Subj : And/From...  1.
To   : Roy Witt
From : Ardith Hinton
Date : Fri Mar 02 2018 18:00:57

Hi, Roy!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

AH>  When you & I went to school it was frowned upon to begin
AH>  a sentence with a co-ordinating conjunction such as "and"
AH>  or "but" although the writers of magazine ads did.

RW>  It was noted in my 9th grade English class that newspapers
RW>  were the foremost offender of conjunction syndrome in their
RW>  reporting.


            Heh.  I used newspaper articles as examples of biased reporting in 
my English classes... placing two different accounts of the same event side by 
side.  As for the grammar in newspaper articles, which I didn't really go into 
because I'd found so many wonderful examples elsewhere, it seems to be getting 
worse.  When I finish my second installment here you'll see what I mean.  :-))



AH>  It was frowned upon to say "It's me" although other kids
AH>  our own age did.  It was frowned upon to say "Where are
AH>  you from?" although you may have recognized it as a pickup
AH>  line at the local tavern shortly thereafter.

RW>  I remember those days.


            I figured you would.  I suspect you may also remember that certain 
older textbooks... and older teachers... tended to say things like "that dress 
looks well on you".  Fortunately for me, I had an English teacher in grade ten 
who (although she was in her mid-fifties) was able to explain linking verbs to 
my satisfaction.  I'm not sure whether times had changed or whether some folks 
were overcorrecting.  But I'm grateful to "Miss Langwidge" for inspiring me to 
learn about grammar, which until then seemed rather boring to me.  The problem 
was that I have a knack for it... i.e. as far as English is concerned.  I take 
no personal credit for that.  We all have our talents & I had more opportunity 
than others, growing up as I did in an ex-Brit setting close to the US border. 
For the first time somebody introduced questions I couldn't easily answer.  If 
it takes me awhile to respond to questions in this echo, I'm probably enjoying 
myself verifying that a number of acknowledged experts see things my way.  ;-)



AH>  Chances are these students knew how to speak colloquial
AH>  English before entering school, however, and it was the
AH>  teacher's duty to drag them kicking & screaming to the
AH>  next level by modelling formal usage.  That was the
AH>  situation in Canada, at any rate... as seen from the
AH>  other side of the desk later.  ;-)

RW>  That was also the case in the states, although it has
RW>  gone the way of the dodo bird in more recent times.


            Yes.  But as I often say (in effect) to the Russians here, knowing 
how to wear a suit & tie comes in handy at times.  While it's nice to know you 
can get away with jeans & a t-shirt if the situation calls for them, it's also 
nice to know you have a choice.  AFAIC dropping back to a less formal level is 
easier than going the other way... particularly if you're not used to it.  :-)



RW>  I also got the reprimand from my father when I began to
RW>  use what he termed as "Chicagoisms" suchas dis, dat and
RW>  many other words.


            In our neighbourhood, other folks had "dinner" at 6:00 PM while we 
had "supper" at 5:00 PM.  My parents came from Someplace Else.  (I am who I am
.... take it or leave it!  I gather you're the sort of person who can relate to 
what I'm trying to say).  I learned to talk one way at school & another way at 
home.  I didn't like it when I had to go home before everybody else did & they 
weren't available for some time after I had finished eating.  OTOH, when I was 
expected to teach PYGMALION/MY FAIR LADY I found it right up my alley....  :-)



RW>  Cool. I'm always up for another session of English 101.


            Glad to hear it!  You ask, I'll answer... or at least try to.  :-)



RW>  (I hope the Russians know what 'cool' means in American
RW>  colloquial English)


            The younger ones certainly do... and I think the others will catch 
on quickly, if they haven't already.  With 300,000,000+ people & a flourishing 
trade in books, movies, etc. the US takes up a lot of bandwidth nowadays.  :-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
 * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)

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