Arlene Miller's Blog, page 50

Very, Very, Very, Very Dead Words!

 

To be honest, the first time I ever heard the term “dead word” was when my daughter was in seventh grade, and her English teacher had dead words hanging from the ceiling of the classroom. A dead word is one that is overused and has lost its punch; therefore, dead words should be avoided as much as possible.

Probably the all-time deadest of words is a lot or, incorrectly, alot. If you must use it, at least use it as two separate words. Other dead words include nice and good, which are dull. Fun is another one and, of course, the trite awesome and cool, which I do tend to use (for shame!).

Most dead words are “describing” words — adjectives and adverbs. Others, like said and have to are verbs.

A couple of dead adverbs are really and very, which are dreadfully (or should I say deadfully) overused, sometimes even used twice in a row! (imagine! very, very good; really, really fun)

A few weeks ago, I received an e-mail from Luke Palder, who runs ProofreadingServices.com. He said his group had devised an infographic with 128 words to use instead of the dead very. He thought I might be interested in posting it for you. So, even though he has a copyeditor/proofreader business, making us friendly competitors of a sort, of course I will share with you his infographic!

However, as you see, it is too small to read, and I am not techie enough to fix it, so here is the link to find this “very” useful infographic with all types of words you can use to avoid very and make your writing more interesting!

Click here to enlarge the infographic!

And now you can bury very . . . RIP very, really, a lot, nice, fun, good, said, have to, awesome, cool, and the rest of you.

And thank you, Luke Palder and the people at Proofreading Services.

The Full Stop: Is It Making a BREXIT?

In Britain it is sometimes called the Full Stop.  We know it as the Period. There have been numerous articles lately about the demise of this punctuation mark, and someone asked me to write about what I thought.

The whole thing pretty much started with texts and people not using periods in texts. It went even further in that the period, when used, began to add a whole different slant to a text. A text saying Fine had a different emotion behind it than a text saying Fine. You can probably hear the snarkiness when you say Fine with a period after it. (You probably hear a teenage voice, or maybe your spouse’s) I actually cannot think of other words or phrases or sentences where the period would invite that interpretation. But if you want to want to write a text of one word or one phrase or one sentence, and you don’t want to use a period —  well — fine.

So that is my opinion on the matter. Texts are short. If you write something that is a sentence or shorter, no one will be confused, so leave off the period for all I care. Same for Tweets, although their composition is somewhat more complicated with links and web addresses and all.

Speaking of web addresses . . . sometimes a period can actually make things more complicated. If you are writing a sentence with your e-mail address at the end, do you put a period? Or will someone think that the period belongs at the end of the e-mail address? (Well, I know that WE wouldn’t be confused, but it could happen!)

My e-mail address is theendoftheperiod.com OR My e-mail address is theendoftheperiod.com.

Ten years ago, where where texting and Twitter? Ten years from now, where will they be? Communication methods are moving so fast that we might be writing only in long paragraphs ten years from now. Who knows? It would be a shame to have gotten rid of the period and then find we need it again.

But seriously. The bulk of what we write is made up of more than one sentence. I don’t think many people think it’s a good idea to rid our writing of periods. For one thing, the writing would be harder to read. The purpose of punctuation, after all, is clarity and ease of reading, not to litter our writing with dots and dashes. Using commas instead —  or  dashes — wouldn’t solve any problems. The period isn’t being singled out for punishment. If we are going to use punctuation between sentences as a full stop, we might as well stick with the period. Yes, I know people have been using the comma for that for years, but that is a comma splice and it’s incorrect.

Let’s talk about abbreviations for a moment because periods often make it known that something is an abbreviation. A company called ABC Inc is different from a company called ABC, Inc. The Inc. with the period shows us that it is an abbreviation for incorporated. What about Inc? Maybe it’s just Inc and not Incorporated. Periods signal that a word is an abbreviation. In. meaning inch gets a period so it isn’t confused with the preposition in (I need a period here!).

So, what do I think of the demise of the period. I think it has been greatly exaggerated! Try writing a letter without periods between your sentences. Or a book. I don’t think so. Write a text or a Tweet or a short Facebook message without a period. Fine.

There’s formal language and there is colloquial language. Periods are not going anywhere in formal language.  Trust me 

 

 

 

 

Just A Few Things About Apostrophes

Apostrophe Love

Last week’s post talked about some issues with possessives. This related post talks about some common issues with our friend —  the apostrophe.

Contractions Versus Possessives

Two of the most common blunders we see are the your/you’re and the its/it’s confusion. I think much of the time the use of the incorrect choice is a typo. However, if it isn’t, we can clear it up with a simple rule. These two words                are not exceptions.

Contractions: ALL contractions have apostrophes. That is the whole purpose of a contraction, or a shortened version of a couple of words. The apostrophe takes the place of the missing letter: I’m for I am, we’re for we are, don’t for do not. And yes, you’re for you are and it’s for it is.
Possessive Pronouns: Your and its are possessive pronouns, not contractions. And none of the possessive pronouns have apostrophes: ours, yours, hers, theirs, his.  

So . . . it’s is a contraction and has an apostophe like all contractions. Its is possessive, and has no apostrophe, like all other possessive pronouns. Same for your and you’re.

Plurals

Another issue with apostrophes is putting them in plurals. Now we know (don’t we?) that we do not use an apostrophe to make a noun plural. Apostrophes in nouns make them possessive.  But questions often arise about using apostrophes with plurals of letters, numbers, symbols, and abbreviations.

Letters: You do not need to use an apostrophe with the plurals of uppercase letters except A, I, and U, which could be mistaken for As, Is, and Us: Bs, Ps and Zs are fine without apostrophes. The letter is italicized, but the s is not. For lowercase letters, it is often clearer to use an apostrophe: p’s and q’s.

Numbers: You do not need an apostrophe in plural numbers: 2s, 1900s, 60s. I would think you could use an apostrophe is a single number like 2, but you don’t need to. 

Symbols: Once again, you don’t need to use an apostrophe in a plural symbol: $s, &s. But you can if you want to.

Abbreviations: Abbreviations that are uppercase do not need apostrophes: ABCs, PTAs, YWCAs. 

Grammar Diva News

Having fun doing a couple of guest presentations for a business bootcamp for ages 14-27. These kids are great and know their grammar! Very important for entrepreneurs to know how to write!

Need a little grammar help now and then??? Know someone who does??? Maybe you just love grammar???

The new edition of The Best Little Grammar Book Ever! is now available on Amazon, Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Smashwords, and most other book and ebook retailers. You can order it from your local bookstore or perhaps find it  (soon) at Copperfields Books in Sonoma County, CA.

Reformatted
New information
Expanded section on commas

We always appreciate your reviews on Amazon (or wherever you get your books) for this book and any other of my books that you may have. Thank you!

 

 

 

 

Are You Possessed?

The possessive. Simple. You add an apostrophe and an s to a word and you have the possessive, right? Boy becomes boy’s for the singular possessive and boys’ for the plural possessive:

This is the boy’s bicycle.
These are the boy’s bicycles.

We will forget that many people (no, not us!) put those apostrophes in plurals, but the plural of boy is boys, not boy’s!

We will also forget that when you have a word that already ends in s, you still add an apostrophe and an s, except that some people don’t do that, and some people say its okay:

This is James’s bicycle.
This is James’ bicycle.

I do it the first way, which I believe is preferred. However, when you have a word that ends in -es and it is pronounced as -ez, you don’t add the extra s:

These are Socrates’ words.

And we don’t add the extra s with Jesus:

These are Jesus’ words.

But today we are talking about two other possessive issues. 

Which One Do We Use?

 Let’s say we are talking about the Blake County Writers Club. Or is it the Writer’s Club? Or is it the Writers’ Club? 

Writers Club – We aren’t using Writers as a possessive noun at all, but as an adjective describing the club.
Writer’s Club – The club begins to each writer individually.
Writers’ Club – The club belongs to all the writers.

Most people agree that either writers or writer’s is acceptable.

But let’s talk about the restroom. On the door of the restroom, we often have Ladies on one door and Men on the other door. They are both plural nouns. No problems. (OK, maybe there is a problem, but I am not talking about new laws.)

When we talk about these rooms, we are likely to say Ladies Room and Mens Room. But we cannot spell them that way, can we? Look at mens. Men is already plural. We cannot add an s to it; mens isn’t a word. We need to make it possessive if is going to have an extra s. Men’s Room is plural possessive, which if you look above at Writers Club is not one of the preferred spellings. We  never say Man’s Room, which is equivalent to Writer’s Club. It just sounds weird. So the equivalent of Writers Club or Ladies Room is Men Room. That sounds very strange, yet they are all plurals, no possessive. Just something to think about!

Two Owners

Another possessive issue is with a two separate owners: 

John’s and Mary’s new car is bright red.
John and Mary’s new car is bright red.

Which is it? It is the second one. Now look at these examples:

John’s and Mary’s new cars are bright red.
John and Mary’s new car is bright red.

So if they both share ownership of the same item, we make only the second one possessive. If we are talking about separate items that they own, we make each one possessive.

Here is another little issue that really has nothing to do with possession, but I was reminded of it while writing this post:

All six bridesmaids wore a yellow dress at the wedding. (Can you picture all six of them squeezing into that one yellow dress?)
All six bridesmaids wore yellow dresses at the wedding. (Ah! Much more comfortable!)


Grammar Diva News

The second edition of The Best Little Grammar Book Ever! is now available in paperback from Amazon and all other online booksellers. You can also order the book from your local bookstore. 

The Kindle version is also now available. The e-book will also be available on all other readers in ????  – a short while!

Lower Prices on Kindle! 

The prices on all my Kindle books have been lowered! Check it out!

Grammar Workshop

To launch my new book, I will be presenting a grammar workshop at Copperfield’s Books in Petaluma on Saturday, August 6, at 1 p.m. Be there! You know it will be fun! Books will be available at the store if you would like to buy one.

 

 

 

Speaking of Spelling . . .

During last week’s Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington DC, the youngest participant ever, a six-year- old first grader from Texas, correctly spelled inviscate, but was tripped up by bacteriolytic, in which he substituted an a for the 0. Nonetheless, he received a standing ovation from the other contestants. And some first graders are just beginning to learn their letters!

To further illustrate the range of spelling prowess (and not), an article this week reported that these five words are most commonly misspelled by men in online dating profiles:

bachelor – It does kind of sound like there should be a t in there. And maybe -er at the end.
accommodate – This is a tough one for lots of people, but you just need to remember there are two c‘s, two m‘s and two o‘s.
dysfunction (spelled with dis-) – I have no idea why anyone would even put this word in a dating profile!
independent (spelled with -ant at the end)
misspell – Again, what is this word doing in a dating profile? Just remember, there are two s‘s, one for the prefix mis- and one for the word spell.

So what makes some people good spellers? A combination of things.

Spelling knowledge is stored in a part of the left brain called the orthographic long-term memory.
The ability to match sounds to letters, so that you might make a good try at spelling something, is done by yet another part of the left brain.
Regardless of which way you do it, you need to hold the letters in your mind, convert them into names, and produce them in the right order. That is orthographic working memory.
Serious, competitive spellers, like those in the spelling bee, practice a lot – several hours a day.
Serious, competitive spellers often have coaches.
Good spellers are generally good at patterns.
Good spellers probably read a lot.
Good spelling entails memorization as well. Knowing how sounds are spelled in various languages is a crucial part of the National Spelling Bee. Participants always ask the etymology of a word. If a word originates from the French, a long a sound is apt to be spelled et, as in ballet.

Getting back to this year’s National Spelling Bee, for the third year in a row, the contest ended in a tie, producing co-champions. This year, the champs were thirteen and eleven, the eleven-year-old being the youngest winner in the competition’s 91-year history.

The final words this year were Feldenkrais and gesellschaft, allowing the two boys to beat out almost 300 contestants.

It is apparent that the words get more difficult every year. In 1925, the first year of the bee, the winning word was the rather simple gladiolus. In the 1930s, winning words were as simple as knack, torsion, deteriorating, and sanitarium. In the 1940s spellers won with therapy, initials, and psychiatry . A cinch!

In the 1950s fairly simple words like vignette and condominium were joined by more obscure words like soubrette, crustaceology, and syllepsis. Some words of the 1960s were esquamulose, sycophant, and Chihuahua. Vouchsafe and narcolepsy were words received by some rather fortunate winners in the 1970s.  In the 1980s words ranged from the rather simple luge to the rather tricky elegiacal. The 1990s decade was full of interesting words including kamikaze, xanthosis, antediluvian, and chiaroscurist.

The 21st century words definitely stepped it up a bit. Here are some of the winning words: succedaneum, autochthonous, Ursprache, guerdon, feuilleton, and scherenschnitte.

Speaking of spelling: The AP (Associated Press) announced this week that internet and web would no longer be spelled with an initial capital letter –  due to the fact that the words are now commonplace. We don’t know yet how the Chicago Manual of Style feels about it. My advice? Lowercase them.

Grammar Diva News
Available this week!

Kindle Version: Available June 4.

Paperback Version: Next week sometime

Amazon description: This is a new edition of this bestselling book. “The Best Little Grammar Book Ever” was originally published in 2010. Since then it has sold thousands of copies and received great reviews from its users, which include schools, colleges, and professional writers. The aim of the book was to solve those common grammar, punctuation, and word usage issues that stump us all. This second edition has been reformatted and updated with some new grammar standards and additional information, including an expanded section on comma use. The book also includes an introduction to basic grammar, lists of commonly misspelled and mispronounced words, a writing lesson, a final test, and a complete index. The first book in a series of three, “The Best Little Grammar Book Ever!” will be followed by “The Best Little Grammar Workbook Ever!” and “The Best Little Book of Confused Words and Phrases!”

 

 

 

 

Does Anyone Write Letters Anymore?

Some of you — including me — remember writing “real” letters, both friendly and business. Some of us girls might have had some pretty blue or pink paper and written to our friends or relatives who were far away. A letter might start with Dear Susie,  or maybe Hi Frannie! We would fold the paper neatly, put the letter in a matching envelope, stick (actually, we would have to lick it!) a stamp on it, and put it in a mailbox (one of those blue things that was on the sidewalk on every street corner). Ah, the memories . . . 

Or maybe we had to write a business letter — maybe a cover letter for a job we wanted, or a letter to apply to college. That would be typed on a typewriter and, later, a computer. We would use letter-size white (or maybe cream-colored) paper for that. We would put on the appropriate headings, type carefully, fold the paper in three parts, put it in a business-size envelope, carefully print or type (or type up a label), remember to put the stamp on, and once again, drop it in the mailbox.

Well, those days are gone. Most of the time we send our letters by e-mail, whether they are formal business letters, business memos, friendly letters, or friendly memos. Is format and procedure still important in our business correspondence?

Yes and no. Things have definitely become less formal.

Let’s start with the formal letter. We still do write those, but usually we e-mail them. This post deals with salutations (greetings) and closings of letters and memos. (There are various ways to do other heading material on business letters.)

Salutations:

If we are applying to college, sending a cover letter (some companies don’t even want those any longer), or complaining to  a company about something we bought — or whatever — we want to send a formal business letter. The salutation to that type of letter is generally Dear/ name/ colon:

Dear Mr. Alvarado:
Dear Dr. Seuss:

Sometimes the Dear is omitted. PLEASE do not address your letters to Sir (Dear Sir:). Find out the name of whomever you are sending the letter to. It is easy to find out names now that we have the Internet. And, of course, do not address your letters to To whom it may concern: (I have used lowercase letters because technically only the first word of a salutation is uppercase; however, most of the time the words are names and titles, so they are capitalized!)

Use a colon for a business letter, rather than a comma.

For a friendly e-mail, anything goes. Usually, we use a comma after the name. Some people like to use dashes. Same goes for a friendly memo. There is often a fine line between a business and a friendly memo. Some memos don’t really have a salutation, Let’s talk about those first. They look like this:

     To: Marketing Department

     From: Ralph Scott

     RE: Meeting this Friday

     And you would just start writing the information . . . 

For a business note/memo, you might want a salutation. If you have not met the person, or this is the first time you are contacting them, you might want to be more formal. If you are well-acquainted with the person, you might want to be informal. Whatever you choose to do, just use your best judgement: make sure you are not offending the receiver of your memo. If you think they want to be addressed formally, then do that. If you are on first-name basis, then be informal. You can still  use colon if you like, even with a more informal memo greeting. Here are some examples of memo salutations:

Dear President Fowler:
Dear Mr. Gates:
Kathy:
Hi Kathy:
Joe,
Joe:

It is your call how formal or informal is right for a particular memo. 

Closings

Here is a rule you may not know about closings of letter and memos: Only the first word of the closing is capitalized if you use a multi-word closing:

Yours truly,
Sincerely yours, 
With regards,

Closings are followed by  a comma, and underneath, your name.

What about the closing “Thank you” or “Thanks”?

Personally, I don’t like thank you or thanks as a closing followed by a comma:

     Thank you,

     Joe

I would prefer “Thank you” as the last sentence, followed by a closing:

     Thank you. ( or Thank you very much. OR Thank you for your consideration of this matter.)

     Sincerely,

     Frank Possum

Sincerely yours, 

The Grammar Diva

 

My new book, an updated edition of my first grammar book, will be released and available this coming week. It will be available on Amazon, Kindle, and other popular e-readers (iBook, Kobo, Nook), as well as available from Ingram. How is it different from the first edition?

It has been reformatted.
The quizzes have been taken out (because an accompanying workbook will be released in a few months), but there is a final test that covers the entire book.
There are additions for new/changed grammar rules.
There is an additional chapter on confusing words.
There is an expanded section on comma usage.

 

 

 

Yay or Nay? The Singular “They”

Yay or Nay? The Singular They?

If you are a member of the nerdy world of grammarians, you know that there are “controversial” grammar topics. One of those is the use of the Oxford comma. Another is the use of the singular they.

They is a pronoun. A pronoun is a word that stands in for a noun. For example, you would use they to perhaps stand in for the boys (The boys went to the circus/They went to the circus). Or you would use she to stand in for Lucy  (Lucy is mowing the lawn/She is mowing the lawn).

We can see that obviously she is singular; it stands in for one female. He is singular and stands in for one male. It is singular and stands in for one “nongendered” noun.

They, on the other hand, is obviously plural, along with its relatives them and their. I think we can all agree on that one.

But how many times have you said, or heard someone say, Everyone is bringing their book to the meeting or something similar? Let’s pick that sentence apart:

We have something in grammar called agreement. Agreement means that a singular subject will have a singular verb form to go with it. And a singular noun or pronoun will have a singular pronoun of the same gender stand in for it. Now as much as the pronoun everyone sounds plural, it isn’t. It is singular. You can tell because you use a singular verb with it; it just sounds right. You wouldn’t say Everyone are bringing. But you would say They are bringing because they is plural. Okay, so we have a singular subject (everyone) and a matching singular verb (is bringing), but what about their book? Their is plural. It doesn’t agree. 

Now if we said Everyone in the girls’ book club is bringing her book to the meeting, we would all be happy. Everyone in the boys’ book club is bringing his book to the meeting would also make us happy.

But if everyone refers to a mixture of male and female, or if we simply don’t know, what do we do? Well, we used to just say his or her and be done with it. Actually, before that, we probably used to just say his and be done with it — before the days of political correctness and women’s rights. And people have tried his/her and alternating his and her, but neither of those solutions work.

What to do . . . what to do . . .

Well, most everyone just uses their. It is easier to use one word than that clunky old his or her. And most people don’t think or care about that agreement rule anyway. 

The English language, so far, doesn’t have a word that can stand in for either a singular male or female. I hear that a word is being developed as we speak . . . for the transgender population, not for us grammarians, but we will take it!

But until such a word is added to our language? A short while after my first book came out, which was six years ago, my cover designer ( an extremely intelligent gentleman) told me that the grammar powers-that-be (which I believe are the Webster folks) had anointed the use of the singular they as completely proper. Therefore, the sentence Everyone is bringing their book to the meeting is fine.

Most people use it and have been using it, without knowing or caring, forever. However, many people, especially when making a speech, do use he or she, or his or her. Similarly, most grammarians and language purists are horrified by the use — and even more, the acceptance —  of the singular they.

So, you can do as you wish. I tell anyone I am teaching to use he or she (his or hers)  because you can never be accused of being too right! After all, many of “my generation” may not know that the singular they is now okay. I am curious to know your take on this topic. Yay or nay? Please comment!

Grammar Diva News:

My new book, The Best Little Grammar Book Ever: Speak and Write with Confidence/Avoid Common Mistakes (Second Edition) will be out in paperback and e-book in June. It is currently available for presale on Kindle at a special low price, which will change when the book is released on June 25. Here is the link for the presale at a special price of $4.99 instead of the regular price of $8.99.

 

Got Friggatriskaidekaphobia? Paraskevidekatriaphobia?

Happy Friday the 13th!

This morning, when I was thinking about writing my blog post, it dawned on me that I have written all types of holiday posts, but never a post about Friday the 13th. Yes, both friggatriskaidekaphobia and paraskevidekatriaphobia are words that mean “fear of Friday the 13th.”

Friggatriskaidekaphobia comes from Frigg, the Norse goddess of wisdom (after whom Friday is named) and the Greek words triskaideka, meaning 13, and phobia, meaning fear. Paraskevidekatriaphobia comes from paraskeví, which means Friday, and dekatria, 13, also from the Greek.

Here are some interesting things about Friday the 13th:

1.This may be the origin of the fear:  Jesus was crucified on a Friday. It is believed that 13 guests attended the Last Supper the night before Jesus was killed. The disciple who betrayed Jesus, Judas, is believed to have been the 13th guest.

2. It is not really a “dangerous day.” A study published in 2011 found that there’s no link between Friday the 13th and an increase of  emergency room visits.

3. Viva Las Vegas wedding chapel offers three different packages on Friday the 13th: zombie, vampire, and “Rocky Horror”-themed ceremonies.

 4. A NASA report says a large asteroid will fly close enough to the Earth to be visible without a telescope in Africa, Europe, and Asia on Friday, April 13, 2029.

 5. Taylor Swift has a special connection with the number 13: “I was born on the 13th. I turned 13 on Friday the 13th. My first album went gold in 13 weeks. My first No. 1 song had a 13-second intro,” the singer told MTV in a 2009 interview.

6. The first documented mention of the day can be found in a biography of Italian composer Rossini, who died on a Friday 13th.  

7. Experts say that fear of Friday the 13th affects millions of people and estimate that businesses, especially airlines, suffer from severe losses on this day.

8. Triskaidekaphobia, or the fear of the number 13 is even more widespread. Many high-rise buildings, hotels, and hospitals (and this blog post) skip the 13th floor, and many airports do not have gates numbered 13. In many parts of the world, having 13 people at the dinner table is considered bad luck.

9. All years will have at least one Friday the 13th. The good news is that there cannot be more than three Friday the 13ths in any given calendar year. The longest you can go without seeing a Friday the 13th is 14 months.

10. For a month to have a Friday the 13th, the month must begin on a Sunday. 

11. Three Friday the 13ths can occur in a leap year as well. If January 1 of a leap year falls on a Sunday, the months of January, April, and July will each have a Friday the 13th.

12. Alfred Hitchcock was born on the 13th. The master of suspense was born on August 13, 1899 – so Friday, August 13, 1999 would have been his 100th birthday. He made his directorial debut in 1922 with a movie called Number 13.

14. Friday the 13th is not universally seen as a day of misery. In Italy, Friday the 17th and not Friday the 13th is considered to be a day that brings bad luck. In fact, the number 13 is considered to be a lucky number!

 15.In many Spanish-speaking countries and in Greece, Tuesday the 13th is seen as a day of misfortune.

16. Many studies have shown that Friday the 13th has little or no effect on events like accidents and natural disasters.

17. The commercially successful Friday the 13th enterprise includes 12 horror movies, a television series, and several books that focus on curses and superstitions. Even though the films and the television series consistently received negative reviews from critics, they have a huge following. 

18. Since 1995, Finland has dedicated one Friday the 13th in a year to observe National Accident Day. The day aims to raise awareness about safety — on the roads, at home, and in the workplace.

19. In the United States alone, it is estimated that between 17 and 21 million people dread that date to the extent that it can be officially classified as a phobia.

20. Adam and Eve were purported to have died on the then-nonexistent “Friday.” 

21. Most of the pleasure-boats make their first voyage for the season on Good Friday.

22. The name “Friday” was chosen in honor of the Norse goddess Frigg, also known as Freyja, who was the multitalented goddess of love, beauty, wisdom, war, death, and magic. Teutonic people are thought to have considered the day extremely unlucky, especially for weddings, due in part to the lovely goddess the day was named for. Later, the Christian church attempted to demonize the goddess, so that may or may not be a contributing factor as well.

23. The notion that Friday was popularly considered unlucky among the masses doesn’t seem to have popped up until around the mid-17th century. Within the next two centuries after that, the idea continued to spread and by the 19th century was nearly ubiquitous in certain cultures.

24. It is considered incredibly bad luck to have 13 people sitting at a table for dinner, which supposedly is due to the fact that Judas Iscariot was by tradition the 13th person to be seated to dine at the Last Supper. The Hindus also believed that it was bad luck for 13 people to gather together for any purpose at the same time.

25. According to the old Norse myth, 12 gods were feasting at the banquet hall at Valhalla, when Loki, the god of Mischief, showed up uninvited. This, of course, brought the count of gods up to the dreaded number of 13. Loki then encouraged Hod, the blind god of winter and darkness, to murder Balder the Good with a spear of mistletoe, throwing all of Valhalla into mourning, and once again providing another example of a story in history that congregating with 13 for dinner is a bad idea.

26.In goddess-worshipping cultures, the number 13 was often revered, as it represented the number of lunar and menstrual cycles that occur annually. It is believed by those who adhere to this theory that as the 12-month solar calendar came into use over the 13-month lunar calendar, the number 13 itself became suspect.

27. The Ancient Egyptians believed life was a spiritual journey that unfolded in stages. They believed that 12 of those stages occurred in this life, but last, the 13th, was a joyous transformative ascension to an eternal afterlife. So the number 13 represented death to the Egyptians, but not death as in decay and fear, but as acknowledgement of a glorious eternal life.

28. Others point to the last day of King Harold II’s reign on Friday, October 13, 1066. William of Normandy gave him the opportunity to relinquish his crown, which he refused. The next day William took it by force at the Battle of Hastings, causing Harold’s demise. Again, it is a modern idea that this is where the first “Friday the 13th is the ultimate unlucky day” notion came about.

29.William Fowler formed a club known as “The Thirteen Club” in which club members would meet in groups of 13 to dine, with their first ever get together occurring, of course, Friday the 13th in January of 1881. To thumb their noses even further at the fates, they had club members walk under a ladder before sitting down to a table in room 13 of the building they were in. They also made sure there was plenty of spilled salt on the table before they dined.

30. The Dutch Centre for Insurance Statistics in 2008 attempted to prove that Friday the 13th was no different from any other day. They found Friday the 13th is actually a slightly safer day to drive than other days, at least using two years’ worth of data from 2006-2008 in the Netherlands. In that span, there were an average of 7,500 traffic accidents on days that were both Friday and the 13th of the month. On Fridays that didn’t line up with the 13th, there were an average of 7,800 accidents each day. Their theory is simply that, due to the phobia, fewer people drive on Friday the 13th and people are more careful when they have to. They also found similar trends with reported fires and crimes, with fewer happening on Fridays that coincide with the 13th day of the month.

And now you know more about Friday the 13th, Fridays, and 13s, than you ever imagined you would! Have a Happy Friday the 13th!

Thank you to my sources: If you would like to read more, here are the links.

http://www.whio.com/news/news/national/6-things-you-didnt-know-about-friday-13/npMd4/

http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/13-things-friday-13.html

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/09/the-origin-of-friday-the-13th-as-an-unlucky-day/

————————————————

Grammar Diva News:

My new book, the Second Edition of The Best Little Grammar Book Ever! will be available for resale on Kindle in a couple of days. It will be out in paperback next month as well. The second edition of the book has been reformatted and updated with new grammar standards and additional information, including an expanded section on comma use (yay!). The book is the first in a series of Best Little Grammar Books. The second will be The Best Little Grammar Workbook Ever! and the third is The Best Little Book of Confused Words and Phrases Ever! Both of these books should be out by the end of the summer. 

I will be launching the paperback edition of the book on August 6 with a workshop at Petaluma Copperfield’s. 

 

A Songworthy Tribute to Mothers

Happy Mother’s Day!

It is time again for the annual Mother’s Day post. This year I thought I would try something different. Many, many songs have been written about mothers and with mother in the title. I have attempted (hear that? attempted!) to write a story of sorts with some of these titles included. Song titles are in boldface and the recording artist is in italics and parentheses. Enjoy!

 

 

Dear John:

I should have listened to Dear Mama (2pac). Mama Said (Shirelles) I shouldn’t go out with you. Mama Tried (Merle Haggard) to tell me you were a player.  Mama Told Me Not to Come (Three Dog Night) out of my room the first time you came to pick me up. Mama Don’t Allow (Hank Thompson) me to go out with men who have reputations like yours. Even My Mammy’s (Al Jolson) Mother-In-Law (Ernie K-Doe) said you were trouble. Tell Mama (Etta James) you didn’t mean to hurt me. I am my Mother’s Pride (George Michael) and joy! I’ll Always Love My Mama (Intruders). When I first met you, I said, “Mama He’s Crazy (Judds),” but then I changed my mind and  now I feel bad about Mama’s Broken Heart (Miranda Lambert).  Mama Didn’t Lie (Jan Bradley) when she told me I was right in the first place!

I have always been Mother’s Little Helper (Rolling Stones) and now my Little Mama (Clovers) is crying!  Hey, Ma (Cam’ron), you used to be such a Pistol Packin’ Mama (Al Dexter) but now She’s a Bad Mama Jama (Carl Carlton). I can see the disappointment in My Mother’s Eyes (George Jessel). Mama You’ve Been on My Mind (Bob Dylan), I think to myself all the time, and Your Mother Should Know (Beatles) how I have let My Yiddish Momme (Sophie Tucker) down. 

I Had a Good Father and Mother (Washington Phillips).  Papa Loved Mama (Garth Brooks) before he died. He always said, “Mamma Talk to Your Daughter (JB Lenoir) about that dude she’s dating. Mama Said Knock You Out (LL Cool J), but did I listen? No. Mama Weer All Crazee Now (Slade). 

I hope Mama (Spice Girls)  forgives me for hurting her and that we can have a Mother and Child Reunion (Paul Simon). I hope I can cure her Pretty Mama Blues (Ivory Joe Hunter). I always knew Mama Can’t Buy You Love (Elton John). 

And you, John, Have You Seen Your Mother Standing In The Shadows (Rolling Stones) ashamed of your behavior? And as a result of her disappointment in me, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (Jimmy Boyd)! When You’re Good to Mama (Mary McCarty) she doesn’t have to resort to such things.

Mama Used to Say (Junior) Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys (Waylon & Willie). I fear I have grown up to be something worse.  Look Mama (Howard Jones), I am so sorry. I Wanna Be Mama’d (Jimmy Logsdon) again….. Hey, Lawdy, Mama (Steppenwolf), I am sorry for what I put you through. 

Love, 

Your Daughter

————————–

Many artists did songs simply called Mama, or something similar:

Mother (John Lennon)

Mother (Danzig)

Motorcycle Mama (Steppenwolf)

Crazy Mama (JJ Cale)

Mama (BJ Thomas)

Mother Freedom (Bread)

Future Baby Mama (Prince)

Lollipop Mama (Wynonie Harris)

Hey Mama (Kanye West)

Say Mama (Gene Vincent)

Welfare Mothers (Neil Young)

Mother (Police)

TV Mama (Big Joe Turner)

Mamma Mia (Abba)

Mother (Pink Floyd)

Mama (Spice Girls)

Mama (Connie Francis)

Mama Kin (Aerosmith)

Mother Mother (Tracy Bonham)

Sexy Mama (Moments)

Mother Popcorn (James Brown)

Fujiyama Mama (Wanda Jackson)

Mama (Genesis)

 

Happy Mothers Day from The Grammar Diva to You!

 

 

STEAM: The “A” Stands for The Arts

Last week I wrote a post about STEM . . . how the emphasis in public education is on science, technology, engineering, and math . . . as being the appropriate preparation for today’s jobs. I do not disagree that these fields are where the jobs are. I do, however, think that the ability to communicate clearly is still important, as is the role of the arts in a well-rounded education.

Even in college, students during their first two years are required to take “general education” courses. These courses fall into a variety of categories and are there to provide a well-founded education. Such requirements were there when I went to college, and as far as I know, exist today. So, even though I was planning to major in journalism and English Literature, I needed to take two classes in the maths or sciences, two classes in the social sciences, two classes in the fine arts, and so on. 

Yes, one of the problems of this is that if you are not interested in math or science, you tend to choose the “gut” classes — classes that you think will be easy to just get by in. In my case, it was nutrition, which everyone said was an easy way to the requirement. For my other class, however, I chose astronomy; it sounded like fun. However, I nearly failed it, as it was a very difficult math class. And I was no math slouch, having taken calculus in high school.

So perhaps, college is too late for the well-rounded, classical education, as most people have developed their interests by then. However, in grades K through 12, I think we certainly need the classical education. We need art and music. And we need language, foreign language and English language. 

In high school, and even junior high school, English class tends to become a literature class. Why? Here are some possible reasons:

Teachers don’t like to teach grammar and writing.
Students won’t pay attention to grammar “rules.” It’s boring. It’s difficult.
Teachers don’t feel comfortable with their knowledge of grammar.
The standards and the powers-that-be don’t stress grammar.

That last reason isn’t really true, although we might think it is. For example, here are some of the Common Core  language standards for grade 6:
    *Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
    *Ensure that pronouns are in the proper case (subjective, objective, possessive).
    *Use intensive pronouns (e.g., myself, ourselves).
    *Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in pronoun number and person.
    *Recognize and correct vague pronouns (i.e., ones with unclear or ambiguous antecedents
    *Use punctuation (commas, parentheses, dashes) to set off nonrestrictive/parenthetical elements.*
    *Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
    *Vary sentence patterns for meaning, reader/listener interest, and style.
    *Maintain consistency in style and tone
    *Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., audience, auditory, audible).
    *Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
    *Interpret figures of speech (e.g., personification) in context.
    *Use the relationship between particular words (e.g., cause/effect, part/whole, item/category) to better understand each of the words.
    *Distinguish among the connotations (associations) of words with similar denotations (definitions) (e.g., stingy, scrimping, economical, unwasteful, thrifty).

Pretty sophisticated, huh? Yes, grammar and language are definitely in the standards . . . whether they are actually taught is another question.

I told you last week that I would give you my thoughts on what should be taught as far as language is concerned. 

Some high schools have separate classes for English Literature and English Language. I like that. I don’t know if it is still true, but last I knew, there were separate Advanced Placement Tests in high school for literature and language. There used to be SAT2 subject area tests in both Literature and Language, but apparently now there is no longer Language; there is Hebrew and Chinese and French and Spanish, but no English language. What a pity.

I think English Literature and English language are separate. Many school administrators and teachers believe that grammar and writing should be taught as part of the literature. I have talked about this before: how, to me, it is like hiding grammar in literature because grammar is so distasteful, kind of like hiding the broccoli in the mashed potatoes. And I don’t think language is just about writing and speaking correctly. Knowing about your language is important for its own sake. It is part of our history.

Why not make language interesting? In language classes, and in language arts in elementary school, why not teach the history of our language? The closest we come is to teach Greek and Latin roots, which is important and interesting. But why not teach why we have grammar in the first place, where it came from, where it is going, how many words are continuously added to the dictionaries, where our grammar standards came from, what happens to your writing if you don’t follow some of those standards. Why do students learn more grammar in French or Spanish class than they do in English class? I think we should have separate language classes in junior high or high school, maybe not in every grade, but language is certainly worthy or more attention. And that is my two cents. I would be happy to hear yours!