It's "the worsT", not "the worse"

You have used one of the ones that gets to me in this post. So many people using cringe when they mean cringeworthy or cringey.

It has become common to use cringe as an adjective online to add brevity and punchlines. Language evolves quickly online and I’m embracing that.
It is very different to saying ‘apart’ instead of ‘a part’ in a written message sent out to parents.

It’s not regional and I would certainly use it in general conversation. I would expect whoever I was conversing with to either understand it or make an effort to find out what it means.

There was an incident not so long ago where an angry mob gathered outside the house of a paediatrician, forcing her from her home, thinking her to be a paedophile. This is where such ignorance and laziness gets us.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/vigilante-mob-attacks-home-of-paediatrician-710864.html

Just a thought...

I'm a pedant when it comes to official use of language and professional people's use of language.

But of course I understand that some people haven't had the benefit of a good education, or don't come from families where reading and discussion was encouraged. However, I feel very strongly about the importance of literacy for everyone. To deprive people of language and to tell them it doesn't matter is the opposite of empowering.

Sometimes - rarely - on MN there's an Original Post which is illiterate: no sentence breaks, no paras, spelling and grammar all over the place etc. These posts are hard to understand and pps often ask for clarification. The ones I've seen have been from an OP who is clearly in need of help and advice - they tend not to be the lighthearted, frivolous threads. It always strikes me how hard life can be for people who don't have a command of English for one reason or another.

That's why I feel so strongly about language - it's a vital tool and not just for poets and academics. You might not be into creative writing, but everyone needs to leave school feeling confident that they can make themselves clear in both speech and writing - it's not a trivial matter.

You can argue all you like but, whether you use it or not, niggardly is a word that has fallen out of common use. I personally don't think the language would be worse off if we let go of that one particular word. You are welcome to disagree (and you obviously do).

I don't think it compares to "paediatrician" which is in common use and isn't so easily replaced.

Because they don't read.

You do understand that by definition, 50 percent of people are in the lower half of the intelligence curve, right?

I think I would describe it as dealing in effective reality rather than delusional ideology.

One I see a lot on here is 'step foot' instead of 'set foot'.

"I'll never step foot in their house again!"

Does is matter? I don't know, in the grand scheme of things, but it irritates the hell out of me, like a piece of grit in my shoe!

I've done a lot of public speaking and always tailor my material to the audience. But that doesn't mean I compromise on quality of language - that would be unbelievably patronising.

I wouldn't assume a Cockney accent and start doing glottal stops to ingratiate myself with an audience - simply because I'd made all kinds of assumptions about them! And before you sneer at this - I've seen it done. Actually, Tony Blair was a big offender in this way - he was a public schoolboy who felt he needed to talk down to the masses. I don't think 'the masses' like that, or are fooled by it!

I’m not sure what that statistic implies. Some people may not be able to master a foreign language but most people can learn to use their mother-tongue effectively if emphasis is placed on this in the education system.

We may have a greater or lesser facility with English but devaluing and impoverishing the language itself is not the answer. Better initiatives to raise standards of literacy is the e way to go. I feel really strongly that to patronise and deny people from educationally-deprived backgrounds robs them of power and dignity.

There’s a shop in a village near me which has etched on its window that they sell “ Jams and preservatives “ . I actually make myself a bit crazy at times thinking about this as I begin to doubt myself- surely the sign writer who did it must’ve known it was wrong !

Blair is not the only politician (or anyone else in the public eye) who’s tried to sound un-posh by dropping Ts, and sometimes also Gs at the end of -ing words, in the hope of endearing himself to the plebs.

I’m not sure what that statistic implies. Some people may not be able to master a foreign language but most people can learn to use their mother-tongue effectively if emphasis is placed on this in the education system.

We may have a greater or lesser facility with English but devaluing and impoverishing the language itself is not the answer. Better initiatives to raise standards of literacy is the e way to go. I feel really strongly that to patronise and deny people from educationally-deprived backgrounds robs them of power and dignity.

Why, in the name of God, would anyone object to “paediatrician”? Or niggardly, for that matter?

This is just pandering to ignorance. Why should a rich, subtle and expressive language be impoverished just to suit its least skilled users?

Have we lost our minds?

I was once at an event - quite a posh one - where the menu had 'profiter rolls' as a dessert. I mean - if you're a professional caterer, surely you know how to spell the name of popular dishes, and if you don't....you check.

Getting another person to check always helps too! When I'm writing anything for public consumption I always ask someone to read it through. You can spot other people's mistakes much more easily.

Personally I have a real issue with anyone telling children or young people that these things don’t matter any more - only finicking old pedants give a toss.
Many people certainly DO care, and quite apart from anything else, being unable to write clear, largely correct, basic English may well make it harder for them to find jobs.