Assaults on Language Rant 1

Beating to the punch those who have disagreed with me on this pet peeve, I acknowledge that our language is shaped by the times and common usage. Words are added to the dictionary as technology advances, society evolves and slang becomes accepted language. Words and meanings are discarded if/when they become archaic.

A classic example is the urban legend that Eskimos have many more ways than we do of communicating different types of snow. For this article let’s assume the urban legend to be true and ask why there are different words for different types of snow events and snow itself. With snow being such an important part of Eskimo life, each word for snow communicates a specific snow or snow-related concept. Remove a few of those words and the Eskimos would be unable to communicate those concepts without using several phrases with adjectives. Once the word is lost, its meaning and concept cannot be communicated with clarity and precision. The ability to communicate a precise idea is lost.

My #1 example is the word “unique”. It means and communicates “one of a kind” – nothing like it exists anywhere else. Slowly but surely, that meaning is being eroded. A quick look for definitions of “unique” shows the erosion of its definition by misuse.

[A discussion on this word with friends led to the squeezy-horn on the couch example. I know one reader will remember that one. Yeah, don’t ask – long story.]

How “unique” is misused is simple to explain. The word is too frequently used in degrees. People say that something is “more unique”, “most unique”, “not as unique”, “less unique”, etc. The common thread is degrees of uniqueness. I ask you: How can anything be more one of a kind than something else? Either it’s unique or it’s not. Nonetheless, the misuse of the word has become prevalent, thus eroding its meaning and creeping in to dictionaries as a definition of the word.

This is more than common usage adjusting our language. It is the loss of a concept – an idea which can be communicated in one word. We lose the word’s definition and we’re left with what has become common practice in conversation: repeating a word or phrase to emphasize to the listener that the repeated word is conveying something a bit different than were it not repeated. So we could be reduced to saying “Wow, that was unique-unique!” to convey that it was actually one of a kind. “She was upset-upset” conveying the degree to which someone was upset. Makes me wonder if those repeated words will ever get in to dictionaries. Maybe they already have.

Is proper grammar important in communication? Depends on how much sought to be communicated is lost due to improper grammar. The improper use of pronouns is an example of how miscommunications can result. “He” “She” “It” “They”, etc. without clear identifying precedent nouns lead to ambiguity and an exponential spread of incorrect information. Example: “Mr. Jones from the company called to tell me that he needed more info to write Mr. Smith’s business. I called him to explain the situation and the issue has been resolved.” OK – exactly who was called?

Another of my readers will remember this one: What had always been the past tense of “sneak”? Answer: “sneaked”. Now, the preferred past tense is snuck, with sneaked nearly relegated to a footnote. As a language purist that has always bugged me, but understand the change as a result of speakers of English molding the language with changing times and practice. Contrary to the meaning changes discussed above, this does not change or eliminate a concept, just the word used to express it.

One last peeve for sports fans. Sports announcers avoid the possessive case like typhoid. It is “the ball went right through the legs of Bill Buckner” rather than “ … through Buckner’s legs.” “The pass went right through the hands of Johnson” rather than “…Johnson’s hands.” “The ball tipped the glove of Posada” rather than “ … Posada’s glove”. See if you notice this while watching a ballgame. Me – I just find it baffling.