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No Pain No Gain: Check the Fine Print at the Bottom

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Note very funny typo in the last line: pain indeed!

Fun with Words

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Grammar Police: Special Apostrophe Unit

In the English Grammar System, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the poorly educated masses who insert unnecessary apostrophes and omit required ones, and the police who investigate these crimes and arrest the offenders. These are their stories.

JUST THE FACTS, M'AM

Self-Published Novelist Gets Bad Review, Goes Ballistic

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Writer's Almanac: The Return of the Subjunctive

THE RETURN OF THE SUBJUNCTIVE

The Editor-Author Relationship

WHY AUTHORS NEED EDITORS

Inner Edirot: Spellcheckeritis Strikes Again

How the mighty have fallen! Now even the Wall Street Journal has succumbed to spellcheckeritis: "...in 2003 Maris's name resurfaced on the Veteran's Committee ballet." ("The Case Against Roger Maris," by Allen Barra, Wall Street Journal, May 25, 2011) Good catch by Gary Lippman, who joins me in mourning overreliance on automation in the newsroom and the resultant loss of high editorial standards. Always remember, spellcheckers just spell words correctly but don’t discern one word from another.