Sometimes I feel like graduating from one of the top schools in the country may have been a waste of my time and my parent's money. Poor grammar and the butchering of the English language abounds, from mis-pronunciations and made up words, to the confusion of terms.
Seems like it was pounded into our little pliable heads that the "f" in often is silent, and you used to only hear it pronounced by hicks or hillbillies (rednecks). But now, supposed professional broadcasters mispronounce the word. It drives me NUTS!
You've all heard the Enablex commercial where the woman says, "...and that means less interruptions!" NO, my dear, that means FEWER interruptions. My ears just HEAR the violation, but there are hard and fast rules for where the two are used. Basically, if you can count it, you use less. If you can't, it's few.
Yes, Raleigh has the "Irregardless Cafe" but we should know that there IS no such word. It's simply regardless. Another is "preventative" as in maintenance. The word is "PREVENTIVE," yet you hear the extra unnecessary syllable.
My generation had the expression "where it's at" and I recall my parents going through the overhead about it and my thinking so what? So, I guess it's just a function of getting older.
It's not just an American thing. The British are even picking up our slang, and come up with some of their own. Like, "That's really mank!" Mank meaning unfit for human or even animal consumption.
I'd love to start a fad of saying things like "splendid." When was the last time you heard that one? Nothing conveys disgust better than sarcastically saying, "That's really SWELL!" Remember Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry?
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