Words you write, but sense you make not

by Ian Betteridge on November 3, 2008

What on Earth does this mean? Said to be shopping? Said "shopping About.com"? What?

No related posts.

{ 10 comments }

1 Crosbie Fitch November 3, 2008 at 3:19 pm: It's American.

“I shall write to my MP” -> “I will write my congressman”
“I have a hundred and one reasons to do so” -> “I have hundred one reasons”
“The Times Newspaper has been said to be shopping it's company “About.com' around prospective purchasers” – > “Times said shopping About.com”
2 Crosbie Fitch November 3, 2008 at 3:21 pm: erratum: its
3 ianbetteridge November 3, 2008 at 3:27 pm: It's too much of a contraction even for an American headline. With American headlines you often get contraction with inserted commas, and of course they regularly turn verbs into nouns (don't get me started on that…)

But in those cases, the meaning of the sentence is preserved. In this case, it's such a big contraction that it no longer makes sense even in US English.
4 Crosbie Fitch November 3, 2008 at 4:33 pm: Maybe it's such a severe contraction that it only makes sense to Americans, i.e. it can no longer be parsed by Britons (except by prolonged study and elimination of nonsensical alternative expansions).

There's a lot of redundancy in English. It seems the Americans feel the language is improved by eliminating it, when, as most linguists know, the redundancy is actually an improvement.
5 ianbetteridge November 3, 2008 at 4:35 pm: Insert long rambling essay about the decline of the English language and how it wasn't like this in my day here
6 Crosbie Fitch November 3, 2008 at 6:27 pm: I will consider your rambling essay, no doubt interesting and agreeable, inserted.

Incidentally, a redundancy I wholeheartedly support the elimination of is the way gender infects the French language, even when applied to non-mating objects – something that makes learning French such a pain.

I can just about put up with ships being female in English.
7 Wes November 3, 2008 at 11:25 pm: You must complain about Variety headlines, too…

Would “Times may Shop About.com” sound better? Or maybe “Times Said to Sell About.com”?
8 ianbetteridge November 3, 2008 at 11:59 pm: Oh god, don't get me started on Variety. Possibly the worst-written publication in the world. Someone should tell them that “prexy” is not a word.

And maybe what they need is a few more superfluous Capital Letters, Too?
9 sr November 9, 2008 at 4:52 pm: Why not just “Times shopping About.com”? The word “said” is unnecessary and adds nothing.
10 sr November 9, 2008 at 4:53 pm: Or “Times to Shop About.com”