Comments on: Begging the Question http://www.allpeers.com/blog/2006/03/08/begging-the-question/ The official AllPeers blog Fri, 05 Dec 2008 09:46:02 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2 By: ayembee http://www.allpeers.com/blog/2006/03/08/begging-the-question/#comment-7082 ayembee Sat, 25 Mar 2006 15:31:50 +0000 http://www.allpeers.com/blog/2006/03/08/begging-the-question/#comment-7082 two specific things with written language drive me to madness. not so much modern usage" issues as they are persistent, avoidable, outright errors; the near-random usage of apostrophes that can be seen everywhere (for plurals, incorrect association, etc), and the staggering number of people that seem to think "lose" has a double "o"! i occasionally fantasise about beating such people to death, shouting "that's a completely different word, it does not mean what you think, stop it, argh!" why this particular error drives me to such disproportionate anger is clearly something i need to think about... :) (slashdot especially seems to be entirely made up of the latter group... ;) ) ah well... bob the angry flower said it best: http://angryflower.com/bobsqu.gif two specific things with written language drive me to madness. not so much modern usage” issues as they are persistent, avoidable, outright errors; the near-random usage of apostrophes that can be seen everywhere (for plurals, incorrect association, etc), and the staggering number of people that seem to think “lose” has a double “o”! i occasionally fantasise about beating such people to death, shouting “that’s a completely different word, it does not mean what you think, stop it, argh!” why this particular error drives me to such disproportionate anger is clearly something i need to think about… :)

(slashdot especially seems to be entirely made up of the latter group… ;) )

ah well… bob the angry flower said it best: http://angryflower.com/bobsqu.gif

]]> By: Tad Cook http://www.allpeers.com/blog/2006/03/08/begging-the-question/#comment-6910 Tad Cook Sun, 19 Mar 2006 23:29:36 +0000 http://www.allpeers.com/blog/2006/03/08/begging-the-question/#comment-6910 I loved nex's comment regarding language evolution vs devolution and increasing misuse of "begging the question". Recently I initiated a couple of alerts using the experimental Google Alerts service, which sends me one email daily containing every instance found in news reports or via web spidering of the string "begging the question" and another for the far more common "begs the question" (guess how I found this blog?). Some observations: "Begs" is much more common than "Begging", and I'd say about half the news articles using "begs" (sometimes I see 60 or 70 of these per day) are from sportswriters. I suspect that in a couple of decades the misuse will completely replace the current meaning as we know it. At least, that is how I feel after watching the malaprop seem to swamp the real meaning in current usage. I'm certain that use of "begs" has already passed the irritating "irregardless" in common parlance. Hey, now there is another one I should set an Alert for. Tad Cook, pedantic in Seattle. I loved nex’s comment regarding language evolution vs devolution and increasing misuse of “begging the question”. Recently I initiated a couple of alerts using the experimental Google Alerts service, which sends me one email daily containing every instance found in news reports or via web spidering of the string “begging the question” and another for the far more common “begs the question” (guess how I found this blog?). Some observations: “Begs” is much more common than “Begging”, and I’d say about half the news articles using “begs” (sometimes I see 60 or 70 of these per day) are from sportswriters. I suspect that in a couple of decades the misuse will completely replace the current meaning as we know it. At least, that is how I feel after watching the malaprop seem to swamp the real meaning in current usage. I’m certain that use of “begs” has already passed the irritating “irregardless” in common parlance. Hey, now there is another one I should set an Alert for. Tad Cook, pedantic in Seattle.

]]> By: nex http://www.allpeers.com/blog/2006/03/08/begging-the-question/#comment-6828 nex Thu, 16 Mar 2006 14:28:01 +0000 http://www.allpeers.com/blog/2006/03/08/begging-the-question/#comment-6828 well the wikipedia entry got it only partly right. language evolves, but when it evolves for the worse, our ability to communicate properly (unambiguously, quickly, ...) is diminished and something should be done against that. inventing new phrases and idioms is fine (and fun!), but i wouldn't cheer "yay for progress!" every time someone uses an expression without having a clue what it actually means. "doubtless" should be "doubtlessly". i'm a hopeless pedant. well the wikipedia entry got it only partly right. language evolves, but when it evolves for the worse, our ability to communicate properly (unambiguously, quickly, …) is diminished and something should be done against that. inventing new phrases and idioms is fine (and fun!), but i wouldn’t cheer “yay for progress!” every time someone uses an expression without having a clue what it actually means.

“doubtless” should be “doubtlessly”. i’m a hopeless pedant.

]]> By: Patrick http://www.allpeers.com/blog/2006/03/08/begging-the-question/#comment-6780 Patrick Wed, 08 Mar 2006 17:16:38 +0000 http://www.allpeers.com/blog/2006/03/08/begging-the-question/#comment-6780 As far as language evolution goes. . .I suggest you read George Orwell's essay <a href="http://www.resort.com/~prime8/Orwell/patee.html" rel="nofollow">"Politics and the English language"</a>. As far as language evolution goes. . .I suggest you read George Orwell’s essay “Politics and the English language”.

]]> By: Abigail http://www.allpeers.com/blog/2006/03/08/begging-the-question/#comment-6779 Abigail Wed, 08 Mar 2006 15:43:22 +0000 http://www.allpeers.com/blog/2006/03/08/begging-the-question/#comment-6779 Thanks Ben, I couldn't agree more. Thanks Ben, I couldn’t agree more.

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