Sometimes on the television I glimpse trailers for a very unattractive looking programme called The United States of Tara, which, from what I can glean, tells the story or stories of a person who believes she contains within herself several other personalities, most of whom appear to be rather ghastly.
I can't compete with the cast of thousands summoned forth by "Tara", but I do have to admit that, while I usually present the outward appearance of a perfectly normal, (well, all right, fairly normal), person, there is lurking in my psychological basement a raving pedant, who insists that I allow her out from time to time.
On those rare occasions, my alter ego, who seems to spend most of her hours of incarceration combing through newspapers and magazines with a manic glint in her eye, (she only has one), bursts forth and goes wild on my other blog, which is here.
I'll have to go now - I need to get the mad harpy back under lock and key before she heads for the fruit and vegetable section at the local supermarket. If she catches a glimpse of "Tomatoe's - cheaper prices here", who knows what might happen..
A while ago I declared myself in favour of Stephen Fry's attack on pedantry in English expression, because I couldn't really see an overpowering argument against what he was saying.
ReplyDeleteI confess that I've recanted. I just couldn't bear the horrors multiplying, it seemed, from the moment I said poor spelling and grammar weren't ever going to worry me again. So once more I've become a 'nazi' and somehow, I feel much more comfortable being one than not.
I have the feeling you sympathise.
What were his reasons for turning his back on pedantry? The main reason I think rules should be maintained is that, once you start ignoring them, ambiguity quickly creeps in. Language without precision is a pretty useless tool.
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