Maybe my inner Grammar Nazi needs a name. Adolf? Graham?

[kaasirpent]

An ad seen in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (the local paper):

Apartment Review -

Your Weekly Guide to the area's finest apartments in Metro Atlanta.

<Dials phone. It rings. Someone picks up.>

"Hello, may I speak to your department of redundancy department?"

<Hold music. Sings along with "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" until someone answers.>

"Hi! I live in the Atlanta area and I'm Kaa, in the Atlanta area of Atlanta. You have an ad advertising in today's issue of your newspaper from today that redundantly repeats itself...."

Or maybe I'm being...well, a grammar Nazi, and it's not so bad.

But really, why couldn't they just say "...to the area's finest apartments" and leave it at that? Or even "...to the finest apartments in Metro Atlanta"? We do not need both phrases. We just don't.

This crap bugs the bejeebers out of me. Professional journalists--from globe-trotting investigative reporters on the trail of corporate corruption down to ad-copy writers--should think about these things. Shouldn't they? And aside from all that, ads are supposed to be concise!

On the other hand, maybe this is just the way the wind is blowing, usage-wise, and I will just have to get over it.

<gritting teeth> NEVER! I see stuff like that when I'm reading, and it pulls me out of whatever I'm reading and makes me aware that I'm reading. It's sort of the journalistic equivalent of the novel-writer's trick of saying

Susan decided that today was going to be the first day of the rest of her life. Little did she know, it was to be the last day of her life.

WHAM! That bold sentence says "Hey! You're reading! A book! This isn't happening!" I like to immerse myself in reading. I don't like to be yanked unceremoniously out of my reverie. It's annoying.

And reading shoddy writing and editing in newspapers does that to me, as well.

---

This kind of thing, by the way, is why I never read newspapers. The Tuscaloosa He-Said broke me of ever wanting to do that many years back. This is the kind of thing they are guilty of:

He said, "The only thing worser than the speling and grammer inn the Tuscallosa News, is how they overuse certain phrases," he said. He said, "Sometimes," he said, "it seams that the paper is trying to inject a few too many queues to let yew know who is doing the talking," he further added. In a later comment, he said, "He said, 'I don't know how they manage to dew it so many times,' but then he said 'But consider the source,' he said," he said. He said, "I've been tolled that it's the AP wire that's so bad," he said. He added, "The AP wire is where many of the problems are said to originate," he commented.

Yes, it's a little over-the-top. "But frankly, if you read the Tuscaloosa News, you'd know exactly what I'm talking about," he said. :)

[Disclaimer: maybe the He-Said has gotten better in the 10 years since I originally wrote that. But I sincerely doubt it.]

*sigh* Make with the beratings, now. I know I'm the only person in North America annoyed by this kind of thing. And I'm sure I did it unintentionally at least once in the body of this post.

Comments

[socratic.livejournal.com]

You're not alone.

[oxlahun.livejournal.com]

I seem to recall suggesting some time ago that the Grammarian may need a name.

Next time I tell you about the voices in your head, maybe you'll listen. :)

[kaasirpent]

It amuses me that you took the time to look that up. :)

And yes, you did suggest it. Perhaps I should let you suggest a name. :)

[cfred.livejournal.com]

To give the AJC the benefit of the doubt, they probably do thirty-seven variations of the thing for local distribution, with the area's finest apartments in:

• DeKalb County
  
• north Fulton County
  
• Gwinnett County
  
• where Deliverance was filmed
  

So, that may be the master version, area-wide, to where it does say Metro Atlanta. Still, it's ugly phrasing.

[kaasirpent]

I thought of that, as well. You're probably right. But it IS ugly. :)

[(Anonymous)]

Kaa Darling,

I want to introduce you to one of my favorites ozarque who happens to be the writer Suzette Haden-Elgin. She's also a linquist and a specialist in Ozark English. She's spent quite a bit of time discussing the use of redundancies.

I believe you'd really enjoy her blog. She responds to her readers so post a link from this entry to her blog and she'll discuss it. And I look forward to it.

-53

[kaasirpent]

Actually, I already read ozarque. Surely you noticed one of my comments got publicly mentioned during her recent discussion of death and dying? :)

[adsmguy.livejournal.com]

Dieter - people + army
Gregor - watchful, attentive
Günter/Günther - fight + army
Hartlieb - hard + love
Waltrun - "secret advice", but a feminine name

Friedrich. Hienrich. Jürgen. Klaus. Ulrich.

[kaasirpent]

Dieter: "TOUCH my monkey! LOVE my monkey!" No.
Gregor: Mendel. Eeeehhhhhh.....
Günther: Gebel Williams. A man wearing a live leopard as an accessory. No thanks. :)
Hartlieb: Eww. :)
Waltrun: I picture a viking woman with a horned helmet. So...no. :)

I rather like Klaus, Ulrich, and Jürgen.

I'll cogitate on it. :)

[cylver.livejournal.com]

My money's on Klaus.

[kaasirpent]

Heh...is there a German name that means "DIE, filthy abuser of apostrophe s! DIE, worm-ridden pig-dog switcher of 'your' and 'you're'!"?

*giggles*

[winkymonkey.livejournal.com]

In the Sunday edition of The Birmingham News we get a column from James Kirkpatrick as Grammar Nazi. I check it out every weekend and I always think of you.