Jeff Byrne

    I AM becoming increasingly disillusioned with the corruption of the English language. I could have said I have “gotten” more and more disillusioned, but it was not a word encountered during my education.

    “Gotten” is one of my pet hates. A corruption from the United States where the uneducated are being educated by the poorly educated, as is also happening in other countries, including Australia.

    Another is “absolutely.” I first came across this misuse in the United States in the 1980s when people would say “absolutely” when they meant “yes.” Absolutely infuriating.

    An example. I was in a clothing store and asked the salesperson if I could try on a jacket I particularly liked. “Absolutely,” he said. “Does that mean yes?” I asked. “Absolutely,” he replied. Arrgh!

    The ubiquitous “got” also “gets” me. You will hear, constantly: “I’ve got (something).” In plain English, we say I have something. “Got” is meaningless in this context but it is used in oral English and has become (gotten?) acceptable.

    Then there is “event.” Everything has become an “event.” Events are what are contested at Olympic Games, or entertainment such as a symphony concert or other events where you pay for admission. (Or, if you are an American, admittance). Tragedies such as earthquakes, tsunamis, fires and floods are being called “events.” After horrific floods in the Australian state of Queensland earlier last year in which dozens of people lost their lives, a senator was being interviewed on radio. When he referred to the tragedy as an “event,” the interviewer corrected him saying: Senator, it was not an event, it was flood.

    Then we come to “in order to,” another phrase that has come from political speak, such as: “In order” to achieve this, we need to do this. Remove “in order” and the meaning is no less clear. “In terms of” language, we need to exercise a little more thought if we wish to improve. What about, we need to exercise a little more thought if we wish to improve our language? “In terms of” becomes obsolete, and so it should.

    Another distortion is “he’s” being used for he was. He’s means “he is” as do other noun possessives. What is happening is that oral English is being adopted into the written language and is not always clear.

    And then there is “exactly right.” If it is not “exactly right,” does that mean it is not quite right?

    Language changes, as it will, but it should change for the better. William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), John Steinbeck and even Walt Whitman, along with a multitude of others, had a marvelous command of English and contributed to the richness of the language, although Americans still get away with “ain’t” which means “are not.” It is inexplicable that contemporary educators in America have not been able to rid the language of this distortion.

    There will be those who will refer to me as a dinosaur. I can live with that. I have been called worse. But, please, I don’t want to hear, he’s “gotten” to be a dinosaur. Dinosaur I may be, “gotten” I am not.

    The language is being emasculated to the point where we may end up communicating in grunts and gestures, back where we started.

    (The author is a former Shenzhen Daily senior copy editor and writer.)