Maybe it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time to give up the struggle. My temptation is to say, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153All right, all you people on loudspeakers in big box stores, and all of you behind a microphone: It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s alright to call it \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcjew-lery.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
It seems easier that way. We hear it on radio commercials: jew-lery; even jewelers, who make a living selling jewel-ry, still insist on putting the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153l\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in front of the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153r.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
A language cop from way back, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve harped on the subject often. Strange that people seem to spell it right, even if they can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t pronounce it. The key element is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153jewel.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d So why is it so difficult to simply add \u00e2\u20ac\u0153ry\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153jewel\u00e2\u20ac\u009d?<\/p>\n
We often pick up pronunciation through analogy, the letter combinations of other words. We say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153celery\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153cutlery,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d two words that might lead us to say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153jew-lery.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d But when do people use even these words except at a salad bar or kitchen?<\/p>\n
That thought, and a number of others, came to mind Friday morning at the homecoming breakfast, hosted annually by President James Fries of Highlands University. I responded to the invitation and, camera in hand, showed up for the breakfast. I met a young woman who told me about having earned a degree from Highlands and about wanting to continue supporting it.<\/p>\n
At our table were several purple-and-white pins for the taking, about three inches across, with the words: HU Alumni. In a teasing tone, I told the young lady, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You know, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not a Highlands alumni.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Of course I am. I have my B.A. to prove it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Do we misuse \u00e2\u20ac\u0153alumni\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as frequently as we butcher \u00e2\u20ac\u0153jew-lery\u00e2\u20ac\u009d? I was being picky that morning, teasing the young lady and about to mention that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153alumni\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is plural: Two or more are alumni but when it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s only one, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153alumnus.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
We English speakers often struggle with Greek and Latin roots and rules, especially when it comes to gender, singulars and plurals. By dint of constant use of these words \u00e2\u20ac\u201d not to mention the threat of a lowered grade if I made that error in class, I believe I learned the difference, painfully.<\/p>\n
And after I became a language cop-alumnus, I really tried. But maybe that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a word that will always be misused.<\/p>\n
The alumni-alumnus matter is easy to get wrong, as we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been conditioned to regard words that end with an \u00e2\u20ac\u0153s\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as plurals.<\/p>\n
I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve written about how some people take the lazy way out of decision-making by simply referring to any graduate as an \u00e2\u20ac\u0153alum\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201d that way we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t worry about number or gender. But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a cop-out. And isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t alum found in a spice can in our kitchen cabinet?<\/p>\n
Interested in the terms the way the dictionary handles them?<\/p>\n
Alumnus is singular, alumni plural. In most references, an alumnus is male. And what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the word for a female graduate? Alumna. What about more than one female graduate? That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s alumnae.
\nIf you see a mixed group of graduates, call them alumni. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s getting too complicated, almost making one wish there were no college degrees or graduates and therefore no need to use these complicated words.<\/p>\n
Ah, but just as I thought it was safe to head out of the deep linguistic waters, I saw a new twist.\u00c2\u00a0Let me explain:<\/p>\n
We used to have a frequent letter-to-the-editor writer who referred to himself as an \u00e2\u20ac\u0153alumni\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of Highlands. I posited that because he never graduated, he couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be an alumni or an alumnus. But what have we here? Most dictionaries don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t use graduation as a criteria (I obviously mean the singular, criterion, but that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s another example of language confusion) for the alum designation. Someone who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s merely attended school at some point qualifies as an alumnus.<\/p>\n
And that datum (singular for data) brings this issue to a close.<\/p>\n
Almost.<\/p>\n
I have two Highlands alumni stick-on pins that I wear on my shirt during homecoming. I saved one last year. The pins define me as an alumni.<\/p>\n
Not so, unless there are two of me.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u201a\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u201a\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2<\/p>\n
Heard on radio Monday about a dozen times: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a criteria of the program.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d That word is defined as a standard by which something is judged.<\/p>\n
People seldom seem to use the singular form, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153criterion.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Just like \u00e2\u20ac\u0153alumni,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u0153criteria takes a plural verb: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153There are several criteria for aceing this class. One criterion is perfect attendance.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u201a\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u201a\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2<\/p>\n
I can feel and share a glow when people are justifiably proud. My (almost) next-door neighbors, Ben and Peggy Hoogerhuis, are glowing over an item that appeared in a University of New Mexico Law School publication.<\/p>\n
Their grandson, Curtis Vigil, an accountant with the School of Law since 2010, is featured in an article, clad in his zebra stripes, officiating a basketball game. According to his uncle, Ron Hoogerhuis, Curtis belongs to a fairly large family of multi-sport athletes, having helped Robertson High School\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s athletic fortunes for several years.<\/p>\n
Curtis earned a B.A. degree in finance from Highlands in 2005. He and his wife, Robin, and their sons Ajay and Javen reside in Rio Rancho.<\/p>\n
Curtis officiates high school basketball games as well as Division II Men\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s and Women\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s college basketball in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u201a\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2\u00e2\u20ac\u201a\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2<\/p>\n
Look for a new word to replace \u00e2\u20ac\u0153like\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as the most commonly inserted piece of filler in conversation. Listen, my children, and you shall hear the word \u00e2\u20ac\u0153literally\u00e2\u20ac\u009d incessantly whispered in your ear.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153He was literally on fire at the game!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d No he wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t; he just scored a lot of points. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Mom literally exploded when she saw I wrecked the car!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d No she wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t, and her body didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t leave shrapnel all over the carport. But she was angry.<\/p>\n
And we also hear expressions like, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I was literally on my hands and knees, begging for a better grade.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d No you weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t; you were on your cell phone composing a nasty note to your teacher.<\/p>\n
Many these now-very-common expressions are likely to join existing filler words. Their overuse is destined to drive us all batty \u00e2\u20ac\u201d but not literally.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Maybe it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time to give up the struggle. My temptation is to say, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153All right, all you people on loudspeakers in big box stores, and all of you behind a microphone: It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s alright to call it \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcjew-lery.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d It seems easier that way. We hear it on radio commercials: jew-lery; even jewelers, who make a living […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1274"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1274"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1274\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1275,"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1274\/revisions\/1275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}