Wonderful Matt, I listened twice! You have such a great voice and I couldn't agree more with your musings (although I'm as guilty as Dear Abby in my poor writing). I had never thought about the use of "suspect" before, your points are right on the money. The extent to which reporters, police etc., use "alleged" has bothered me. My current pet peeves are the overuse of "like" and "you know?".
Stormi recommended a super little book years ago, Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson. I bought a copy for my mom and I think I'll go order one for myself right now. Thanks for the interesting post, Matt. (My, you had a full head of curly hair, I'm so envious!!!)
This is marvelous Matt! I enjoyed it very much; your enunciation and dramatic tones remind me of Paul Harvey. Thank you for the treat! :-)
Noah says that my spoken English gets worse every year. He'll glare at me and say "stop talking like a hillbilly!". Haha! Even my written English is a mess, with too many exclamation points and verb tenses all a-jumble. My 7th grade English teacher, bless her soul, is probably trying to smack me from heaven with her big ol' ruler.
Yeah, thought is hard, especially for many media types. But I find the assault on language as criminal as the suspected perpetrator of the alleged violence being reported on
Matt, that was hilarious! Your timing and cadence are perfect.
ReplyDeleteCrap... should that be "are", or "is"? Feels like "are" but the truth is I don't know. Thankfully I'm just an engineer...
DeleteHere's an easy way to remember. Timing & cadence = they. They are perfect.
Deleteflo, thanks! That makes sense.
DeleteSadly grammar cannot always be counted on to make "sense".
Hence my uncertainty.
Wonderful Matt, I listened twice! You have such a great voice and I couldn't agree more with your musings (although I'm as guilty as Dear Abby in my poor writing). I had never thought about the use of "suspect" before, your points are right on the money. The extent to which reporters, police etc., use "alleged" has bothered me. My current pet peeves are the overuse of "like" and "you know?".
ReplyDeleteStormi recommended a super little book years ago, Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson. I bought a copy for my mom and I think I'll go order one for myself right now. Thanks for the interesting post, Matt. (My, you had a full head of curly hair, I'm so envious!!!)
OT - Matt, I'm sure you're as excited as we are about Sunday's game. Tom just sent me this clip, I'm sure you'll remember it...
ReplyDeleteThe *old* LOB
Oh, don't even talk to me about officiating and the Denver Broncos back in the '80's. Hssssssssssssssss.
ReplyDeleteThank you, I am glad you enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteOh, Florrie, I didn't know you were a nationally syndicated columnist! ;)
tee hee
DeleteThis is marvelous Matt! I enjoyed it very much; your enunciation and dramatic tones remind me of Paul Harvey. Thank you for the treat! :-)
ReplyDeleteNoah says that my spoken English gets worse every year. He'll glare at me and say "stop talking like a hillbilly!". Haha! Even my written English is a mess, with too many exclamation points and verb tenses all a-jumble. My 7th grade English teacher, bless her soul, is probably trying to smack me from heaven with her big ol' ruler.
Never talked like a hillbilly, but without computers (spellcheck), I'd be spelling like one.
DeleteOh my multi talented husband! That was fabulous. At least I suspect it was and the other old farts and brilliant young women alleged as much! LOL.
ReplyDeleteVery good, Matt. I echo all the praise given above.
ReplyDeleteI've notice for a long time the contortions of language used around the words suspect and allege. Glad to hear someone else who feels the same.
You know the words themselves are well motivated.
DeletePresumption of innocence and impartial juries are important.
It's just that using "suspect" and "allege" correctly isn't always trivial, and it takes, you know... thought. And thought is hard.
The sad thing is that the ridiculousness of the bad usages of these words seeps back and poisons the very concepts they were meant to protect.
Yeah, thought is hard, especially for many media types. But I find the assault on language as criminal as the suspected perpetrator of the alleged violence being reported on
Delete