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Reading Liz's post "Rising strongly?" on the misuse of words, poor grammar and punctuation immediately got me inspired to write on the subject.
Like many of those commenting on Liz's post I too hate poor punctuation and bad grammar, especially when used in signage and documentation that is intended for public viewing.
I am sure we could keep these posts going forever on examples spotted (hmmm maybe a separate blog to record them all?).
Something allied to these inappropriate uses of the English language seems to be on the increase recently; and that is the habit of making verbs out of words that are clearly NOT verbs. The most recent that is currently making me fume is encountered almost every evening on broadcasts from the Olympics (or should that be Olympic's :-)) - e.g "we are all expecting X to medal in the xxx final" I wonder which country this emanates from?
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4 comments:
Oh I haven't heard that before! How hideous.
Oh, I agree with both you and Liz: what a horrible usage!
I bet the use of medal as a verb came from my country, the same nation where you might hear "oh yes, we summer in the Hamptons and winter in Florida."
I'll sign off now; I have to text a friend. We're birding this weekend.
Interesting what you say about "medal" used as a verb. We've heard that usage for years during Olympics and other such events....being the curious sort, I just consulted my Unabaridged Random House Dictionary (copyright 1987) of the English Language...which lists its usage as both noun and verb! I was surprised.
Medal - verb: medaled, medaling, or (esp. Brit.) medalled, medalling. --v.t. to decorate or honor with a medal.
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