The Demise of the Queen’s English: A Slow and Painful Death
Here are a few excerpts from an article from National Review creepo Deroy Murdock on the demise of American English:
As students return to America’s classrooms this month, they will focus anew on the nuances of the English language. Beyond their teachers’ lessons, it unfortunately has become increasingly difficult for them to learn from prominent Americans. Hearing her husband describe her as “the best-qualified non-incumbent I have ever had a chance to vote for in my entire life,” Mrs. William Jefferson Clinton told Iowa voters in July: “If I was as smart as Bill seems to think I am, I would say nothing.”
Wrong!
As the frontrunner for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination should recognize, she should have said, “If I were as smart…” Senator Clinton (D., N.Y.) merely echoed the Democrats’ last standard-bearer.
“If I was president, this wouldn’t have happened,” John Kerry said during Hezbollah’s summer 2006 war on Israel.
“The subjunctive,” he goes on to say, “lies gravely wounded. Fewer and fewer Americans bother to discuss hypothetical or counterfactual circumstances using this verb mood.” (Hey, Murdoch! Check out this website! It’s made by an uber-liberal who works for PETA, but I think you’d dig it!
Not surprisingly, Murdock stays the hell away from Dubya’s grammar impediment, but he does include some entertaining examples of faulty usage, including the gasp! “There’s + [plural noun].” Check it out at National Review.
