i read slate.com because i think i’m some kind of an enlightened intellectual with a twisted lip disdain for those who squarely aren’t as nouveau hip as i am. when you boil it down to the meat and gristle, however, it’s just another site for self satisfied liberals. and if i ever turn into one, someone please euthanize me in a grisly fashion – something that jigsaw from the “saw” movies would be proud of.
(by the way, i know that last sentence ended in a preposition. at this point in the evolution of written and spoken english, it’s as acceptable as confusing “your” with “you’re” or “its” with “it’s.” who’s with me on this one?)
back to slate.
while reading an article by daniel gross regarding the salaries and bonuses of bank execs whose companies received tarp money, i read a line that is not altogether unusual in terms of its misuse of “its” and “it’s.” the quote is, “…they’re partying like its 2007.” for goofballs like me who get off on correcting people’s grammar (though i know i make plenty of errors myself), a publication like slate should, at least, provide stronger energy drinks to the copy editors so that they can catch these grammatical missteps. but the truth is this erroneous interchange of those words is so common now (whether it be in slate or a 13 year old’s fan email to the jonas brothers), that the dialectic process of accepting these formerly fatal flaws in grammar is now nearly complete.
i suppose that there are plenty of reasons how this has come to be. much in the way that dangling prepositions and participles are no longer in the conscience of even the most grammatically vigilant, the problem is that this dialectic affects other words, which then changes the context of what is being conveyed and then the next thing you know, the parameters of acceptable writing are now completely subjective. the normative is disregarded. it’s like playing monopoly with a five year old. just make up the rules as you go along, and eventually, the rules of monopoly will be more like the rules of sorry!, but at least the game is over.
i’m sure that the incorrect usage of “its” was an oversight of a 20 year old copy editor whose getting paid just enough to pay his/her share of the 300 sq. ft. live/work loft in brooklyn. what bothers me is that its no longer an issue with over-stimulated teens and adults who dont have time to edit their work emails. its really like you know how were just letting this stuff just disintegrate without doin nothin about it. after all language especially in written form is so like important in the fabric of human movement. and this is no longer just my problem or you’re problem. id say that prolly its hour problem definatly.
Filed under: grammar
