The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #132499 Message #4077866
Posted By: Lighter
02-Nov-20 - 07:43 AM
Thread Name: BS: Language Pet Peeves
Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
So someone is a "semiliterate" for using "impact."
Fascinating.
My friend was clerk of the state supreme court for many years. The clerk's job (for those unfamiliar with the judicial system) is, essentially, to study the case, write a decision, and pass the decision on to the judge for approval or revision.
My friend had to revise just one decision in his career. He frequently uses "impact." And "irregardless," too.
Does that make him (and others who use these words) semiliterates?
When I was in high school, we were warned never to use "contact" as a verb, because it meant we were too lazy or tongue-tied to use "call," "phone," write," etc.
You can see how far that got.