Words have always held a strange fascination for me. Some words and phrases--persnickety, amok, and tump over, for example--are fun to say, but also paint specific, often humorous, pictures in the mind.
I remember when I was in grade school that one of my teachers wrote the phrase "tump over" on the blackboard, pointed to it and told us not to use it, to use "fell over" or "fall over" instead. That may have been my first real exposure to reverse psychology because most of the kids used "tump over" for the rest of the day, more than they would have otherwise.
Or was that a dream?
Never mind. Some phrases and words have a distinct cadence to them that tie them to us as a people. Ask a Southerner 30 years old or older what "tump over" means and, after they stop laughing at the idea that someone doesn't know, they'll tell you ... or more likely show you. Hope you didn't wear something that's hard to clean.
Clarence Wolfe of Searcy asks about use of the word "Congress" in news accounts. He's noticed, as I have, the incorrect usage of the word as it relates to our own Congress in Washington: the use of "Congress" to refer to only the House of Representatives instead of to both houses.
A look at the etymology of the word from dictionary.com shows that the word has mostly resisted change through the centuries:
"c.1400, 'body of attendants'; also 'meeting of armed forces' (mid-15c.); main modern sense of 'coming together of people, a meeting' is from 1520s; from Latin congressus 'a friendly meeting; a hostile encounter,' past participle of congredi 'meet with, fight with,' from com- 'together' (see com-) + gradi 'to walk,' from gradus 'a step.' Sense of 'meeting of delegates' is first recorded 1670s. Meaning 'sexual union' is from 1580s. Used in reference to the national legislative body of the American states since 1775 (though since 1765 in America as a name for proposed bodies)."
As far as how it's used in the paper, except in quotes, AP and our house style here say Congress refers only to both houses of our bicameral legislative branch, the House and Senate, with elected delegates referred to as senators or representatives, and that's the way it should be throughout the news sections. On the opinion pages, though, you'll occasionally see the use of "congressman" referring to a member of the House of Representatives, which is an acquiescence to its usage in conversation.
That conversational usage probably is at least a little bit responsible for the current misuse of "Congress" as just the House, but is so fully ingrained now that it would likely be nearly impossible to reverse. We can, though, hold our ground against further erosion of the terminology.
This erosion shows that words and their usage can evolve over time, sometimes through misuse or mispronunciation. On this page, though, I will continue to correct the "Congress" mistake when I find it.
This is not to say that I'm a grammar snob ... far from it.
Who versus whom doesn't concern me unless it's an obviously wrong usage. In most cases, it's better to write around it, and usually sounds less stilted and more conversational. That's what this page is, a conversation, and that's why I don't correct every tiny grammar error I see; we'd lose that wonderful tone of a spirited chat with friends if that happened.
There are, though, misuses that will drive me nuts, as I'm sure there are for everyone. My detest for "ole" is apparently becoming a bit of a joke for some but, as I recently commented on a fellow blogger's page, unless you're talking about the Grand Ole Opry or some guy named Ole, there's no reason to use anything but ol', which indicates the elision of the "d" in "old." Unless your intent is to drive me nuts.
The relatively recent spate of "verbing" nouns is also one that's high on my annoyance list, and there are some, such as "author" and "transition," which strike me as pretentious.
Yes, there are English teachers in my circle of family and friends, so I come by these distastes naturally. But yep, I'm also a bit weird.
I would be remiss if, in a column about words, I didn't acknowledge the death of a master of them. Author and poet Maya Angelou, formerly of Stamps, passed away a week ago, and her grace and good humor will be sorely missed.
While most people remember the soaring yet inspirational "On the Pulse of Morning," which she read at Bill Clinton's first presidential inauguration, her words from "When Great Trees Fall," published in her fifth book of poetry, I Shall Not Be Moved, seem most appropriate now:
"And when great souls die, after a period peace blooms, slowly and always irregularly. Spaces fill with a kind of soothing electric vibration. Our senses, restored, never to be the same, whisper to us. They existed. They existed. We can be. Be and be better. For they existed."
Her voice is silent now, but her words live on, and we're better for her having existed.
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Assistant Editor Brenda Looper is editor of the Voices page. Read her blog at blooper0223.wordpress.com.
Editorial on 06/04/2014