Here, here! Let's also campaign for restoration of the second
r in "occuring"! I think we're really honing in on something now.
Hal
On Aug 22, 2005, at 1:04 PM, Jon Corelis wrote:
> I've noticed currently a couple of interesting changes in (American, at
> least) English occuring before our ... ears, I guess.
>
> One is the use of it's as a possessive, as in "This table has one of
> it's
> legs too short." This is still strictly speaking illiterate, but is
> becoming wide so wide spread that I fear we will live to see it
> accepted
> usage. That, I submit, will be a sorry day for civilization. I've
> sometimes toyed with the idea of forming an International It's Its
> Society
> dedicated to combatting the rot.
>
> Another is the drift in meaning of the phrase "beg the question." This
> originally meant, and still properly should mean, the logical fallacy
> of
> assuming the point at question, as in "School children should be
> required to
> recite the Pledge of Allegiance in class to teach them patriotism"
> (when the
> question at issue is exactly whether such an exercise is an appropriate
> expression of patriotism for Americans.) This is now being more and
> more
> used as a substitute for "raise the question," as in, "The increasing
> crisis
> in Fredonia begs the question of how long the Firely regime can
> continue to
> hold power." This always grates on me horribly, but then who am I ...
>
>
Hal Actual Product May Vary from Photos
Halvard Johnson
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