[LINK] Rick W's .sig

Pilcher, Fred Fred.Pilcher at act.gov.au
Fri Sep 28 12:39:42 AEST 2007


Ivan despaired: 
> Why is it that so many people use 'alternate' when they mean 
> 'alternative'? where did this spring from? (I'm not having a 
> go at Howard here, but just trying to understand where it all began)

a) Illiteracy
b) The US

There's a (fan) fiction genre known as "Alternate (sic) Universe",
generally abbreviated as AU, in which the characters are placed in an
alternative universe where things can be be anything from very slightly
to totally different. Whether the term has lent itself to the more
general expression or is derivative of it is anyone's guess - it's still
illiteracy.

Add it to "for free", the disappearance of "and" (in expressions like
"two thousand seven"), the purge of the venerable gerund ("swim team",
"swap meet")...I could go on (and on and on and on).

Every time I cringe at an Australian using any of these abominations in
the eyes of gods and man I take a deep breath and visit Paul Brians'
"Common Errors in English" (http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/) site,
and think about the horrors that our more literate US friends have to
deal with.

Fred
(Off-topic card-carrying curmudgeon) 
  
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