Cato's Grammar Grumble

Started by Cato, February 08, 2009, 05:00:18 PM

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André

In today's Washington Post:

"It is extremely difficult to ascertain with real certainty and consensus the attribution of any Chinese painting."

If you ascertain something, is it not with real certainty ?

Ken B

Quote from: André on March 05, 2019, 09:40:52 AM
In today's Washington Post:

"It is extremely difficult to ascertain with real certainty and consensus the attribution of any Chinese painting."

If you ascertain something, is it not with real certainty ?
Or with fake certainty.

Cato

Quote from: André on March 05, 2019, 09:40:52 AM
In today's Washington Post:

"It is extremely difficult to ascertain with real certainty and consensus the attribution of any Chinese painting."

If you ascertain something, is it not with real certainty ?

Quote from: Ken B on March 05, 2019, 09:52:31 AM
Or with fake certainty.

;)  Oh yes!

From the Amazon...the retailer.  On a page hawking a $100.00 + coat:

QuoteThe hem of the eiderdown garment adopts unique crumples. This was coupled with perfect stitches and manifested a unique charm of magnificence but at the same time not too overt.

Hmmm!  I suspect this was written by an author from Far Cathay!   0:)

"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

- Brian Aherne introducing Rosalind Russell in  My Sister Eileen (1942)

André

It is well known that unique crumples and perfect stitches do lend a unique charm of magnificence to an eiderdown garment  :D

XB-70 Valkyrie

"We only serve water on request."

Hmmmm, the menu would certainly benefit from a bit more variety. Maybe I'll go next door and request some waffles and an Ayinger (on tap no less)!

:P
If you really dislike Bach you keep quiet about it! - Andras Schiff

Cato

Quote from: André on March 08, 2019, 04:36:05 PM
It is well known that unique crumples and perfect stitches do lend a unique charm of magnificence to an eiderdown garment  :D

Well, I know that now:D


Quote from: XB-70 Valkyrie on March 08, 2019, 09:25:37 PM
"We only serve water on request."

Hmmmm, the menu would certainly benefit from a bit more variety. Maybe I'll go next door and request some waffles and an Ayinger (on tap no less)!

:P

I hope the request is fresh like the water!
"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

- Brian Aherne introducing Rosalind Russell in  My Sister Eileen (1942)

André



Nice typo on this box cover:


Cato

Quote from: André on March 19, 2019, 06:09:00 PM

Nice typo on this box cover:



Ouch!  Nobody caught that?

Last weekend I discovered that the Bureau of Jokes at the Ohio Department of Transportation had been hard at work!

What?  Why does the Ohio Department of Transportation need a Bureau of Jokes?  Apparently the bureaucrats decided that more humor was needed on the freeways to counterbalance the drunks, the texters, the incompetents, the speeders, and the blind who are driving around loose.

And so the bureaucrats have spent millions of dollars on electronic signs which occasionally carry "funny" messages.  On the weekend of Saint Patrick's Day we saw the following tidwit:

"Don't Drive Shamrocked!!!"  Stay Sober!

The poor shamrock!  Twisted into a symbol of inebriation by unwitty bureaucrats!
"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

- Brian Aherne introducing Rosalind Russell in  My Sister Eileen (1942)

André

#4588
In my spam mailbox today:

Quote
Dear friend,
I am Mrs. Mona Pereda, 71 years old, deaf and a widow. I was married to late Engr David Howard Pereda ,who worked with Shell Development Company in London for Twenty-Six years before he died in the year 2011 after a brief illness that lasted only five days. When my late husband was alive he deposited the sum of US$30 M in a firm here. Following my ill health(Cancer of the Lungs), my Doctor told me that I may not live longer than required due to my health condition. I am looking forward to seeing someone who can use this money in charitable works. More details will be made known to you upon your response.Kindly respond to my email below.
May God Bless You.
Mrs. Mona Pereda

Is it me, or even a 7 old would see through this mumbo jumbo ?

« I may not live longer than required »... ::)

André



I have a question: in the work titles on this cd I notice that Summer and Winter have the possessive apostrophe. Is this right ? Using here the apostrophe is weird IMO. Maybe I am missing on something here? I would have written Summer Tale and Tale of a Winter Evening. 

Thanks for commenting  :).

Ken B

Quote from: André on July 23, 2019, 04:55:03 AM


I have a question: in the work titles on this cd I notice that Summer and Winter have the possessive apostrophe. Is this right ? Using here the apostrophe is weird IMO. Maybe I am missing on something here? I would have written Summer Tale and Tale of a Winter Evening. 

Thanks for commenting  :).
Both are perfectly correct, and would have been standard in the 19th century. Now we tend to be looser about such things. This is a bit reminiscent of The Hundred Year's War discussion.

A summer tale would be a tale suitable or intended for summer. Summer clothing, summer weather. The tale is a particular summer would be that summer's tale, and its weather would be that summer's weather. Ergo a summer's tale is a tale of a particular (but as yet unspecified) summer.

Karl Henning

And, from the annals of The point limping across, dodgy grammar notwithstanding:

"Better left unread than dead"

"If you feel faint or pain stop exercising immediately"
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

André


JBS

Mangling English is not a new thing.

Started listening tonight to the Sony set of Alexis Weissenberg's Complete RCA recordings.
First item is a recording made in 1950 of works by Prokofiev and Scriabin ( supplemented in this set by three Rachmaninov preludes never released before). The back of the LP jacket notes describe one piece, Prokofiev's Suggestion Diabolique, as..

...."displayful"

The LP jacket proudly touts its status as
"long playing"
Mind you, in its original form, the record contained
19 minutes
of music. The Rachmaninov preludes bring the CD up to 28 minutes.

Hollywood Beach Broadwalk

Karl Henning

Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Wendell_E

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on August 14, 2019, 08:55:04 AM
A 19-minute LP 8)

You spoiled brats with yer CDs!  :D Let's not forget that the playing time for a 12-inch 78 was four to five minutes.
"Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience." ― Mark Twain

Ken B

Quote from: Wendell_E on August 15, 2019, 02:28:29 AM
You spoiled brats with yer CDs!  :D Let's not forget that the playing time for a 12-inch 78 was four to five minutes.
5 minutes!? That was an eternity compared to cylinders you spoiled young sprat!

Cato

GMG is working better today!  I can therefore take some time for a monstrosity written by an "educationalist."

I could have written a "fraudulent educationalist," which in one sense would be redundant, but not in another.

Here is the background: the completely worthless edumbcational bureaucrats in my diocese decided that it would have every teacher read a book during the summer, and then sit through 4-hours of blah-blah-blah by the author at a convention.

I tried to read the book, but after going through the first 16 pages, and finding an average of three errors and/or incomprehensible and/or ridiculous statements per page, I stopped reading.  Opening the book at random, I could find such things every time!

In fact, right now I am opening the book at random!  Page 93 has this:

"Teachers, teacher leaders, school leaders, curriculum writers, and central office personnel who support schools must also have access to a succinct and accurate interpretation of the standards to be taught and assessed Why?Teacher leaders, school leaders, curriculum writers, and central office personnel who support schools must also have access to the interpretation of the standards so that they are able to provide meaningful feedback to teachers and make appropriate decisions for curricular programming.

WHERE TO START???  The lack of a period, so that the first "sentence" ends with "Why?"  The lack of a space between the sentences, the obvious cutting-and-pasting of the the opening of the first sentence into the next one, the curious part about giving "meaningful feedback" (as opposed to meaningless?), the preciosity of "curricular programming," etc. etc. etc.

One of my favorites from the end:

"When teachers, school leaders, and central office personnel who support schools authentically become members of the same culture of instruction..." (this goes on for a while)...(wait for it)..."then and only will the alchemy of student achievement become the resultant byproduct."

Again, WHERE TO START???  The ambiguity of "authentically"?  "Then and only will..."?  "...alchemy..."?   It would be bad enough if the statement said "student achievement" will be a "byproduct"?!  But why will it not be THE PRODUCT?  (What is therefore the product?)  And yet it is worse: "...the alchemy..." seems to be the "byproduct" with the redundant  "resultant."  Why do we want "alchemy"?  Does he perhaps mean "The magic/mystery of student achievement"?  If so, how is student achievement a mystery or an inscrutable, "magical" process?  Does his book not attempt to tell us how produce student achievement???

On top of all this, the book makes remarkable discoveries: e.g. teachers should know their subject, teachers should be organized, teachers should know how to communicate, blah-blah-blah-find-a-rope-for-me-please-so-I-can-end-it-all!  ;)

Upon further inspection of the author's background, one finds that he has been convicted of check-kiting and other offenses.  A $500,000 deal in New York county school system was for some reason kept hidden from the public.   He has "Ed.D." behind his name, and another "Ed.D." supposedly edited his book, which is published by the author's own "educational consulting firm."

So, it is not just the bad grammar and the ridiculous sentences, etc.  Teachers throughout the Catholic schools here are furious with the diocesan bureaucrats, who bought thousands of this huckster's books and then hired him to be the center of next week's convention (which we are "required" to attend)!

It will be difficult for me to keep from leading a massive walk-out!   0:)

"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

- Brian Aherne introducing Rosalind Russell in  My Sister Eileen (1942)

Ken B

Quote from: Cato on August 30, 2019, 04:36:42 AM
GMG is working better today!  I can therefore take some time for a monstrosity written by an "educationalist."

I could have written a "fraudulent educationalist," which in one sense would be redundant, but not in another.

Here is the background: the completely worthless edumbcational bureaucrats in my diocese decided that it would have every teacher read a book during the summer, and then sit through 4-hours of blah-blah-blah by the author at a convention.

I tried to read the book, but after going through the first 16 pages, and finding an average of three errors and/or incomprehensible and/or ridiculous statements per page, I stopped reading.  Opening the book at random, I could find such things every time!

In fact, right now I am opening the book at random!  Page 93 has this:

"Teachers, teacher leaders, school leaders, curriculum writers, and central office personnel who support schools must also have access to a succinct and accurate interpretation of the standards to be taught and assessed Why?Teacher leaders, school leaders, curriculum writers, and central office personnel who support schools must also have access to the interpretation of the standards so that they are able to provide meaningful feedback to teachers and make appropriate decisions for curricular programming.

WHERE TO START???  The lack of a period, so that the first "sentence" ends with "Why?"  The lack of a space between the sentences, the obvious cutting-and-pasting of the the opening of the first sentence into the next one, the curious part about giving "meaningful feedback" (as opposed to meaningless?), the preciosity of "curricular programming," etc. etc. etc.

One of my favorites from the end:

"When teachers, school leaders, and central office personnel who support schools authentically become members of the same culture of instruction..." (this goes on for a while)...(wait for it)..."then and only will the alchemy of student achievement become the resultant byproduct."

Again, WHERE TO START???  The ambiguity of "authentically"?  "Then and only will..."?  "...alchemy..."?   It would be bad enough if the statement said "student achievement" will be a "byproduct"?!  But why will it not be THE PRODUCT?  (What is therefore the product?)  And yet it is worse: "...the alchemy..." seems to be the "byproduct" with the redundant  "resultant."  Why do we want "alchemy"?  Does he perhaps mean "The magic/mystery of student achievement"?  If so, how is student achievement a mystery or an inscrutable, "magical" process?  Does his book not attempt to tell us how produce student achievement???

On top of all this, the book makes remarkable discoveries: e.g. teachers should know their subject, teachers should be organized, teachers should know how to communicate, blah-blah-blah-find-a-rope-for-me-please-so-I-can-end-it-all!  ;)

Upon further inspection of the author's background, one finds that he has been convicted of check-kiting and other offenses.  A $500,000 deal in New York county school system was for some reason kept hidden from the public.   He has "Ed.D." behind his name, and another "Ed.D." supposedly edited his book, which is published by the author's own "educational consulting firm."

So, it is not just the bad grammar and the ridiculous sentences, etc.  Teachers throughout the Catholic schools here are furious with the diocesan bureaucrats, who bought thousands of this huckster's books and then hired him to be the center of next week's convention (which we are "required" to attend)!

It will be difficult for me to keep from leading a massive walk-out!   0:)

American education has become a 20 year Milgram experiment.

Karl Henning

Quote from: Ken B on August 31, 2019, 02:29:32 PM
American education has become a 20 year Milgram experiment.

Dang! You're right.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot