Unforgettable Christmases

Trailer for Brilliant, Essential Language Reference

 

Ponderings over Styrofoam

 

Our nation now suffers a shortage of Styrofoam. The lack of sufficient amounts of Styrofoam is serious. So far, we haven’t found a solution to the problem. One manifestation of the predicament is the lack of 44 ounce drink cups. The Pandemic has caused people to buy to-go food. Also, we don’t have enough employees to wash dishes. With the stalling down of imports, restaurants cannot purchase cups with brand imprints from other countries. Suppliers within the United States have not been able to fill the orders for Styrofoam cups. Styrofoam shortage impacts restaurants nationwide (msn.com)

The trend in restaurants is to serve beverages in glass. Convenience stores have developed campaigns to encourage customers to bring their own containers. 

 My new interactive language reference book, Brilliant, https://www.amazon.com/Brilliant-Essential-Mary-Lou-Cheatham/dp/1888141980 contains a brief but valuable reference to the word Styrofoam. The “Quick Pronunciation Guide” on page 123 shows how some folks mispronounce the word and how it should be pronounced. The technique of saying the word correctly involves pronouncing each of the three syllables with some emphasis. Recognized authorities scoop over the middle syllable, but I don’t because some dear ones in the lower half of my beloved native state of Mississippi leave out the middle syllable entirely and thus make it a two-syllable word—STY FOAM.

I was visiting my sister, who lived in Laurel, MS. “Mary,” she said, “would you please bring in the styfoam [sic] cooler from the front doorsteps. I traveled southward toward the Gulf Coast and visited a friend who brought me a glass of Coke in a styfoam [sic] cup.

During our shortage of Styrofoam, I feel a compulsion to give the word some much needed attention. Besides observing the way to pronounce the word, we need to observe that it starts with a capital letter. Why?

Confusion over what Styrofoam is explains the capitalization of the S. Styrofoam as a trade-marked brand was patented in 1944. A product used in construction, it is often called Blue Board. <Styrofoam - Wikipedia>   Sometimes Styrofoam manifests itself as insulation panels.

What we usually call Styrofoam is a foamed lightweight, white, polystyrene we use for food packaging in fast restaurants. While some of us worry about the disappearing Styrofoam cups, others rejoice about the decline of the cup supply.

“Many environmental groups want to abolish foam entirely because if it ends up as litter, it can break down easily into small pieces, harming fish and animals that ingest it. For humans, plastic fibers have been found in everything from drinking water to table salt, though the long-term health consequences are still being studied.”Your Foam Coffee Cup Is Fighting for Its Life - The New York Times (nytimes.com) 

Brilliant, an Essential Language Reference Worth Crowing About

 Brilliant:Essential Language Reference is now available. It is a handy guide useful to look up words and expressions that speakers and writers often use but may not be sure about. The arrangement is alphabetical with items starting with each letter of the alphabet. 

It's here in time for Christmas gifts. If you are an employer or company manager, you will want to give a copy to every employee you supervise. It's helpful to have employees speak standard English, and this book contains some of the most glaring errors we hear often. 

You can order the Kindle version. Also it is available as a paperback or hardcover book. It is interactive with practice drills, but it is not a textbook. Some of the entries will make you chuckle. 

Two Fascinating Articles about Our Planet

 

Asteroid 3 Times Taller than Niagara Falls to Zip Past Earth on 1st Day of Fall

This article contains some exciting facts about an asteroid passing by the earth today. 

Did you know that  meteorological and astronomical fall start on 2 different dates? As a child, I felt confused about the two different times the seasons changed. Here's an article to clarify that fact.

We didn’t invent icon and iconic.

 

Ancient Words with New Meanings

Isn’t it amazing how the word iconic, which has been in our English language since 1650, is suddenly on the tip of everybody’s tongue in 2021? Until recently the word has been dormant. There are times when some folks on television try to be sincere and profound by saying iconic frequently, but they come across as comical. 

Iconic is a popular word. For example, antique sportscars have iconic designs, which are called rolling sculpture. Collectors preserve them as prototypes for future cars.

The new phrase, most iconic whatever of the century, has advanced swiftly to a prominent place on the list of things to say if we want to show that something is excellent, noteworthy, and popular. We now have the most iconic photos, movies, songs, musicians, actors, and images of the 20^th  or 21^st century.

Within the last few decades, the word icon has soared to the top of the popularity pile. The geeks have espoused the word and given it the meaning of a little screen picture that represents an app. Another modern use is a reference to someone people idolize, such as Elvis Presley or Marilyn Monroe.

Traditionally, the term icon has meant something entirely different. It was the visible representation of someone sacred or perhaps of a story from the Bible. Artists painted icons on wood, metal, cloth, or some other material. First aids to worship, they became sacred objects. The Eastern Orthodox Church still makes frequent use of icons.

An iconoclast is someone who destroys icons. Since the days of Moses and the Ten Commandments, the use of any graven image involving the worship of God has been forbidden. In the early Christian church, because most people could not read or write, icons were important for the ignorant peasants to learn about the Bible. In the eighth century, conflicts between powerful forces began over whether to break up the icons. In modern times, iconoclasts are people who seek to destroy any beliefs they dislike.

Just saying—is there a possibility that the word iconoclast could find some place in the e-jargon?

 

 

 

Where At

 

 Lately, it has been impossible to go through a day without hearing some one use at with where. Some of us, especially seniors, have a problem with this misuse of language. No matter how many times we hear it, we still cringe every time somebody says, "Where is it at?" 

As speakers of English, which is a stress rhythm language, we develop a sense of rhythm with emphasis on certain words or syllables within sentences. Here are two examples.

Example A: Where is it AT?

Example B: Where IS it?

The first with its heavy emphasis on at dominates most daily conversations, but my teachers told me not to use at with where. At is a preposition and it needs a noun or pronoun as an object. Ending a sentence with at is not incorrect, but my teachers considered it uncouth.

Since newscasters, scholars, and other educated people use Example A without skipping a beat in their presentations and daily conversations, it’s time to research the situation.

Some members of a language forum concluded that Example A is improper. Both at and where convey the sense of location; therefore, using both words is redundant. In another forum, members expressed the opinion that we are dumbing down.

A third forum presents the expression where at and says it is a substandard expression.

We are going to the party.

Where at?

The only case I can imagine for using at is the effort of the speaker to give the expression rhythm. Where doesn’t need at to ask the question.

Here’s an expression that drives me mad:

Where is it located at?

 

Carryout

 

Say What?

 

My husband and I  bought some heavy items, which the clerk packed inside a box. By the end of her shift, she must have been exhausted from talking to people, but she politely smiled at us and said, “Y’ant a carryout?” (Contraction of you and want, pronounced yahnt.)

Neither of us knew what she was talking about. Finally, after she repeated her sentence, my husband told her no.

I told a family member about this conversation. He asked me, “What should she have said?”

I told him, “She could have said, ‘Do you want help carrying this out?’ ”

He laughed. “Why use seven words when you can say it in three?”

Research reveals that there is a hillbilly slang word, y’ant, which is not in standard dictionaries yet. It is usually follow by to, as in y’ant to, meaning do you want to.

Carry out or take out can mean the act of taking something out of a store or restaurant, but carry out does not usually refer to a person.

The good news is that if we return to that store and go to that checker’s register, we’ll know what she means. Now you know.

Gerrymander

 

What are the news commentators talking about?

Redistricting occurs constantly. Since the population densities of regions vary, legislative bodies have reasons to redistrict. As long as the United States has political parties and as long as people move, gerrymandering, which is the process of shifting boundaries not for the convenience of the citizens but to maximize the strength of whichever political party can get away with it.

In the early 1800’s Eldridge Gerry, the governor of Massachusetts, presided over a redistricting that made the electoral lines on the state’s map look silly. An opponent looked at the map and said a district looked like a salamander.

“No,” someone else said. “It’s a gerrymander.” 

Gerrymander can be used as a noun, adjective, or verb.

This Here and That There

 

Substandard Usage

When I was in high school, a cute boy was in my geometry class, but he couldn’t talk without saying this here or that there. Soon I wondered why I had found him attractive. His language created a response like a bad smell would have.

This means something nearby. To add here creates a redundant expression.

That refers to something more remotely located. That there also sounds redundant.

Omit here and there:

We took this here dog running in that there field.

Let me sharpen this here pencil so I can work that there problem.

It would be acceptable to use this or here, but don’t use both unless you are having trouble making a point.

Kathy McKinsey: I want to be Open About My Mental Illness

Kathy McKinsey: I want to be Open About My Mental Illness: When I was a young Christian, I was convinced my depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder were due to my own sin. I refused any medical ...

Perseid Annual Meteor Shower

 How To See Perseid Meteor Shower 2021 | AccuWeather

The Perseid (PUR see eed) Meteor Shower occurs annually around August 11. Astronomers consider the Perseid among the best known and most reliable showers. The name comes from the constellation Perseus (PUR see us) because the ancients believed the meteors came from a point in Perseus.

In its revolution around the sun, the earth passes through the garbage of space, which lights up in meteors. Children call these burning particles shooting stars. In real time, as I contemplate the Perseid Meteor Shower with you to read at some future time, it is happening. The scheduled dates are July 17, 2021, through August 24, 2021. Space scientists say the biggest fireworks show of meteors will be tonight, August 11-12. The meteors, which we perceive as shooting stars, are pieces of debris left behind by a huge comet. The meteors fly through space at 133,000 miles per hour and burst 60 miles from the earth. (Based on “Watch the Perseids Meteor Shower Peak in Night Skies,” by Nicholas St. Fleur, New York Times, August 11, 2021)

The parent body of the Perseid Meteor Shower is the Comet Swift-Tuttle, named after two men, Swift and Tuttle, who saw it independently of one another in July 1862. The comet appeared in 1992, when it was visible with binoculars. In 2126, it will be a bright comet [about seventeen miles wide] visible to naked eyes when it passes 14.2 million miles from Earth.

Comet Swift-Tuttle has been described as the “single most dangerous object known to humanity.” Although it comes close to the earth and our moon, scientists have recalculated the comet’s orbit, and they assure us that it will not present danger to the earth for the next two thousand years. In the year 3044, however, the comet is expected to pass one million miles—not too close to do harm—from Earth. (Paraphrased from Wikipedia articles)

The comet is at its farthest point from us now. I wondered how we could see so many meteors from such a great distance. An article featured on the website of the International Meteor Organization explained that it is possible to see them.

###

All day yesterday, I was excited about seeing the Perseid Meteor Shower. As soon as light disappeared from our windows, I rushed out the front door to check on our situation. The sun was dropping behind a few clouds, the overhead sky was almost clear, and the sliver of a new moon was setting. Conditions looked promising for us to go out later and watch for meteors, but as on many nights, our resident skunk had spewed his odors throughout our yard.

“We’ll need to go in the car to look,” I told John as I filled the dishwasher. He had cooked a marvelous meal. Therefore, it was my job to do the dishes, although we usually end up doing dishes together.

About 10:30, he became anxious to see the show. Since we knew we couldn’t watch from the stone bench in the front yard, we rushed around gathering binoculars and jumped into the car. Hoping to find a dimly lighted spot, we drove through the Canyon. He wanted to drive down a road we know about in the cotton fields, but I objected. I didn’t feel brave enough.

We decided to go onto the farm to market road, which is a dark, paved highway. John pulled onto the wide shoulder and stopped the car. We made sure the doors were locked, and he turned off the headlights. He turned on the flashers, and we opened the skylight. I felt romantic because we were parking, frightened because we were sitting on the side of a busy road, and excited about the possibilities of seeing shooting stars. (When I was a child, we saw meteors every night as we watched the sky on our front porch in the country. It was not like I’d never seen them, but the show was supposed to be fantastic.)

Hardly any cars were on the road, but one car came toward us. Oh, no, I thought when the car slowed a bit. Somebody will think we’re in trouble and offer to help us. As the car disappeared behind us, I sighed in relief and returned to looking overhead for meteors.

“It’s a cop!” John sounded upset. “I didn’t bring my billfold.”

I felt panicky. We were going to need to do some fast talking.

As the deputy sheriff came to the driver’s side and shined his flashlight into the car, John lowered the window.

We both talked. In a cheerful fashion, we explained that we were watching the stars.

“I just wanted to check on you.” He must have been contacted by the traveler who had passed us a few minutes earlier. “Have a good time. Be careful.”

As he walked away, John started the car. I rejoiced because the officer had not asked to see John’s driver’s license.

We returned to the Canyon and slowed down at dark spots. Eventually we returned to our driveway, where we sat a few minutes. I saw one meteor.

“I’m going in.” John backed the car inside the garage.

“I’m so sorry. I have a confession to make.”

“What?”

A mixture of remorse and giggles overwhelmed me. “I had the wrong night.” 

Tonight, we'll watch.

Clichés: Some clichés are idioms, but not all idioms are clichés.

 

Talking or writing without being overpowered by excessive clichés is a challenge. Soon after we find a new way to say something, we overwork it and create a new cliché. In writing, clichés can bore the reader. In conversation, they may give the impression that someone isn’t listening or someone cannot think of anything interesting to say. Overuse of any expression can become irritating to those receiving it.

Clichés are not entirely bad. They can be fun if they are expressions used within in a group such as a family or a working team. They can be inside jokes or special ways to convey feelings within a clan. Many clichés are idioms, and idioms are valuable tools to becoming comfortable with the English language. They help children learn to read and second-language learners learn to speak.

•        We have a good show on tap.

•        Once upon a time…

•        Better late than never.

•        Tomorrow is another day.

•        It is what it is.

•        Dumb as a doorknob.

•        Dumb as a rock.

•        A cat on a hot tin roof.

•        Working like a dog.

•        Eating like a pig.

•        Cooking enough to feed an army.

•        Live and let live.

•        Out of sight, out of mind.

•        Fresh as a daisy.

•        The course of true love never runs smoothly.

•        Happily ever after.

•        She rolled her eyes.

•        Mean as a junk yard dog.

•        Live and learn. Die and forget it all.

•        Enough is enough.

•        That puts the lid on the jar.

-Self

 

 

You may find some surprises in this blog entry.

 

Theyselves, a word used in dialects, is nonstandard English.

Hisself and theirselves are nonstandard words, sometimes called nonwords.

Myself can be used reflexively as in “I cut myself,” or to place emphasis as in, “I myself saw him.”

Some dictionaries approve the use of myself as a subject, although grammar textbooks say no, no, no. “My children and myself went to the circus.”

Me should never be used as a subject. Always place yourself last.

In informal speech, some folks fail to use a form of self when a self-pronoun would turn sentences into standard English. For example, someone might say, “Buy you an expensive cut of meat,” instead of, “Buy yourself an expensive cut of meat.”

Another person might open his refrigerator door and say, “I’m getting me some lunch.” A standard expression would be, “I’m getting myself some lunch.”

“I’m going to write me a letter,” should be, “I’m going to write myself a letter.” (We can’t avoid using going, no matter what.)

Pronunciation

 

Only Two O’s in the Word!

 Please don’t think I’m picking on Southerners or uneducated people. I am not. I’m only trying to help all of us speak better.

Here’s a word frequently mispronounced by educated people. The way it is said grates on my nerves like fingernails on an old-fashioned chalkboard. I honestly don’t make a habit of correcting others except for my closest relatives, who know I love them and have to tolerate me, but I’ve had the audacity to correct a smart aleck who insists on mispronouncing pronunciation. He denied his mistake. If I’d recorded him, I could have proved the point.

The standard way to say the word is  pruh-nuhn-see-ey-shuhn, according to Dictionary.com.  To pronounce it pruh-nown-see-ey-shuhn is substandard.

Listen to the pronunciation of pronunciation. When you hear a confident, highly educated person say the word wrong, hide your smile and swallow your laugh.

As one who grew up in Mississippi, the daughter of parents who did not attend college, I have worked all my life to speak standard English. When someone corrects me, I say “thank you” and rush to the dictionary to discover what is correct. I’m grateful for any help I get. I do not know anyone who can pronounce all the words and speak in grammatically proper sentences all the time. I’ve learned to appreciate the humanity of others. At the same time, I strive to improve, just as I want you to.

On the other hand, the message is more important than the way it is delivered.

Its and It’s

 A Popular Violation of the Rules

It is not unusual to read material written by educated writers who have misspelled its. Long ago in the time of Middle English, our words were male and female, not in meaning but in form. If you’ve studied Latin or a Romance language, your teacher told you during your first week about this peculiar trait of nouns.  It was something you had to accept if you planned to pass the course. Eventually speakers of English started using neuter words. It referred to antecedents (words coming before the pronoun), unless their meaning was female or male, for example, girl or boy.

Around 1600, writers started placing an apostrophe after it to show possession. For about three hundred years this use of an apostrophe in a possessive pronoun was a common practice.

An old way of writing it is was ’tis.

'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus.

Louisa M. R. Stead wrote the lyrics to that beautiful old hymn after she watched her husband drown as he tried to rescue a drowning boy. It is believed she wrote the hymn in the 1880’s.

In the nineteenth century, the apostrophe in its showing possession disappeared. The expression ’tis in our conversations and writings also vanished. Those of us who love Stead’s hymn will sing ’tis forever.

Now, in the twenty-first century, it is considered inappropriate to place an apostrophe in the pronoun its, which means belonging to it.

It’s is a contraction meaning it is or it has. In accepted usage, we seem to need to distinguish between its and it’s. If you think about the rule, it may not make sense. The solution is not to think too hard about this peculiarity of our English language. It is not ours to reason why. Just do it.

The house needs its paint refreshed.

It’s been a long time since we saw our cousins.

It’s snowing.

The accepted usage of it’s has switched back and forth throughout the centuries. In the current time, its means belonging to it. It’s means it is or it has. Multiple references express the same sentiments about the way to write its and it’s. One useful source is Merriam-Webster.com.

Fixin’

 

Fixing to Do Something

 

Using Idioms

 

“Fixing” in the sense of fixing to is usually pronounced “fixin’” but sometimes it is “finna.”

 I’m fixing to go to town.

He’s fixin’ to make a mistake.

I’m finna to leave.

 In the South, “fixin’” seems to be necessary to express the idea that someone is preparing to do something. The Midwesterners don’t need to say it, but folks say it all over the South and as far north as Maine and the state of Washington. Throughout New England some speakers say it, while others frown on it.

 Southerners have other ways of expressing the idea, which are not much better.  Some of these expressions have slightly different nuances of meaning. 

I’m going to finish my homework.

She’s gonna take her brother to the amusement park.

We’re getting ready to catch the bus.

           Some people trying to sound slightly more sophisticated are heard using the word about, but about isn’t grammatically logical.

We’re about to go.

Here’s a grammatically correct expression acceptable to most North Americans’ ears, but it does not convey the sense of immediacy as “fixing to.”                                                                                        

 Jeff is planning to…

The purpose of this discussion is not to make speakers sound stuffy by speaking in a formal, affected way, even though there are times when writers of business correspondence need to use formal English.

Our company is preparing to change its policy.

 Fixing is a well-established, colorful idiom, which doesn’t sound good to most of us when we stop to think about it. English spoken in different countries is full of a variety of useful idioms. English is an idiomatic language. The idioms used differ from one area to another, and they give our language a richness. Saying “fixing” may provoke ridicule from some people. If you are making a presentation or giving a speech, consider using a less colorful expression.

 Omitting the g at the end of an ing word is another subject.

 For more information about fixing to, google Yale Grammatical Diversity Project, English in North America, https://ygdp.yale.edu 

or The Free Dictionary, https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com

 

Etc. is more than most of us think.

 

Misused, Confused, Abused, Etc.

Most of us know what et cetera means. Some dictionaries define it as “and so forth.” Others say it means “and others” or “and others of the same kind.” A problem comes with knowing how to spell it. Frequently we see ect, and we’re supposed to think the writer is trying to spell the abbreviation for et cetera. Hardly anyone writes et cetera these days, but some of us seem to have a problem remembering the abbreviation is etc.

Sometimes it appears in all capital letters, ECT. A few writers believe it’s okay to spell it ect. They say, “What’s wrong with spelling it that way. It’s just some old Latin abbreviation.”

Here’s the reason we cannot afford to transpose the T and C. ECT is an acronym used for another term, electroconvulsive therapy, which is often called “shock treatment.” So, using ect for etc can shock readers.

Scholars say the abbreviation etc. has been appearing in written English for approximately six hundred years. Up until one hundred years ago, it was sometimes written as &c. If we keep in mind that et means and, we shouldn’t become confused about the correct way to spell it. Not long ago, it was acceptable to write the expression as one word, etcetera, but it is seldom seen that way these days.

Usually it refers to a list of similar items that are too long to list. In no circumstances should a writer or speaker place and before it because the et means “and,” even though Charles Dickens wrote “and et cetera” in his novels. “And et cetera” is redundant.

Sometimes people write or say “such as” followed by a list with “etc.” at the end. This kind of writing, which appears in advertisements and infomercials, has a pompous air. Instead of impressing listeners and readers, it can be a turnoff. Equally revolting is the use of “such as…and others.”

It’s okay to use etc. It is best to use it sparingly though. Excessive use of it can leave the reader with a frustrating curiosity about what was omitted.

Have you seen The King and I? King Mongkut of Siam, played by Yul Brynner, frequently says, “Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.” He wants everyone to think he possesses vast amounts of knowledge about many subjects.

Using etc.

On the farm, we kept cows, horses, pigs, sheep, goats, etc.

Etc. adds nothing. The information is factual, not imaginary. The facts you conjure in your brain will be different from the ones in mine.

3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, etc.

In the above example, the meaning, and so forth, is clear. We can infer what will come next.

“Congress has to get to work on government funding, etc.”

A newscaster said the above sentence in real time as I write this page. Etc. does not always have to be used in a series. We know what Congress does, don’t we? Therefore, the sentence makes sense.

In his descriptions, the writer used frequent etceteras.

Rarely the word appears in a plural form. To use the plural, it is essential not to abbreviate. Also, the plural form appears as one word.

The politician presented his plans for lowering the taxes, increasing the benefits, cleaning up the corruption, etc.

Blah, blah, blah. We’ve heard it all before, and we know how to finish his list. It’s easier to say etc.

Playing with the word

At the end of the entry in our Compact Oxford English Dictionary, three words are listed without definitions. When I Googled these words, I discovered two of them being used as names of products and blog names. Those who used them spelled them in creative ways. If you need a new word, feel free to use these:

Etcetarist—Could an etcetarist be one who uses etc. often? Or perhaps an etcetarist studies the term extensively.

Etcetarize—Maybe it means to add frequent etceteras in writing.

Etcetaraly—Could this word describe a manner of talking or writing? She speaks etcetaraly.

I haven't ate my lunch yet.

 

My husband and I were looking for an exit from the airport so we could catch a taxi, Lyft, or Uber. We stopped to rest a minute. Two airline attendants with their arms full of luggage, cups of soda, and brown paper bags, stood nearby. A custodian approached them, mumbled something to one of the attendants, and reached for her paper bag.

 The flight attendant turned around and held tightly to the bag. “No! I haven’t ate my lunch yet.”

 When did the attendant decide I haven’t ate was the preferred way to communicate? She spoke with such spontaneity that we knew “haven’t ate” was her customary way of speaking.

 Is the English language decaying?As we simplify our verbs in absurd ways that make little sense when we stop to think, are we causing our language to become more fragmented? Is English decadent? Is English decaying, i. e., falling apart? We no longer follow rules of grammar when we communicate.

 Another description of what is happening to our language is change. No one can deny our language is changing. Sometimes transformation is slow, sometimes it is fast, but it always takes time.

 Here’s the question. Are we transforming our language in a positive or negative way? Is it falling apart or are we merely rearranging it? Do we speak according to rules, or do the rules explain our speech? With the passing of time, language becomes simpler. It seems ironic that as mankind becomes more capable of inventing complicated scientific systems, we find ourselves losing the nuances of our way of speaking and writing.

 Whatever the situation is, we would be wise not to throw ourselves into the current of change so fast that we sound uneducated.

Y'all

 

If you are writing formally, you probably don’t want to use the contraction y’all, but if you are talking or writing informally, you will need the word to communicate the plural sense of the word you, especially if you live in the South and possibly if you live anywhere in the United States. Dictionaries now describe y’all as an informal pronoun in Southern dialect.

Long ago we stopped using the ancient singular forms, thee and thou, of the second person, which means the one we are talking to. The places where we might see these ancient pronouns are in Shakespearean plays and the King James Bible. Some of us pray with these old words, as if we assume that God hears thee and thou better than you. Since the King James Bible verses we know and love contain these words, we may consider them more respectful. Also, we sing hymns using these words, as in thou art.

Were you told in school that you is the plural of the second person pronoun? Did you believe your teacher? We know that you cannot effectively communicate the plural. Depending on where we live, we add something to it. Throughout the South we say y’all, a contraction of you and all. Throughout the life of the United States, the people of the North have laughed at us for saying y’all, but as time passes, they are saying y’all more often because they don’t have a word that sounds quite so natural or conveys the meaning y’all does.

They insist they say you guys, but doing so is more effort. Sometimes folks say you all, but that’s trouble too.

Since I’m from Mississippi, I speak with a drawl. Y’all epitomizes Southern drawl. When we say it, we need to be careful not to draw it out too much. We should speak the word confidently, not with an apology. When we write it, we must never write ya’ll, which is a misspelling of y’all.

Northern people say you guys or youse guys, and British speakers say you lot. Some Australians say youse, which is a substandard word that irritates Australians of culture. You-uns is an Appalachian word.

Relax. Say y’all and don’t feel self-conscious.

I Seen

Let’s discuss using seen without an auxiliary (helping) verb. This error can give most people who hear it a headache.

When I was in second grade, my teacher said See and Saw were two children on a seesaw. They could play independently, but their little brother named Seen could not go to the park and ride the seesaw without help. Doesn’t that story sound childish? It taught me a lesson though that I never forgot.

Your friend said, “I seen.” I’d like to help by listing the possible reasons he said it. Check the ones that apply.

_____He didn’t say “I seen.” You thought you heard him. You were sure he said it. Evidently he said “I’ve seen” so fast the “ ’ve” was inaudible. “I’ve seen” is a contraction meaning “I have seen.”

_____English is his second language. Have you studied Spanish or French? It’s a challenge to use the right verb forms. Your Spanish or French friend may be having the same problem with English.

_____English is your friend’s native language, but he has an inadequate education. It’s never too late though for a person to learn not to say, “I seen.”

_____Your friend is from a part of the country where people speak a dialect that includes “I seen.” Again, it’s never too late to learn standard English.

_____The person saying it may have thought it was cute when he was younger, but now he’s working in the professional world, where it has ceased to be cute.

_____He may have developed a habit of using it to impress a group of speakers who think it’s an acceptable way to talk.

_____His parents may have said “I seen.” He needs to honor them but not by speaking substandard language.

_____For one of the above reasons, your friend has developed the habit. When he needs to communicate, he slips up and says it a time when he’s in a hurry to make a point or state he witnessed something important.

*

Are you tempted to correct your friends and coworkers when they say “I seen” or another equally glaring error? Don’t.

Should Have Went

  All my life I've loved the English language. I listen to people talk, and sometimes the way they say things whets my curiosity. Occasionally it's possible to find a reason or at least formulate a hypothesis about  expressions speakers insist on using.

Went

Went is a strong, unsociable word. It has no friends because it doesn’t need any. When you try to get helpers such as has, had, and have to come too close for a visit, went will do all in his power to make you sound uneducated. Went is mean that way.

For example, if you say, “We should have went,” the people listening to you may pretend not to notice, but many listeners will hear what you say and think you are somehow deficient.

Don’t say any of the following. Don’t use them in any social groups. Don’t allow the sound of them to pass through your brainwaves.

I have went.

I had went.

You have went.

You had went.

He has went.

She has went.

It has went.

We could have went.

Remember not to use an auxiliary (helping) verb with went, even if the people listening to you say this. If went could be an athlete, it could not play football. Instead, it would be a cross-country runner.

Went is the past tense of go. Past tense verbs do not, do not like to, refuse, cannot take helpers.

The form of go that requires helping verbs is gone.

I had gone.

You have gone.

You had gone.

He has gone.

She has gone.

It has gone.

We could have gone.

Why are we talking about went to this extent? Using went correctly is important.

Back in 1853, Alexander Crombie stated in The Etymology and Syntax of the English Language that “I had went” was “an egregious solecism.” A solecism is an ungrammatical combination of words or a blunder, or it could mean poor manners. Egregious means especially bad or flagrant. Many rules of the nineteenth century are merely memories, but in the early twenty-first century, “I had went” is still considered unacceptable usage.

Practice! Develop the habit of saying gone instead of went with auxiliary (helping) verbs. Drill. Make up sentences using gone instead of went with have, has, or had. Say them until your brain believes you are right.

Some more thoughts about went. If it’s so terrible to say “have went,” why do we say it? The obvious reason is that we hear other people. Now, let’s move to a conjecture that might explain this “egregious solecism.” This information is not to excuse the expression; it’s my theory about how it came about.

We have many ways in our language to say “go.” In the Anglo Saxon era (fifth to twelfth centuries), two popular words meaning to travel from one place to another were go and wend. The past participle form (the one that requires a helper) of go, was similar to our word gone. They had a word for the past tense of go (the one that stood alone). So far, I have found two spellings of it—iolde and eolde. At some time around 1400, this word disappeared. Since language is a gradual practice, this disappearance didn’t happen overnight, but we don’t have the word now.

We do, however, still have the word wend with its past tense and past participle, wended. It implies traveling with a twisting motion. Wend is not a popular word, but its cousins, wind and vent, are common. Wend’s roots extend to Latin origins.

Around 1400 when eolde disappeared, Middle English speakers replaced it with went, the ancient past form of  a word for go. Is it any wonder that “have went” sounds normal to our ears? It’s somewhere embedded in our brains. Went must have been similar to a past participle in days gone by.

But today, we are supposed to say “have gone.” Don’t forget to practice.