So I get a call last evening from my son, "Dad, you have to check out this photo that I just sent you - it's classic." The photo was indeed a classic snapshot of our continued descent into illiteracy. There was a time when we expected a certain amount proofreading to be exercised before something went public, whether it be a newspaper article or a store sign. It reflected poorly on you if you made gross errors in spelling or grammar. No longer true - today there's no shame in being careless about the English language, nor any effort to correct one's mistakes.No, it's not that I secretly long to be an English teacher. I grew up in a time when students suffered through learning the difference between affect and effect, imply vs. infer, and understanding why it should have been Winston tastes good as a cigarette should. The purpose was to help keep us from embarrassing ourselves as we started our careers following graduation. What's happened?
I guess part of it is Bill Gates' fault. We expect Word to find all our spelling errors and grammatical mistakes. The sign does make a sentence without spelling errors and conveys meaning (i.e., we do not reject $50 or $100 bills - the opposite of the author's intent). So Word blesses it and away we go to the Signs Tomorrow shop. There's no proofreading skill by the writer to see if the statement really conveys what they are trying to say.
I think we also have to take some of the blame for not responding when we see the language being openly mugged. I'll bet that in today's PC world that very few - if any - customers have bothered to point out to the shop owner that the sign is fodder for Jay Leno.
As we continue down this path I guess this is what our future looks like for communication...
4 comments:
Absolutely unbelievable !! But why does this not surprise me ? We have reached a whole new level of stupidness. Some don't even know how to write...they can only type. I remember having handwriting classes and it was considered an art form. Ah well...it is only going to get worse. It's the double negatives that make me crazy...not to mention newscasters saying :where is it at ? " Since when did we need to put the at in there???
Hi Jim,
I hate to be the one to point this out, given the topic of your well-considered rant, but since his name is Bill Gates, the possessive is properly Bill Gates' — yes?
best,
cousin Arun
Ahh, the dangers of putting oneself on display! Thanks cousin, I should have known better having attended "Boys' Latin School". Correction made, but you do underscore my point - my public embarrassment will serve to make me more vigilant in my grammar!
Thanks for commenting, hope all is well
Jim
LOL we didn't know you posted this up! i still remember that night when Dave, Matt, and I went there and saw the sign. Dave was the one who started drawing attention to the sign and said "Are you serious, is this real, is this a joke. If this is a joke, I don't get it." it was so funny, because at first I didn't know what he was looking at and then I realized it was the sign. We just kept laughing, especially since we were looking at the sign and pointing at it as we sat outside and ate our ice cream, and the employees in the store didn't seem to get it.
Post a Comment