tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333978.post7842596949744140241..comments2023-10-24T09:19:27.649-04:00Comments on beware of the blog: another melange of malapropisms marches inGeorgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07162451091517662682noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333978.post-34660718133956399832009-03-04T23:44:00.000-05:002009-03-04T23:44:00.000-05:00Shriniwas, "marks" might also owe something to its...Shriniwas, "marks" might also owe something to its abuse as a synonym for "points" (<EM>कितने marks मिले</EM>).<BR/>When I contributed to Fun-da-mental ("organised" would be an overstatement and unfair to the hard-working crew in the NIE department), I was working with people in the Newspaper In Education group. The TOI (its online version, to be precise) is a bigger entity sheltering tasteless web designers and ineffectual hacks, who pass off as writers. You might be right about the times (no pun intended) being better then -- the online portal wasn't such a big deal in those days; the print edition hasn't gone south yet (it's probably a matter of time, though).<BR/><BR/>I have to tip my hat to the spelling of your name; it ensures the correct Indian pronunciation of 'w' -- the 'v' only confuses English speakers who have different sounds for 'w' and 'v')Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07162451091517662682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333978.post-55825814051144283332009-03-04T16:33:00.000-05:002009-03-04T16:33:00.000-05:00Yes, I did mean I once lost points (moreover I hav...Yes, I did mean <I>I once lost points</I> (moreover I have no idea where the term "mark" comes from, though its so widely accepted in all our academia! I think it refers to the check-marks on your paper v/s cross-marks) <BR/><BR/><BR/>Look at this link that says "Women needs .... " <BR/><BR/>http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News-By-Industry/Services/Education/Women-needs-better-education-job-opportunities-Chidambaram-/articleshow/4208521.cms <BR/><BR/>I bet when you organized Fun-Da-Mental a decade back, TOI used to be much better!skeptic optimisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16795929369621648998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333978.post-36790780255350721602009-03-02T19:57:00.000-05:002009-03-02T19:57:00.000-05:00Jabberwock, thanks for stopping by. It is an honou...Jabberwock, thanks for stopping by. It is an honour indeed :) It might be useful to write a small piece that uses references to the appropriate rules of English grammar and explains why <EM>would</EM> is wrong. I can understand that there are situations like the ones you described (and, in my case, emails in my Inbox) that you can only hope not to have a lasting memory of :)<BR/><BR/>Shriniwas, thanks for stopping by. Phrases like "Good one!" "ain't," "bestest best friends," "whatcha, gotcha, atta boy, good ol" come with social and cultural baggage. A conscious use of such tropes in literature is quite acceptable, since the writer is telling us more about characters or places using the language spoken as a device. This is, of course, different from sloppily written books. "A Clockwork Orange," "Ulysses" and "Finnegans Wake" are examples of the former. "American English" has some words that, for me, convey more about their meaning than the British equivalents; if you're up for reading a tome allow me to recommend H. L. Mencken's "The American Language."<BR/><BR/>Interestingly, it is a phonetic rule that says "a European" is correct and not "an European"; a lot of my rants start from abuses seen in the written word. <BR/><BR/>Surely you meant to write <EM>I once lost points</EM> instead of <EM>I was once given minus marks</EM> :)Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07162451091517662682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333978.post-50749306820974224352009-03-02T09:39:00.000-05:002009-03-02T09:39:00.000-05:00George: I don't mean to depress you further but I ...George: I don't mean to depress you further but I know of several managing editors/copy desk heads in Indian media who think "A meeting would be held tomorrow at 10 AM..." is a perfectly correct sentence and look at you askance if you dare suggest otherwise. I'd pay good money to find out how this whole would-for-will business got started.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333978.post-41300841858373096632009-03-02T04:41:00.000-05:002009-03-02T04:41:00.000-05:00"Good one !" isnt this also wrong usage ?"Good one !" <BR/>isnt this also wrong usage ?skeptic optimisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16795929369621648998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333978.post-35996810234421328252009-03-02T04:39:00.000-05:002009-03-02T04:39:00.000-05:00I was once given minus marks from an English Teach...I was once given minus marks from an English Teacher 5th or 6th Std for writing "A European boy entered" - The teacher insisted it was An European .. aaaarhhhhh (I wasnt in Vincents' but the nearby Local Parsi School as Ribiero did not like Marathi kids and wouldn't let me in ... )<BR/><BR/>Another shocker was the quick intro to American English when I started watching sitcoms ... "ain't", "bestest best friends", "whatcha, gotcha, atta boy, good ol" I wonder if what our Vingraji teachers would do if these words were used in essaysskeptic optimisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16795929369621648998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3333978.post-32459522855973691612009-03-02T00:21:00.000-05:002009-03-02T00:21:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com