Re: Re: wide array of death euphemisms

[RonButters at AOL.COM]

Bob,
You are doing better than I am in finding a testable assertion in Courtney 
Stastyshyn's posting. How could one decide that children would be tested 
"enough"?

But maybe you were just being polite. After all, you didn't mention that 
Courtney Stastyshyn made at least one punctuation "error" (the comma splice in the 
second sentence), not to mention the syntactic "error" (the "dangling" 
introductory clause in the second sentence) and the prescriptivistly nonnormative 
split infinitive. 

Perhaps "children [yester]day [we]re not tested enough on punctuation," 
either?


In a message dated 9/3/04 11:49:03 AM, robert-wachal at UIOWA.EDU writes:


> Do you have any hard evidence for your assertion?
> 
> At 04:35 PM 9/2/2004, you wrote:
> >---------------------- Information from the mail header
> >-----------------------
> >Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >Poster:       Courtney Stastyshyn <castas01 at MOREHEAD-ST.EDU>
> >Subject:      Re: wide array of death euphemisms
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >It seems that children today are not tested enough on punctuation.  When
> >reading
> >something someone wrote, the idea is for it to speak for them, they sound
> >ignorant and uneducated to not be able to use the correct punctuation when
> >writing.  That bothers me to no end, especially when grammar, syntax,
> >semantics
> >and the english language is concentrated on so greatly in schools.  
> Someone's
> >not doing their jobs, is it the teachers or the students??
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >Quoting James Smith <jsmithjamessmith at YAHOO.COM>:
> >
> > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > > -----------------------
> > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Poster:       James Smith <jsmithjamessmith at YAHOO.COM>
> > > Subject:      Re: wide array of death euphemisms
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > Yes.
> > >
> > >
> > > --- Robert Wachal <robert-wachal at UIOWA.EDU> wrote:
> > >
> > > > I fail to understand why some folks would get their
> > > > underpants in a twist
> > > > over the harmless lack of punctuation in the very
> > > > clear unpunctuated two
> > > > lines of the message from Kara Everman. I for one am
> > > > tired of these
> > > > "barbarians are at the gates" attitudes. Considering
> > > > the slaughter and
> > > > starvation going on throughout the world, is the
> > > > fact of a few missing
> > > > commas really worthy of comment and parody?
> > > >
> > > > At 12:36 PM 8/31/2004, you wrote:
> > > > >---------------------- Information from the mail
> > > > header
> > > > >-----------------------
> > > > >Sender:       American Dialect Society
> > > > <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > > >Poster:       Beverly Flanigan <flanigan at OHIOU.EDU>
> > > > >Subject:      Re: wide array of death euphemisms
> > > >
> > >
> > >-------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > ------
> > > > >
> > > > >Thanks Mark this is a new phenomenon I encounter
> > > > all the time in
> > > > >undergraduate and especially email writing it
> > > > annoys me too whatever
> > > > >happened to freshman comp?!
> > > > >
> > > > >At 01:10 PM 8/31/2004 -0400, you wrote:
> > > > > >         >>>>>
> > > > > >Date:    Mon, 30 Aug 2004 16:05:08 EDT
> > > > > >From:    Kara Everman <Karaeverman at AOL.COM>
> > > > > >Subject: wide array of death euphemisms
> > > > > >
> > > > > >to identify with the life philosophy of laughing
> > > > instead of crying where
> > > > > >trouble is concerned is the fact of a wide array
> > > > of these death euphemisms
> > > > > >to buy the farm
> > > > > >to bite the dust
> > > > > >curtains
> > > > > >to kick the bucket
> > > > > >to punch ones ticket
> > > > > >to sleep with the fishes
> > > > > >to meet ones maker
> > > > > >  where do these euphemisms originate and how are
> > > > they made
> > > > > >         <<<<<
> > > > > >
> > > > > >Dear Ms. Everman:
> > > > > >
> > > > > >to read unpunctuated text is rather a nuisance
> > > > that is why punctuation was
> > > > > >invented to provide to the reader who after all
> > > > is not present when the text
> > > > > >is being created a partial substitute for the
> > > > writers speakers tone of voice
> > > > > >prosody etc im not sure how to parse the first
> > > > two lines of your message
> > > > > >please use something at least approximating
> > > > standard punctuation thank you
> > > > > >in advance
> > > > > >
> > > > > >Also, what do you mean by (if I read it
> > > > correctly) "to identify with [that
> > > > > >philosophy] *is the fact of*" these euphemisms? I
> > > > don't see anything happy
> > > > > >in "biting the dust".
> > > > > >
> > > > > >Having gotten that off my chest, I'm sure you
> > > > will get useful answers on
> > > > > >this list.
> > > > > >
> > > > > >-- Sincerely,
> > > > > >    Mark A. Mandel
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > > =====
> > > James D. SMITH                 |If history teaches anything
> > > South SLC, UT                  |it is that we will be sued
> > > jsmithjamessmith at yahoo.com     |whether we act quickly and decisively
> > >                                |or slowly and cautiously.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
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> >
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> 
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