Language as a Legacy

Every parent knows that if Mommy or Daddy says bad words, so will Baby. Children first parrot what they learn from those around them, then begin to create their own phrases and sentences using the vocabulary, grammar, spelling, and punctuation available to them. This is fairly evident in, and easily proven by, immigrant families. Teachers these days, especially in the grade school level, face a dozen challenges with the children of non-English speaking parents. These hurdles come in all shapes and sizes, varying from the child who has no English because of this to the child whose parents cannot foster a strong language education... and beyond, into nightmares that schools and teachers struggle with daily.

I've been thinking lately about language as a legacy, and how our interactions with everyone around us affect literacy and language development. For instance, on a very small level, every time Cameron hears a "big" word, he subconsciously stores it away in his brain for future use; and future use for him is about thirty times in the week following that acquisition. Despite the fact that, often times, he knew the word before, could have given an accurate definition, and used it in a sentence, it's the hearing it that prompts him to incorporate the new word into his daily speak.... And he will go out of his way to do so.

We blame "schools these days" and fallen American education for the degradation of the English language, but I say we stop pointing the finger for a moment and consider what we've done to contribute. Every day, I deal with dozens of intelligent people--people who have MS degrees, who are CEO's of companies, who write professionally, even--and shake my head at the disgrace brought upon the tongue I speak. Sure, I sound like an English snob now; I've never denied that I am a purist in this. But hear me out: When we get sloppy, it gets noticed. Sometimes I think that we get so used to living in a world where virtual communication is acceptable that we don't stop to think about what we're communicating.

There's a small, publicly-traded company I work with based out of Costa Mesa. The Director of Human Resources, a perfectionist whom nearly everyone in my office can't stand, regularly sends me emails with typos. Huge, easy-to-spot typos. Sloppy typos. Things like, "Please check Josh's reference's," or, "There going to interview him Tuesday." I know, small things to you, yes? But this person is the face of her company to me. My opinion of her company is formed based on my interactions with her... and she doesn't care enough to give her email a once-over for that? My guess is that she's very intelligent and has at least one degree; these are just sloppy mistakes, and if someone else sent them to her... well, that would be the end of the world.

Here's another annoyingly common trend: adverbs. I totally enjoy adverbs and their ability to transform a sentence. In fact, I'm a firm believer that adverbs completely help to emphasise a point. But realistically, I've just written four sentences that would have been just fine without an adverb, but used one anyway. The overuse of adverbs is a trend noticeable in recent years, likely attributed to the "valley girl" dialect and popularised by shows like Beverly Hills 90210. In case you didn't notice, there are six adverbs in this paragraph. Literally. And I think things would have been okay without them.

I could go on and on, but I'll refrain. It comes down to this: Pull yourselves together, team. What you say and write is noticed. Go ahead; do the unpopular thing and proof read that text you're about to send. I'm not saying that I never have typos; God (and my boss) know I do. Certainly, I am not perfect in anything I do, even this, which I am passionate in. But language is a legacy, and though it evolves (in the sense that it changes constantly), it seems to me that "devolve" is the proper word in this instance. We are allowing laziness to punctuate our IMs and emails; God forbid you type "see" rather than "c" in that text.

Language is contagious. Get it right. You are commissioned; go and do.

Wordy Wednesday: Affect/Effect

I'd like to introduce Wordy Wednesdays, even though it's Thursday, which will teach you something new about the English language. Sometimes, it will be correct pronunciation of words (for instance, that frozen stuff you eat is sherbet, not sherbert; and you frustrate me when you say fustrate); sometimes, correct grammar (no examples here; just study my blog and every word), sometimes, a little something about punctuation. I will discuss made up words that do work, and made up words that don't, the evolution (and, often, devolution) of the English language (thank you, Urban Dictionary), and so much more. In a nutshell, Wordy Wednesday is just one English nerd's attempt to save the word, one bad sentence at a time. At times, I'll play book critic, praising books with fabulous verbage, condemning those novels whose authors should consider burying themselves alive for the disgrace they've brought upon the English language.

As a fair warning, I think the Brits have it right: colour, realise, centre, ageing, cheque... you get the idea. I won't insist that you do it this way, but when you're trying to impress your boss with new vocab, just don't quote me letter for letter without checking the dictionary first.

For my first edition, let's talk about effect and affect.

effect--n. something that is produced by an agency or cause; result; consequence

There are a BUNCH of other definitions for this word, but you get the idea. Remember when you were six and learning about parts of speech? A noun is a person, place, or thing. Effect is a thing.

affect--v. to act on; produce an effect or change in

Verb... something that implies action. As a general principle, if you can add "ed" on the end of it, it's a verb. Let's look at some differences between these two homonyms:

The pain killers had a strong effect on her after the surgery.
After the surgery, she was strongly affected by the painkillers.

I cannot affect the outcome of the race by cheering.
My cheering does not have an effect on the outcome of the race.

One last note: If you look in the dictionary, it will tell you that affect is also a noun. This is true, but it's not pronounced the same way; nor does it have a similar meaning to effect. These two words are not interchangeable, even though they sound the same.

Go forth and make use of this information!