to wonder why people have stopped using the word 'me'?

[maybenow]

I am dying a little bit inside everytime somebody writing on here or speaking on tv or even in business emails says 'she came over to talk to myself and my partner' or 'please email myself' or soooo many other examples.

What has become wrong with the word 'me'? Why does it seem that the whole world is slowly moving over to using myself instead of me?

I am not usually very pedantic about language, it evolves, fair enough, and my own spelling and grammar can be dodgy when typing quickly in an informal situation but this one for some reason really gets me - myself is longer to write than me!

I am a sad Alot.

(But, yes, I totally agree, ouch!)

Not forgetting subject complements...

For example, people incorrectly saying "It is me" instead of "It is I".

That's if you wish to get really pedantic.

i hate it so much that i'd rather have people say 'me and betty are going shopping' than have to listen to 'betty and myself are going shopping'.

YANBU at all, it drives me potty.

It's when they start on with 'yourself' and try to drag you into the horrible mess that I get all twitchy.

'Which muppet on Team Spartacus was in charge of the celebrity-bothering, then?'
'That'd be myself, Lord Sugar, after I was given the PM role by yourself last week.'

This drives myself absolutely mad.

You're quite right, OP. People who do this should be shot.

What about my pet hate - brace yourselves...
"For free". You can have it "free" FGS. Arrggghhhh. I remember Radio Five running a promo campaign for free cinema previews called "First and For Free" and I used to run around the flat snarling with rage.

"Betty and I are going shopping"
"Betty and I are going shopping"
"Betty and I are going shopping"
"Betty and I are going shopping"
"Betty and I are going shopping"
"Betty and I are going shopping"
"Betty and I are going shopping"
"Betty and I are going shopping"
"Betty and I are going shopping"
"Betty and I are going shopping"
"Betty and I are going shopping"
"Betty and I are going shopping"
"Betty and I are going shopping"

Repeat after me until it penetrates.

Oh yes, leave Betty at home (so does 'me go shopping,?)

I'm really amused that someone thought 'myself' sounded more refined. I always think it sounds ill-educated, since it's rarely used correctly and I so assume the person doesn't know how to speak properly. It's often accompanied by phrases such as 'we was going', another of my personal favourites.

If anyone is confused about when to use 'I' and when to use 'me', just think of how you would say it if you were just talking about yourself.

For instance:
'Johnny and I are going to the play centre', NOT 'Johnny and me', because if you were just talking about yourself you'd say 'I am going to the play centre', not 'Me am going to the play centre'.

I'm actually struggling to think of a single instance where 'me' is not appropriate and 'myself' is, apart from 'I'm all by myself'.

I had an absolutely vile project leader who insisted that I use an e-mail template she had prepared. It said, "Please send all feedback to myself." She went ballistic when I changed it, but there was no way I was sending that out with my name on it.

Pat a cake
Pat a cake
Bakers man
Bake me a cake as fast as you can
Pat it and prick it and mark it with B
And put it in the oven for baby and me!

I used to do that with one of my bosses, ModernToss! He got so insistent that I brought in the Oxford Guide to English Grammar and showed him he was wrong.

Mixing "my behalf" with "my part" annoys me too.

My ex boss uses 'facilitate' when just 'do' would suffice.

'Oh, iklboo will facilitate that for you'. Grrr

Mind you, she did once send a message round about not sending 'insecure emails'.

Reflexive pronouns are used to refer back to the subject.

ie 'I hurt myself', 'he blamed himself', 'they took it upon themselves' etc

And another thing, I work with someone. He's an educated professional with a degree and everything, and yet he says, 'was you'.

Just aaargh.

Am I allowed to answer the OP with "They do it because they're dicks"?

While we're on the subject of estate agent speak, can I bring to the mix police man speak? I'm used to them using male instead of man, but last week saw "I sighted". FFS!

It is actually a part of Hiberno-English and I fail to see how using a dialect makes some a dick or stupid.
While it is not something I use when writing as I write in standard English, it is certainly something I use when speaking informally and particularly when at home and I am neither trying to make myself posh nor ill-educated.

really tarantula? what is 'hiberno-english'? (off to google...)

back after reading the wikipedia entry on hiberno-english which is pretty comprehensive.. it doesn't mention 'myself' and 'yourself' but now i think about it i can remember hearing it being used by irish people, but i'm not sure if it's used in quite the same way that's now become so common across the UK.

i have no issue with irish or any other dialect, i speak with some scottish words and constructions.

BUT.... why has the whole of the UK picked this up in isolation without any other irish dialect? It's like me suddenly picking up one cockney or essex phrase and using it in isolation. A bit like 'innit' but 'innit' was used very informally whereas 'myself' when it should be 'me' is used in very formal situations (e.g. work emails, train announcements etc).

Just wondering how you make yourself ill-educated

I once read a post on AIBU where 'I ate myself'

You all know that there is a section on MN for these rants, right? Come on over dear friends to pedants corner

I hate this as well! I've bored my poor work colleague senseless about this and have made him a bit paranoid about his writing style. I think it's so Hyacinth Bucket

My DH has started saying myself and yourself. It really winds myself up. I wish himself would stop and try to correct but to no avail. What would yourselves suggest?