THE BASTARDIZATION AND MISUSE OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Back in the day, an aspiring young journalist went to school to study........journalism. Someone wanting to be a news anchor on tv or radio would go to school to study........broadcasting. Not too hard to figure out. Actually news anchors might study communication with an emphasis in broadcasting, and journalism. But that was before the internet.
The internet thank god, has made it so that the biggest dumb fuck in the world can now call themselves a journalist, broadcaster, or even a writer. Shit, look at me.
Back when newspapers were still being widely published, and selling, a journalist had to first get approval to write the article. Then the article had to be fact checked if necessary and appropriate, then it had to be edited and proofread. Oh wait! They do that on the internet and on computers. Spell-check and Grammarly does all of that. Spell-check is free on most computers and Grammarly you have to pay for, but hey, better to cheat and fake your way into writing than actually learn something about your chosen field. That's what I always say. Who needs school and who needs libraries any more. WE HAVE THE INTERNET! And with google you don't even have to know how to spell what you're looking for. As long as you know maybe the first two or three letters, you are on your way.
My basic beef here is that when I read something on the internet, which I do quite frequently so maybe I can't complain, but I'm going to anyway, I encounter a myriad of spelling errors, typographical errors, grammar errors, and then you have to deal with the plain fact the maybe much of the article is just not true. It took me a while to figure out that it's probably clickbait, and I would spend a few minutes reading up to a point and then finally say, WHAT THE FUCK!!! Who is writing this? It's completely wrong.
APPARENTLY SCHOOL IS NOT WORKING ANYWAY
Occasionally I will watch some news channel in the morning while having coffee and do some reading on the Internet. I'll tell you, it's getting rough. It's getting really bad. Really bad.
Quote from a US Senator: "There's lots of problems with this particular bill." Uhh.....doesn't he mean "there are" lots of problems? Literal translation with that contraction: "There is lots of problems." C'mon man.
A US Senator speaks like this? How and why in the fuck did he get elected. I know this shit doesn't mean much to most people and most people can't even really hear it, but it sure FUCKING pisses ME off!!! If you don't know how to use contractions, DON'T USE THEM! Simple as that. Stop pissing people like me off. Some of us care.
And this is why I care. Being a musician, use of the English language can be like a great piece of music. But someone can come along with a shitty arrangement and a poor performance and it's no longer a great piece of music. Well, it's still a great piece of music. It just got fucked up by some half-assed arranger or musician. Words, language, and communication in general can be music to my ears, and many others as well. STOP FUCKING IT UP!!!
If you are a Senator or Congressman or any politician, or for that matter anyone who is in the public eye, you either need to learn to speak properly or resign. You have a responsibility to the people you speak to, and to the people who read what you write. It's a responsibility! You have an obligation! When you are in the public eye, you are in a sense an educator. People from all walks of life might be looking to you for guidance. AND YOU WANT TO GUIDE THEM WITH BAD ENGLISH??? I know I'm living in a dream world, and I can be harsh at times, but don't fuck with music or the beauty of the written word, which can also be a form of music.
Let's not perpetuate the already in progress, dumbing-down of society.
A JOURNALIST ON LIVE TELEVISION:
"Here's our top STORIES for the day. Good fucking God!!! Again, literal translation: Here is our top stories for the day. PLEASE stop using contractions, or get it right. You are a Journalist. You also have a responsibility and an obligation to put forth proper use of language and you should have excellent communication skills.
CHOMPING AT THE BIT????
Oh my fucking god, please! The original and proper use of this term is Champing (to make biting or gnashing movements) at the bit, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, but chomping came to be used in America in the 1930's and has since become more common. Why? Because people are FUCKING STUPID and have never heard of champ, except in sports. Champ for my money sounds a little more graceful and refined, but then I once had a musical director tell me that I was a little snobby and arrogant. Fuck him!!! And probably everyone else for that matter.
UNCHARTERD OR UNCHARTED
A lot of people mean to say "We were moving into uncharted territory or waters." Which means it's not been explored or mapped. But of course some dumbfucks use unchartered instead. Unchartered means not having a charter or some other kind of official authorization.
SET FOOT OR STEP FOOT
Just being a dick here, but it's Set Foot. God, fucking people are stupid. It's apparently a blending of set and step, out of confusion. "LISTEN" people. "Fucking listen." According to the Oxford English Dictionary foot setting dates back to the 1400s and foot stepping dates back to the 1500s. However a search with Google's Ngram Viewer indicates a sharp rise in step foot from 1980. Doesn't make it right though. And shit like this finds it's way into all aspects of speech, television, and movies. Is it just me and I'm the only one who cringes when I hear things like this?
MOVING ON TO THE MOVIES
I first started to notice the dumbing down factor years ago. As a kid I would go to the movies and I would notice that for some reason if there was an elderly woman in a scene and she was frustrated, probably a comedy, (think where's the beef) and she all of a sudden blurted out "Son of A Bitch," that particular scene whatever it was about, was met with uproarious laughter. Think formulaic.
And thus a trend begins. Every movie, or at least comedies, had to have the obligatory old woman whose vile and profane use of the English language was solely for the reaction of the audience. Most of the time it had nothing to do with anything about the picture except for to get cheap laughs. Why do people laugh when someone swears. And comedy movies started their decline. I remember thinking at a young age "What is the audience laughing about? That's not funny." It's the beginning of the dumbing down of society. Just use some profanity and all of the stupid people will laugh and put money in film makers pockets.
CHEAP SHITTY DIALOGUE AND WRITING
When the fuck did "I got this" become good script writing? When the fuck did "You got this" become good script writing? When the fuck did "We got this" become good script writing? Well it's here and it's not going away. It's just getting worse. If I were an actor and was reading a script and came across "I got this," I would say to the script writer or director or whoever was in charge of that sort of thing, "I'm sorry but isn't there a better way to say 'I can do this,' than the trite, banal, and overdone 'I got this?'"
Isn't this bad English? And this type of stuff is used everywhere. Can we not be a little more original and copy less? When I hear this in a movie or tv show I lose all respect for all people involved. IT SOUNDS HORRIBLE!!! Again, formulaic and also pandering.
PEOPLE WHO START A SENTENCE OR ANSWER WITH "I MEAN"
The questioner asked: "What is your view on the Women's movement today?"
Answer: "I mean" this is a very important topic.
In this context, the "I mean" is useless. The person hasn't said anything yet regarding their view so they can't qualify it by saying "I mean." "I mean" can add emphasis, but thus far nothing has been stated to emphasize. It's just filler. It's just a habit, something to fill in the blanks. It's a linguistic crutch. It usually means that their communication skills are lacking. And in my view, they are probably just stupid. Nonetheless, it bothers me. But then what doesn't bother me.
OUR NEW CD IS GOING TO DROP NEXT WEEK
Holy shit! That's great. At least you know when it's going to drop so you can be there to catch it before it hits the floor.
Wow!!! Where the fuck have I been. Drop used to mean eliminate or discontinue something. And still does. But once again Hip-Hop and social media has permeated society big time. Are we all wannabes? Just because something is in the media in some way shape or form, does it mean that we all have to adopt the language and look? And behavior? Have we lost our individualism? Yeah it's just another way that a culture, the Hip-Hop culture has changed the verbiage of something in order to stand out and create their own cultural way of communicating. Not sayin' it's wrong. I suppose people can choose to sound intelligent or like they are standing on the street corner.
I'm sorry but I find it kind of funny when a white female News Broadcaster announces that: "In the next segment we will be interviewing Joe Blow who's new book is going to drop next week." Is it just me or is a statement like that not the epitome of someone or a shitload of someones in a tv station trying to sound cool? It's a world full of wannabes. Das what it be like! Cultural ass licking. Not kissing, but fuckin' licking!!!
Gotta get outta here. I'm feeling the pressure of being hated on.