So Here We Go
- by Roderick Davies
- •
- 20 Nov, 2017
- •
So I've Got a Blog...
So is it just me, or do most people nowadays, especially on the television or radio, seem to be unable to start talking without saying the word "so" first? It's not helping my attempts to return to sanity at all. Where has this come from? Is there a connection with doing Media Studies at A Level? It is just unnecessary: it adds nothing to their following sentence, and is rapidly becoming very irritating indeed.
Perhaps it helps them not to use the word "like" at random points in nearly every, like, sentence. I don't think I have actually heard anyone do this after starting with a "so", so perhaps there is some justification there. Mind you, if I ever do hear both in one sentence, my howls of anguish will be audible throughout the land. The media device through which I heard such an abomination would be in grave danger. I hope it is never done in my presence...
There is, however, a more heinous grammatical crime being committed with increasing frequency. There seems to be a growing cohort of those who are unable to decide whether they should say "I" or "me". For goodness' sake, the former is the subject of a sentence, and the latter the predicate or object. The addition of an "and" makes no difference here. It's not rocket science, which is far more involved in Newtonian physics than English grammar. The worst thing is that these people, scared of getting it wrong, say "myself" instead, and thus ensure that they cannot be right!
It seems that Professor Higgins in My Fair Lady was right: "Why can't the English teach their children how to speak?" Having developed probably the most effective tool for communication in human history, why not use it properly? This would avoid ambiguity: by keeping it in its box we could avoid so much conflict and indeed legal costs.
Perhaps it helps them not to use the word "like" at random points in nearly every, like, sentence. I don't think I have actually heard anyone do this after starting with a "so", so perhaps there is some justification there. Mind you, if I ever do hear both in one sentence, my howls of anguish will be audible throughout the land. The media device through which I heard such an abomination would be in grave danger. I hope it is never done in my presence...
There is, however, a more heinous grammatical crime being committed with increasing frequency. There seems to be a growing cohort of those who are unable to decide whether they should say "I" or "me". For goodness' sake, the former is the subject of a sentence, and the latter the predicate or object. The addition of an "and" makes no difference here. It's not rocket science, which is far more involved in Newtonian physics than English grammar. The worst thing is that these people, scared of getting it wrong, say "myself" instead, and thus ensure that they cannot be right!
It seems that Professor Higgins in My Fair Lady was right: "Why can't the English teach their children how to speak?" Having developed probably the most effective tool for communication in human history, why not use it properly? This would avoid ambiguity: by keeping it in its box we could avoid so much conflict and indeed legal costs.
For some while now, much time and hot air has been devoted to a couple of issues in Wales: one due to the precipitous nature of a decision, the other due to a lack of decision.
The first is the announcement by Alun Cairns, Secretary of State for Wales, that he had decided, quite unilaterally it seems, to rename the Second Severn Crossing the Prince of Wales Bridge. Many people were annoyed by the process, or lack of it, that led to this announcement, even if they had no objection to the change of name. Nobody seems worried about what we call the poor old first Severn Bridge.
The lack of decision is on the proposed Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon. Despite all the discussion, and investigations and reports, there is still no decision from Westminster over actually getting on with it. Or not.
Let me propose a solution to both of these problems: leave the Severn Bridge alone, and get on with building the Prince of Wales Tidal Lagoon. I suspect HRH would actually prefer that.
The first is the announcement by Alun Cairns, Secretary of State for Wales, that he had decided, quite unilaterally it seems, to rename the Second Severn Crossing the Prince of Wales Bridge. Many people were annoyed by the process, or lack of it, that led to this announcement, even if they had no objection to the change of name. Nobody seems worried about what we call the poor old first Severn Bridge.
The lack of decision is on the proposed Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon. Despite all the discussion, and investigations and reports, there is still no decision from Westminster over actually getting on with it. Or not.
Let me propose a solution to both of these problems: leave the Severn Bridge alone, and get on with building the Prince of Wales Tidal Lagoon. I suspect HRH would actually prefer that.
