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Better English 37
Timely Communications Tips
October 15, 2009
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SOME THAT HANG AROUND
-- SOME HANG-A-ROUNDERS

Some errors just pop up on a daily basis, seemingly never vanquished by the language police. Here are some recent examples.

SOME HANG-A-ROUNDERS
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 Here are some hang-arounders that just keep resurfacing.

1. to do so

Says one writer, "If you want a major change in your life or you want to move from point A to point B, then reprogramming your subconscious mind will assist you in doing so.

Declares an Illinois early group, " If people around the child use language correctly, he or she will learn to do so over time."

Writes Eugene Robinson in the October 6 "Washington Post" editorial section, "To do this would require lots more than 62,000 troups now in the country."

You would do much better realizing that "to do so" is an awkward, lazy, and almost meaningless term. How can you do "so"?

Better would be to say what you are doing:
--assist you in programming
--learn to use the language also
--to win these hearts

2. proved, not proven

Still, "proven" rather than "proved" is thrust upon us as the past participle of the verb "to prove."

Here was Lili Ladaga on Yahoo in March insisting, "But even though it's been a bumpy and unexpected road for the former first lady, ex-New York senator and now Secretary of State, history has proven that it's never wise to count a Clinton out."

3. "Hello, I'm Me."

Maybe it's an ego thing. But the number of written messages that begin with that phrase does seem to be increasing. People don't know that your signature comes at the end, not the beginning. So we still get:

--It's Carlo Selorio here.
--I'm Maria Rus from Lingo24 Translation Services, a company which offers professional translation services from and into all major languages.
--Hi. Rick Raddatz here.

4. Capitalize trademarks.

At the Home Depot site we see the headline, "QUICK AND PAINLESS GOOD FOR REMOVING band-aids."

It's the lower case for "bandage" and uppercase for the trademark, "Band Aid."

Don't forget that "Coke" is a trademark, not "cola;" that "Clorox," not "bleach" is a trademark, that "Kleenex," not "tissue," is a trademark, and that "Ajax," not "cleanser" is capitalized.

If you know all that, then you probably know that Ferris Wheel is capitalized because it was designed and built by George W. Ferris Jr.

5. Replace "Undoubtedly" with "No Doubt" or "Doubtless."

Our own author and colleague Bruce Kluger writes in the October 8 "USA Today": "CBS and Worldwide Pants (Letterman's production company) will undoubtedly continue to investigate this matter, if only to determine whether David Letterman crossed the line--or broke a law--by engaging in sex with subordinates."

Sincerely,
Barry Beckham


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