Annoying Speech

Techniques used by authors, they certainly are a reflection on where we are or where we are going or just an look into a warped mind. What comes to mind is the halting two or three word sentence structure used in “A million Little Pieces” (the addiction fictional/biography that Oprah had so much trouble with,author escapes me(Frey comes to mind) but I will go find the name).

It was a book reviewers comments about this writing style that made me pick this one up. I just knew that Holden Caulfield was in on this in some way. Never has a fictional person had so much influence on a generation or two, and not always good as we have seen.

Thank you for that essay, MadMichael!
I have already forwarded it to quite a few folks on my e-mail list.

However, Mr. Whelton has also committed a fairly frequent modern language faux pas.
I refer to his use of the term “podium”, in place of the correct term, “lectern”.
Nowadays, it seems that…perhaps…one person in one hundred knows the difference between these two words!

A podium is a small stand or platform on which someone might stand in order to give a speech or to conduct an orchestra. This comes from the Latin root word, “pod”, which refers to feet. (As in the word Podiatrist, a doctor who deals with the feet.)

A Lectern is the piece of furniture behind which someone stands when giving a speech. His/her speech notes and microphone are usually placed on the lectern.

So many people confuse the two terms nowadays that apparently dictionary publishers have given up the good fight, and have merged the definition of “lectern” into that of “podium”!

If you take a look at the Merriam-Webster New Collegiate Dictionary of the mid-'60s, you will see the correct definition of podium, without any reference to the furniture behind which someone stands when giving a speech. However, if you consult dictionaries published in the last few decades, you will find that “podium” now apparently means a piece of furniture behind which you stand when giving a speech.

On a few occasions, I have “called” people on this error in their writing or their speech, and upon reflection, they have all agreed that a podium is indeed a small platform on which to stand, whereas a lectern is a piece of furniture behind which you stand when making a speech. When they gave some actual thought to what they were saying, these people have realized that they have been committing a verbal faux pas for many, many years.

Like…you know?

Like, totally.

MadMichael,

That’s a 5-Star post and should be compulsory reading at the beginning of every English 101 course. What a shame our ability to form smooth coherent sentences is a lost art.

I’m probably in the minority but I really enjoy regional dialects and variations in inflection. Then again, I’m somebody with an incredibly deep and very monotone voice, with very limited inflections. Babies love listening to me speak but adults tend to be put to sleep.

Word usage and the style of language is just one of those things that changes over time. There’s no fighting it. The words jerk, geek, and even hacker have entirely different meanings than when I was a kid and I’m not even that old. Heck, people don’t even double space after periods or use semi-colons anymore.

So many people confuse the two terms nowadays that apparently dictionary publishers have given up the good fight, and have merged the definition of “lectern” into that of “podium”!

Isn’t that how language works? Meanings of words morph as common usage changes. To do otherwise would be truly awful (no, I don’t mean “full of awe.”)

Many (most?) “non-standard” English usages actually correct liabilities in the language. Consider:

  1. “ain’t” came about because the “proper” contraction of “am not” (“amn’t”) is aesthetically atrocious.
  2. “Y’all, youse, yinz, (etc)” is an attempt to correct a liability of the English language–lack of a definifte singular/plural “you.” (“You” used to be plural, and “thou” singular, but we lost that along the way, and gained a linguistic liability.)

Every so often, an “uber-conservative” linguist pops up, trying to preserve the vestigal origins of a word (particularly so when the origin is from Latin vs. a Germanic language.) Thus, we get “the data are…” and similar nonsense.

If you are such a conservative, VDCdriver, do me a favor and NEVER call me a “gentleman”…I work for a living, TYVM.

What I like about the internet is picking up slang terms from English speakers 'round the globe, and using them in my speech here in the “yew ess of ay.” (You can cuss to your heart’s content, and it seems almost respectable if done in a British sort of way.)

I am conservative mainly in regard to the preservation of our language, and as regards finances. In virtually every other respect, I am anything but conservative.

In any event, you should have no fear about your last concern.
I promise that I will not refer to you as a “gentleman”.