As a confirmed grammar freak, I despair at the way the Queen's English is abused in internet communication. Running a mail order business, as I do, I receive email all day long. It's dismaying how adults, confronted with a computer keyboard, revert to 4th-grade English. Clumsy spelling, no punctuation, lazy substitutions of numbers or abbreviations for words and phrases. And worst of all, the mutilation of the possessive form of the word "it." And every evening, "Star Trek" intones a split infinitive: "To Boldly Go Where No Man Has Gone Before." It should, of course, read: "To Go Boldy Where No Man Has Gone Before." End of rant. We won't get into whether it should read, "To Go Boldy Where No Person (of any known gender, race, or sexual proclivity) Has Gone Before. On a less pedantic subject, refitting of Chimpanzee the Montgomery 15 is moving apace. I have: 1. Finished rerigging the spars and deck, fitted the new sails and roller furling, and added rigging for the spinnaker. 2. Compounded and waxed the entire hull and deck. (It looks new!) 3. Installed a 12V system with running lights, cabin lights, and a solar panel atop the companionway slide. 4. Removed the (fiberglass) centerboard for refairing and replacement of pendant. (I think "pennant" is a sailor's contraction of "pendant," though I'm not sure.) 5. Filled and faired the keel. 6. Restored the teak trim to as-new condition. I would just oil the teak, but I'm teaching a seminar on marine varnishing tomorrow and Sunday, so I'll have the students varnish the teak, drop boards, rudder, and other bits for me. (Heh heh. Nothing like getting people to PAY to work on your own boat. It's one up on old Tom Sawyer.) Varnished teak is hard to keep up, but hopefully I'll be having the varnishing class once or twice a year, so the class can refinish it for me. The vague hope is to launch Chimpanzee for a maiden overnight cruise next weekend. Cheers, John Chesapeake Light Craft The Best Boats You Can Build http://www.clcboats.com ----- Original Message ----- From: Morris, Giles To: 'montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com' Sent: Friday, March 22, 2002 11:06 AM Subject: RE: M_Boats: grammar and other stuff
It appears that any one of us could have trouble with grammar
Ain't that the truth! It's fascinating (to me, at least) how the language has changed over time. And how parts of what we consider grammar have little reason for existing, while others are but remnants of the older versions of the language. Somebody mentioned yesterday, I think, that Lloyds want to stop referring to vessel as "she" -- which I suspect is one of the last vestiges of grammatical gender in English. Or a preposition being a bad thing to end a sentence with? Why? (Hint: There's no good reason). This language stuff is fun! Giles Morris Arlington VA Vancouver 25 "Dolphin" Montgomery 15 "Umiaq" Sundry small craft Mark