Eeugh

OK, I believe that language evolves according to the needs of users rather than the petty rules of purists. And we all draw lines about acceptable new usages in different, subjective, often arbitrary ways. I certainly don’t mind the formation of new verbs from nouns. Mostly. But…

Guardian Unlimited headline on the science page:

Government appoints maths ‘tsar’
The government has tasked Professor Celia Hoyles with turning around years of decline in the subject.

Eeugh. Eeugh. Eeugh.

Posted by Sharon on 19 September 2004 at 12:49 pm in General

2 comments on “Eeugh”

  1. Natalie says:

    Thanks!
    It is nice to know that it is not only we “anal sub-editors” (a tag often applied by complaining writers) who get upset about such things!
    Natalie

    21st September 2004 at 1:11 am
  2. Sharon says:

    I’m on the whole relaxed about these things (it all depends on the context. I write differently in formal academic publication mode than I do here, unsurprisingly enough. If I ever wrote for a newspaper it’d be probably be different again.) Language evolves through use (moreover in English - with its huge vocabulary - it’s not enough to whine, ‘but we’ve already got a word for that’), and you can’t expect to like every new addition… But sometimes enough is enough. That one is horrible management-consultant-speak that has no place in a serious newspaper.

    21st September 2004 at 10:15 am