12.31.05

Language Lesson

Posted in Uncategorized at 6:02 pm by trueepicure

The English Language has taken a total dump in the toilet… when NPR starts making basic grammatical errors, you know it’s getting bad.

I’m hearing a lot of people using the phrase “there is” or “there’s” when referring to multiple items. Last time I checked, “there is” is singular; e.g. There is an apple on the table. If you are referring to multiple items, you would say “there are”. And don’t even try a contraction with “there are”. Please.

“Walla” is not a word, unless you are referring to Walla Walla, Washington, and then it’s a proper noun. I see this all the time in Blogland. “I sewed together some fabric, and walla! I made a bag.” What you really mean to type is: voilà!. It’s French.

    From Dictionary.com:
    voi·là Pronunciation Key (vwä-lä) interj.

    Used to call attention to or express satisfaction with a thing shown or accomplished: Mix the ingredients, chill, and voilà! a light, tasty dessert.

(I question the use of an exclamation point in the middle of a sentence, but since voilà is an interjection, I’ll let it slide - this time)

The other day, E and I were watching television we were listening to the news. The reporter was talking about something that happened in France. (I wish I could remember what it was.) Whatever it was that happened occurred in Lyon. You know it sounds like Lee ohn. Unfortunately, this reporter was so clueless and prounounced Lyon like the giant African cat. *Sigh*

I don’t claim to be perfect, but come ON people. Puh-leeze!

3 Comments »

  1. Dani said,

    January 1, 2006 at 8:46 pm

    Im semi guilty on the voilà - I usually say “et voila!” (missing the à because I am too darn lazy to look up the ascii character! In fact I used it in today’s post!

  2. Emy said,

    January 2, 2006 at 10:27 pm

    My blood pressure would be so much lower if more people were like you. Beautiful, absolutely beautiful.

  3. Jenifer said,

    January 9, 2006 at 12:52 pm

    Hey Eva — I’ll try to make a donation for a good cause — thanks for starting the raffle! So, I agree with this language issue — I’m a French/Spanish teacher, and I see so many mistakes, especially in restaurants! Oh well. They make as many mistakes in English as we do of their languages. But the whole “there is/are” thing really annoys me, as well.

Leave a Comment