This morning I read an interview with Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey in which the interviewer asked him a simple question:
“What do you miss most about New England when you’re in Washington?
His answer was equally simple: “People who speak proper English.”
I sympathize with him. Totally.
Massachusetts and Proper English
I live in Massachusetts and I have many friends and acquaintances who speak English perfectly well. I don’t wince in a conversation. They understand verb usage, how to match the subject and verb in a sentence, the difference between past, present, and future verb tenses. And more. But that’s here in Massachusetts.
Online it’s a different story. Ditto for television and radio, even when the speaker is a reporter who actually makes his or her living using the English language.
Good grief.
Just Fed Up with Mistakes
Up until a few days ago, I did not correct anyone’s mistakes online. I’m not a scold who likes to make people feel bad (not badly) by pointing out that they don’t speak proper English. But I must have reached my limit because this week I threw being nice out the window and started the corrections.
Yesterday, I pointed out that there’s a difference between ordinance and ordnance, which is the word they wanted to use. It’s a big difference.
The day before that, I corrected the misuse of “pour” when the writer really meant “pore” because they weren’t talking about a fluid.
Sometimes the English is so bad I can’t understand them. I know what they want to say but the words just don’t do that. Today I heard someone say, “But they were survived by flying debris.” What?
They can’t distinguish between “their” and “they’re.” Confusion reigns if they must use “to” “too” or “two.” Where to put an apostrophe confounds them.
Feeling Good About Corrections
Correcting the words felt good. I tried to do it with humor but that’s not always possible. Especially when you think the author is an idiot. (Or a Russian bot) As I have pointed out before, you can’t fix stupid.
I only wish I could do this when a reporter on the TV news uses the wrong word or the wrong grammar. They literally use the English language to do their job the same way a carpenter uses a hammer, or a plumber uses a wrench.
If tradesfolk misused the tools of their trade, it would make a difference. It should be worthy of correction when a college-educated professional can’t match the subject and verb in a sentence if a prepositional phrase is in between.
Are They Teaching Proper English?
My copy
Where did I learn proper English usage? I went to Catholic parochial school where we learned English the old-fashioned way, including diagramming sentences. The more important question is, “Are they teaching proper English in schools today?” Whether the schools are public or charter schools doesn’t seem to make a difference.
Formerly, I cringed at the grammatical mistakes of others in silence. Enough of that. Every writer should have a copy of “Elements of Style,” commonly known as Strunk and White, near to hand. Online courses will walk you through the basics. YouTube offers options. There is no excuse for not speaking proper English if it is your first language.
I’m putting authors on notice, whether you write on SubStack, Facebook, BlueSky or X Social. I’m reading your stuff with a critical eye for proper English usage. Are you up for the challenge?
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