There is another disturbing trend for people, even in professional circles, to smash two words together into one. A few examples:
At the NASA Johnson Space Center near Las Cruces, NM, there are signs all along the access road which read "NO PASSING ANYTIME ON NASA ROAD." It's bad enough the sign company people can't tell when to use an apostrophe. One of my favorite burrito places (now closed, unfortunately) had a sign reading 'Burrito's R Us.' I never knew burritos could own anything! In Fine Homebuilding, a magazine showing the very best in craftsmanship in residential construction and remodeling, they have allowed the use of 'backyard' as a noun instead of the correct 'back yard.' It has the be a bad editorial slip, because I have seen it on numerous occasions in articles written by different people over the last two years or so. Are these merely signs of a watered-down curriculum or lowering of standards to dumb it down for the dregs in the public schools? Anything smacking of so-called 'political correctness[sic]' is to me unacceptable, especially in a technical field. On Tue, Nov 29, 2011 at 9:06 AM, Raymond E. Feist <[email protected]> wrote: > Sometime back years ago a thread touched on the evolution of languages and I > made the point they tended to change rapidly until the advent of the printing > press, which pretty much began fixing it in place once more people agreed on > how things should be spelled (spelt for you Brits) and pronounced. But right > this very minute, we're witnessing a tiny language shift before our very > eyes, the product of political correctness. Apparently, it is now acceptable > in many circles to use the pronoun "they" in place of "him or her." As in > "When someone comes into that building, they are often confused by the signs > in the lobby." When I was a kid that would have been a red circle and the > note in the margin, "Incorrect Antecedent." > > Language is pretty fascinating stuff, isn't it? > > Best,R.E.F. > ---- > www.crydee.com > > Never attribute to malice what can satisfactorily be explained away by > stupidity. > > > > > > > -- Nick A "You know what I wish? I wish that all the scum of the world had but a single throat, and I had my hands about it..." Rorschach, 1975 "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."- Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759 "Suburbia is where the developer bulldozes out the trees, then names the streets after them." Bill Vaughan "The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." Plato
