New Year's Fun with Words: Banned Words

The Syntax Sisters love when the new year comes around, as everyone starts posting lists! Here's the first one we've seen, and we have to agree that we would not miss some of these words...

Banned words list offers no 'bailout' to offenders

By JEFF KAROUB, Associated Press Writer Jeff Karoub, Associated Press Writer Tue Dec 30, 4:14 pm ET

DETROIT – A movie about a "maverick," his journey "from Wall Street to Main Street," his "desperate search" for a "monkey" and a "game-changing" revelation about his "carbon footprint" probably would make the nation's word-watchers physically ill.

Especially if it were the "winner of five nominations."

All those words and phrases are on Lake Superior State University's annual List of Words to Be Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness. The 34th version of the list was released Tuesday, which means, "It's that time of year again."

The school in Michigan's Upper Peninsula selected 15 entries from about 5,000 nominations.

Despite the year's economic meltdown (which itself wasn't banished but don't rule it out for next year), the most entries came from the environmental category — for "green" or "going green."

"If I see one more corporation declare itself 'green,' I'm going to start burning tires in my backyard," wrote Ed Hardiman of Bristow, Va., in his submission. Nominators also had their fill of "carbon footprint" — the amount of greenhouse gases an individual's lifestyle produces.

The list wasn't overrun with politics despite the national election — no "change," for instance — but one simply couldn't escape the critics' wrath.

"I'm a maverick, he's a maverick, wouldn't you like to be a maverick, too?" offered Michael Burke of Silver Spring, Md., in his entry for the label embraced by unsuccessful Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

Also knocked was "first dude," a term adopted by Todd Palin, husband of McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

Words related to the economy led to a few meltdowns.

"I am so tired of hearing about everything affecting 'Main Street.' I know that with the 'Wall Street' collapse, the comparison is convenient, but really, let's find another way to talk about everyman or the middle class, or even, heaven forbid, 'Joe the Plumber.'" wrote Stacey from Knoxville, Tenn. She provided only a first name in her bid to eradicate — or at least separate — Wall Street" and "Main Street."

Although this year's sluggish economy and record rise in gas prices may have kept people closer to home, the word coined for it, "staycation," is "idiotic and rootless," says Michele Mooney of Los Angeles.

An emoticon made the list for the first time. The strings of characters used in e-mails and text-messaging commonly represent a face — like ;-) or :-0 — but the school singled out an emoticon heart, formed with a "less than" symbol and the number 3.

"Monkey" was on the list because of what some see as its rampant use as a suffix. "Especially on the Internet, many people seem to think they can make any boring name sound more attractive just by adding the word 'monkey' to it," wrote Rogier Landman of Sommerville, Mass.

The school's annual quest to throw lexicon logs on the fire always gets some end-of-the-year attention for the school in Sault Ste. Marie, the last stop before Michigan's northern border crossing with Canada. But the list is more about letting off steam and offering laughs than performing any verbal vanishing act.

"We get several nominations for the same word or phrase, and we still get nominations for words and phrases that have been on previous years' lists," said university spokesman Tom Pink.

"'At this point in time' was on the first list in 1976 and it continues to be nominated every year. People still hate it."

Think these gendarmes of jargon should "get a life"? Watch it, kiddo. That phrase was banished in 1997.

___

On the Net:

Lake Superior State University's banished words: http://www.lssu.edu/banished

Article from http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081230/ap_on_re_us/banned_words;_ylt=ApycA4Qw_lxT5ERaIB_Z2dAazJV4

Apostrophes

Apostrophes are used to show possession (never plurals! I always make my students recite "I will not use an apostrophe to make things plural!"), but sometimes remembering the right way to use apostrophes can be confusing. Eddie wrote to us asking how to help explain to his 8 year old son how to use the apostrophes that appear in a few words on his son's spelling list. Excellent question!

To show ownership with a singular noun, add an apostrophe and then an "s"

e.g. My sister's hat is pretty. (Without the apostrophe, we would say "The hat of my sister is pretty.")

To show ownership with a plural noun, put the apostrophe after the "s" that is already there.

e.g. My two sisters' hats are very pretty. ( Without the apostrophe, we would say "The hats that belong to my two sisters are pretty.")

When the plural word does not have an "s" ending, just add the apostrophe and the "s" like you would with a singular word.

e.g. The children's hats were very pretty. (Without the apostrophe, we would say "The hats of the children were very pretty.")

Finally, if you have a singular name that ends in an "s" you still need a second "s" after the apostrophe.

e.g. Chris's hat was not pretty. (Without the apostrophe, "The hat that belongs to Chris is not pretty.")

Exception: Famous historical/religious figures sometimes get away without the second "s"

e.g. Jesus' deeds were described in the homily this week. (Without the apostrophe, "The deeds of Jesus were described in the homily this week.")

If your son has difficulty determining whether the sentence wants a plural word (no apostrophe) or a possessive word (apostrophe), have him try the "of" test. If you can insert "of" in the sentence, like I have done with some of the examples above, then you want an apostrophe. If you cannot, then the word is just plural, and there is no apostrophe needed.

And, of course, apostrophes are used to make contractions, like "I'm," "don't," and "can't."

Pop quiz for all you smarties out there: Why doesn't the possessive form of "its" take an apostrophe?
Post your response in the comments section!

History Versus Grammar

Perhaps one can go too far on the vigilante grammar path....

Typo Vigilantes Banned from National Parks

Too Quiet?

So why have the Syntax Sisters gone quiet? We are quiet because we are waiting to hear from you!

We need your questions! Email us at syntaxsisters@yahoo.com and then watch for a response!

Out of fashion? We think not.

For all of you out there who think anti-split infinitive types like us are old fashioned, have a look at this article from The Washington Post and see if you change your mind:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/19/AR2008061902920.html

(Even if you don't change your mind, you're still wrong.)

A little punctuation game we like to play...

I can remember being in middle school sitting around the dinner table while my high school aged sister and her future husband debated a question raised by my father: what are the eleven punctuation marks? The debate has continued for many many years, and occasionally one of us will get a phone call from our father with that same question: What are the eleven punctuation marks?

Test yourself. What are they? Post responses in the comments section...that's where my answer is going.

PS No cheating and looking at the keyboard; figure it out first!

A Kindred Spirit

The syntax sisters might be in love (don't tell our husbands)!

This man travels the country with a sign-correcting kit, fixing spelling and apostrophes. Check out this news clip of "The Typo Tour":

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?cl=7301819

Can I Get a Vowel? Gray v. Grey

Mary and her colleagues at the Hobart and William Smith Admissions office in Geneva, NY, (my alma mater!) emailed to ask us about the spelling of the word "gray."

"My colleague and I were wondering why some folks spell gray with an "a" and some spell it with an "e" - grey? I looked it up on dictionary.com and it looks like it is interchangeable? Who is correct?"

This is a great question. I called Daniele for confirmation and clarification on the answer:

It turns out that "gray" with an "a" is the usual American spelling of the word. In fact, when I spell-checked my return email to Mary, the software yelled at me for "grey" with an "e." The origin of the "e" verision is British; "grey" is the commonly accepted British spelling.

In every dictionary I've checked, however, it seems as though either spelling is acceptable.

So, I guess the spelling really comes down to a matter of patriotism: "a" for America!

Its versus It's

So I'll admit it: I sent an email yesterday and I used the wrong "its." I was thoroughly embarrassed when I realized my mistake, and so I decided to put up a post explaining the difference for all of us and to encourage me to proofread more carefully next time!

So what is the difference? Let's start with the basics:

it's: With an apostrophe, it is a contraction, either "it is" or "it has."
e.g.: It's too bad I didn't proofread that email!

its: Without an apostrophe, it is a possessive pronoun, that is, a word that replaces a noun and shows ownership.
e.g.: Too bad email can't proofread its own text.

Still having trouble? The easiest way to figure it out is to try substituting in "it is" each time you go to use "its." If "it is" works, then you want the apostrophe. If "it is" doesn't fit, then you don't want the apostrophe.

e.g. It's (it is) a good thing I will proofread this post; it would be bad if the post had its (it is? doesn't work) content wrong!

National Grammar Day?!

We missed it! But check out this website:

http://nationalgrammarday.com/

With any luck, our little, humble blog will be added to their list soon!

Plagiarism

With all of the recent discussion of plagiarism in politics, online media, and mass publication, we thought it might be useful to remind everyone of what, exactly, plagiarism is:

The Oxford English Dictionary Online defines plagiarism as, "The action or practice of taking someone else's work, idea, etc., and passing it off as one's own; literary theft."

This means that when you write, you must give credit if you borrow ideas or language from someone else. What counts in this? Anything that isn't original to you, or anything that isn't common knowledge. For instance, when we give grammar rules on the side bar, you'll notice we don't cite a source. That is because these rules are (or should be!) common knowledge. However, when we relate a funny story from the news, we always offer the link to the original and the source (website, author as available), because the ideas and the language are not our own.

Notice that plagiarism includes both ideas and exact language. You can't just change the words around and call it your own; you must still give credit to the original author.

What does that mean for the current scandals? Are borrowed speech lines plagiarism? What about using sections of another's work in a publication? And how do the rules vary when we move from the printed media to the internet?

The answer is, it's murky. Any time one borrows, one should give credit to the original author. The current practices in world of blogging and online writing have certainly loosened that rule, however. I know I can at least speak for me and probably for my sister when I say that that doesn't matter, and writing is writing, no matter what the medium. Plagiarism in any form is stealing. (Amen, sister, says Daniele!)

Unfortunately, we see plagiarism all around us. In student papers, it often comes in the form of facts and information lifted from websites. On college campuses, we have witnessed plagiarism scandals involving professors and even college presidents. And in the wider world, every once in a while we see a story about a book that has plagiarized passages, or this week, a White House adviser who plagiarized in newspaper columns.

It is sad. And it is hard, as a teacher, to make students understand the right thing to do, especially when the adults around them are cheating too.

(Here's a link to a PowerPoint presentation Daniele did on plagiarism for faculty at Durham Technical Community College in 2003. As citation rules change frequently, some of the specific details may have changed, but the bulk remains consistent: http://courses.durhamtech.edu/eng041/internetplagiarism_files/frame.htm)

Anyone have any thoughts on this one?

December 20, 2007

All I want for Christmas is...
Rep. Paul Hodes's camp sent out an email from his wife Peggo, which details what her congressman hubby wants for Christmas (i.e. money in which to be re-elected). "I caught a peak of his holiday wish list," it reads.
And aside from wanting Eric Clapton's guitar, Hodes also apparently wants: "Good jobs, health care and quality educaiton for the 2nd District."
Oh the irony of wanting quality education.

By Anne Schroeder Mullins 10:58 AM