3 ms·
To some people, fussing over a certain set of grammatical issues is the mark of an educated person. I remember one person who got angry with me when I responded
by mtviewdave 12y ago
To some people, fussing over a certain set of grammatical issues is the mark of an educated person. I remember one person who got angry with me when I responded to their lecture on the word "decimate" with a little bit of historical linguistics. Probably because it seemed like I was undermining their self-image.
What's interesting to me is which items are in the set of things to be fussed over. Split infinitives, yes. Is-doubling, no. "Decimate", yes. Any other borrowing from Latin, no. It's so arbitrary, yet some people cling to it so fiercely.
- bane 12y agoIt can be hard to parse sometimes, people who are educated from people who suffer from severe cases of Dunning–Kruger and have tied their supposed expertise deeply into their persona.