Three little words

[offcntr]

All right folks, Frank is gonna take a moment to rant about words.

I love words. I'm fascinated by words. I've been a voracious reader since six years old, and misuse of words drives me nuts. I don't mean misplaced apostrophes, or saying diffuse when you mean defuse (though that one still bugs me). No, what's got my cranky on overdrive has been badly mangled forms of perfectly useable English verbs. Three I've seen lately:

1. Coronated. Read a fantasy novel recently that I otherwise rather enjoyed, but it kept using this abomination throughout the text. You don't need a back formation from coronation, people, if you simply use the original root: Crowned. 

2. Wreaked. Okay, this one may be a lost cause at this point, but still, we're losing a lovely word to this monster. Repeat after me, boys, girls and enbees: The past tense of wreak is Wrought.

3. Predated, predating. Heard this one in a podcast today. They weren't talking about forging time-stamps, but rather that thing that predators do. You know, Preying?

Rawhr.

Comments

[anais_pf]

What's your opinion of "futurecast?" That one bothers the heck out of me.

[offcntr]

Not seen that one before. Is it used instead of "forecast?"

[anais_pf]

Yes. The weather forecasters in the NYC area all use "futurecast" instead of "forecast." I hate it!

[offcntr]

Oh lord, I looked it up online, and I have never seen so many buzzwords in one paragraph. Looks like it was coined by business consultants... That was an affront against sense and meaning.

[james]

OMG OMG this drives me so fucking nuts. I hate the business-speak "grow your business" because grow is a passive verb (you can grow plants) but expanding your business is an active, direct action and it's gotten so entrenched it sometimes doesn't sound wrong and I hate it.

One football commentator invented the word "trickeration" and I HATE HIM. Like how is that better than "trickery"? It wasn't just a one time slip of the tongue because we're live, either, because he kept doing it and other people do it now too.

[lydamorehouse]

predated drives me nuts, too, and I believe in the flexibility of the English language.

However, I will tell you what I tell my dearest friends, you can not stop mob rule. English is a language ruled by the people. If tomorrow, the kids start calling cars "fraps," then hold on to your damn hat, because LITERALLY Webster's will accept that definition given enough usage over enough time.

We can not stop the corruption of the English language, my friend, IRREGARDLESS of our hopes.

[offcntr]

We can not stop the corruption of the English language, my friend, IRREGARDLESS of our hopes.
(ouch!)

Yeah, I agree, English is a developing system and usage changes. I just hate it when writers, who I'd expect to have higher standards, do these terrible things to our poor tongue.