The English gaff discussed in today's post appears primarily in small-town newspaper ads, billboards, and such. Instead of writing "Thousands of styles available" the ad or flyer says "1,000s of styles available" or even "1,000's of styles" (refer to the previous posting about bad apostrophe usage).
This goof is IMHO one of the most inexcusable. After all, when you write "1,000", it plainly says "one thousand". So if you write "1,000s of styles", you're saying "one-thousands of styles"; and not even the least educated person would ever say that!
A curiosity related to this particular breach of language etiquette is that while people will write about "100s of styles" and "1000s of items", they never mention their "1,000,000s of color combinations". Nor do they tout their "12s of flavors." Do they simply not have millions or dozens to offer—only hundreds or thousands?
Don't get me wrong—I don't expect small business owners to be grammar experts (although it would benefit everyone if they were). Again I lay the blame at the feet of those who could affect a change: the project managers and quality checkers at newspapers, printers, and outdoor advertisers. Did you all fail English class in high school? Did you even take English class in high school? Would it kill your company's budget to buy a book about proper English usage? Do you even know such books exist? You could start with "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" by Lynn Truss.
Once again, dear reader, it's your turn. This blog is your chance to sound off about the strange ... the bizarre ... the annoying goofs you've seen (and yes, I know I just misused the ellipsis—but that's the subject of another entry!).
Showing posts with label english. Show all posts
Showing posts with label english. Show all posts
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Apostrophe Atrocities
It's amazing how much the humble apostrophe is abused in today's popular culture.
TV news stations, newspaper ads, billboards and many other public forums are awash in apostrophe disasters. What people really seems to choke on is the plural-versus-possessive issue. Why can't people—especially those who write ad copy—get it right?
Some examples I've recently seen include the auto dealer who claimed to offer "Hundreds of car's at the best prices!" Then there's the TV station that provided a bulleted list to supplement a reporter's story, with one of the bullets reading "Tomorrows event begins at 10 a.m."
Aren't ad agencies hiring people who understand 5th-grade punctuation? Aren't TV station managers concerned about embarrassing themselves before tens of thousands of people?
It's not as if the rules for apostrophe usage are rocket science. I think the apostrophe is abused for several reasons: First, because people are lazy; they don't want to take five minutes to learn the difference between plural and possessive. Also, people aren't concerned about details or finesse, and they don't realize (and won't believe when you tell them) how foolish and unprofessional they look.
It's your turn—I'd love to see some of the apostrophe atrocities you've seen!
TV news stations, newspaper ads, billboards and many other public forums are awash in apostrophe disasters. What people really seems to choke on is the plural-versus-possessive issue. Why can't people—especially those who write ad copy—get it right?
Some examples I've recently seen include the auto dealer who claimed to offer "Hundreds of car's at the best prices!" Then there's the TV station that provided a bulleted list to supplement a reporter's story, with one of the bullets reading "Tomorrows event begins at 10 a.m."
Aren't ad agencies hiring people who understand 5th-grade punctuation? Aren't TV station managers concerned about embarrassing themselves before tens of thousands of people?
It's not as if the rules for apostrophe usage are rocket science. I think the apostrophe is abused for several reasons: First, because people are lazy; they don't want to take five minutes to learn the difference between plural and possessive. Also, people aren't concerned about details or finesse, and they don't realize (and won't believe when you tell them) how foolish and unprofessional they look.
It's your turn—I'd love to see some of the apostrophe atrocities you've seen!
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Subject/Verb Wars
It seems to me that one of the biggest challenges faced by modern English speakers is correct subject/verb agreement. I lived for many years in the midwest and the deep south, and I can't count the number of times I've heard someone say "I seen" or "they was". I wonder how such folks ever manage to graduate from elementary school, much less high school.
But today, I'm hearing more and more subject/verb mismatches coming from the mouths of local TV news reporters. I live in the Orlando, FL television market, and there are a few reporters who regularly mix up their subjects and verbs. Most of the time, it's not quite as blatant as "we was", but it's noticeable nonetheless. For example, "The large nest of hornets were threatening the neighborhood children." Last time I checked, "nest" was a singular noun.
I guess no one in station management is listening to their own broadcasts. Or worse, they're listening and they don't recognize the problem!
Let's hear from you—is this a problem only in central Florida? Or are TV reporters across the country also mixing up their subjects and verbs?
But today, I'm hearing more and more subject/verb mismatches coming from the mouths of local TV news reporters. I live in the Orlando, FL television market, and there are a few reporters who regularly mix up their subjects and verbs. Most of the time, it's not quite as blatant as "we was", but it's noticeable nonetheless. For example, "The large nest of hornets were threatening the neighborhood children." Last time I checked, "nest" was a singular noun.
I guess no one in station management is listening to their own broadcasts. Or worse, they're listening and they don't recognize the problem!
Let's hear from you—is this a problem only in central Florida? Or are TV reporters across the country also mixing up their subjects and verbs?
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