I don't know if it is the ignorance because it is just that, ignorant or the fact that I am a writer and have a love affair with words, but I cannot stand the butchering of words. A friend of mine recently posted about her need to school people on their wrongs when using words incorrectly. Her complaint, distinguishing being the words Quiet and Quite, also the mistaking of Duck with Duct when speaking of a particular tape.
Now we can all list many errors we have seen performed by others, I myself do not understand how people confuse the words Through with Though and trough. It boggles my imagination. Another complained of the poor phrasing of words, such as "I will keep you in my prays".
I stated earlier that I have had a love affair with words, the way they roll off of the tongue and sound in my ears. I have a few favorites; dexterity, homogeneous, bereft, frailty and inconsequential to name a few.It is perhaps this love that I have which causes me pangs in my heart and stomach, when I see them being mangled and systematically destroyed.
Fortunately, I am not alone in my quest to find people properly utilizing language and learning the meanings of the words they choose when communicating with others. Words are powerful, they help define nations, declare undying love and express infinite joy. Words help the fiction author take the reader to new worlds and meet characters that they would not normally come to know and the non fiction writer to prevail in passing on useful information and facts in a comprehensible manner.
So do those of us a favor, who are in love with words (and even who just have developed a pet peeve), to think before you speak or type. If you are not sure of what to say, ask, but whatever you do, don't say something just because you heard it once, didn't understand it, yet thought it made you sound smart. Chances are they didn't know what they were saying either!
Today's quote comes from a movie:"An ounce of pretension is worth a pound of manure!" - Shelby from Steel Magnolias
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