Friday November 30, 2007
Is it sweet to say ‘just deserts’?
By STEPHEN KAU
THE whole, sole purpose of a language is, of course, to communicate.
As British naturalist David Attenborough pointed out in one of his marvellous Life On Earth segments, humans (Homo sapiens) have been given a variety of descriptions to determine just what species of animals we are. But perhaps the best category for us, Sir David offered, is “Compulsive Communicators”.
Indeed, we do have this need to share news and views. The existence of this newspaper is only one of millions of examples of how much we seek to talk to others about what we have in common.
One problem, however, is the continuing debate over how much a language – English, for instance – should change to reflect changing times and values.
Consider enquiry/enquiries.
In the previous century, this word usually referred to a question or questions asked by somebody needing more information.
In this new millennium, however, ENquiry is regarded as old-fashioned, and appears to have been replaced by the ubiquitous INquiry.
Being pedantic, I find this difficult to accept. To me, an inquiry always meant an official investigation by law enforcers. (So, okay, I admit to being a BOF, an acronym I’m proud to claim as my own, meaning boring ol’ fart!)
My question is, how far should, or can, English evolve to suit the modern needs of such compulsive communicators? Shouldn’t there be some rules of grammar and phonetics that must not be bent, much less broken, to maintain standards?
“Just deserts” is another phrase that has changed through widespread usage.
Strictly speaking, it is “deserts” that is correct. However, most speakers/users of English settle for “just deSSerts” these days to refer to the deserved outcome (whether punishment or reward) that somebody receives.
To these folks, “desert” has only one meaning: A dry, sandy/rocky place. Well, this BOF would like to point out to such folks that, again speaking pedantically, a desert is, by definition, a place/region that gets very little rain.
This being the case, I would contend that the Sahara is NOT the largest desert in the world. Antarctica is.
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