A Gallimaufry of Gaffes
Last week, a sleek black enormous Dodge Ram passed me as I was driving to school. It's back window touted an advertisement for a personal business, Custom Metalwork. The main part of the ad proclaimed the many types of metalwork available:
Chimney Caps
Planter Box's
Fireplace Hood's
Cupolas
Backsplash's
Range Hoods
(Note the two "hoods" that are punctuated differently and the other pluralized words that someone felt were in need of more than just a simple "es")
I initially intended to put this on the blog as a question of "Do the odd punctuation errors make you doubt the proficiency or professionalism of this business?" However, as I read the "Phenomenology of Error" I started to reconsider errors in language at a whole new level. What is error? I must admit I got lost and confused in the erudite language and formulas. However, what I did understand (and I could be completely wrong because of the whole "lost and confused" issue!) was that errors are not errors for everyone. What one person has written or spoken, believing that they are using the language correctly, can be "proved" to be an error by another through a different grammar book! How will anyone ever learn "correct" usage of the English language? Who will get to say it is correct? How far will we go in correcting or ignoring errors just because someone can prove or contradict the rule? Can "(range) hoods" and "(fireplace) hood's" come to mean the same thing because it is printed on the side of a truck? Where will we draw the line as teachers as to what is an error and what is a stylistic choice? Again, is "hoods" and "hood's" just a stylistic choice made to catch attention? Where do we find the answers?
