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Post by Pete on May 23, 2008 23:22:33 GMT
We have recently had the debate about the incorrect use of "myself", as in "please call myself ...". But there is, I think, a 'correct' usage, although it's possibly not standard English. The context was an email to me about a conference and the organiser was saying that the speakers would include "Prof. X, Dr. Y and your good self." Now, I know that the guy concerned would have said "... and yourself", which would have been wrong. But I think "your good self" works.
But why does it work?
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Post by Bertie on May 24, 2008 7:05:46 GMT
Once upon a time during a short spell of working in an actual business environment - something I have managed to avoid most of my life - I remember 'actioning' a letter which contained a glorious 'typo' which had probably been perpetrated by an audio-typist.
"[...] we await delivery from your goods elves."
I marked the letter "to be forwarded to our Lapland Branch for the attention of S.Claus"!
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Post by Paul Doherty on May 24, 2008 7:59:33 GMT
"[...] we await delivery from your goods elves." Excellent!
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Post by Dr Mildr on May 24, 2008 8:48:29 GMT
To digress from the original, some minutes from the previous month's research meeting at work contained a random reference to the lovely county of Essex. After much head scratching we eventually realised it was a mis-hearing of ethics. Oh how we chuckled (well, it lightened the mood a little). If only ethics applications could be abandoned or all sent to Essex for consideration.
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Post by Pete on May 24, 2008 9:32:28 GMT
This reminds me of a friend who comments of good deeds that "your reward will be in Hendon".
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Post by Sue M-V on May 24, 2008 14:23:55 GMT
Oh, do keep it coming, folks! I'm mostly buried under my last heap of exam essays for this term, and bolt here from time to time to preserve my sanity. All these jolly examples help a great deal!
Sue
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Post by amanda on May 24, 2008 15:18:55 GMT
Happy to oblige since you ask, Sue! Dear old Peggy was an audio typist who was obviously hard of hearing, and furthermore didn't have the gumption to query what she was typing. In one of her classics she misheard the word audit, and sent the following to a bemused client: 'Our files, like those of every other insurance company, are subject to an independent annual holiday.'
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Post by Paul Doherty on May 24, 2008 16:10:25 GMT
she misheard holiday for audit??
(Sometimes you do need two question marks.)
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Post by goofy on May 24, 2008 16:47:44 GMT
If by "incorrect use of "myself" you're referring to a reflexive pronoun without a same-clause antecendent, this use seems to be standard, altho it's most common in speech and informal prose, but not limited to informal contexts. It's at least 400 years old. The company was, Miss Hannah More... Mrs. Boscawen, Mrs. Elizabeth Carter, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Dr. Burney, Dr. Johnson and myself - James Boswell, Life of Johnson, 1791 ...which will reconcile Max Lerner with Felix Frankfurter and myself with God - EB White, letter, 1942 ...no one would feel more gratified by the chance of obtaining his observations on a work than myself - Lord Byron, letter, 1811 Like myself, she was vexed at his getting married - Samuel Butler, 1903 ...appointed Mr. Francis, then attorney-general and myself to draw up constitutions for the government of the academy - Benjamin Franklin, 1788 These examples are slightly different than "please call myself" because the pronoun is conjoined. However, prescriptive grammar says that conjoined pronouns behave no differently than single pronouns with respect to case, so if "appointed myself" is wrong, then "appointed Mr. Francis and myself" is wrong too.
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Post by Pete on May 24, 2008 17:16:51 GMT
If by "incorrect use of "myself" you're referring to a reflexive pronoun without a same-clause antecendent, this use seems to be standard, altho it's most common in speech and informal prose, but not limited to informal contexts. It's at least 400 years old. The company was, Miss Hannah More... Mrs. Boscawen, Mrs. Elizabeth Carter, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Dr. Burney, Dr. Johnson and myself - James Boswell, Life of Johnson, 1791 ...which will reconcile Max Lerner with Felix Frankfurter and myself with God - EB White, letter, 1942 ...no one would feel more gratified by the chance of obtaining his observations on a work than myself - Lord Byron, letter, 1811 Like myself, she was vexed at his getting married - Samuel Butler, 1903 ...appointed Mr. Francis, then attorney-general and myself to draw up constitutions for the government of the academy - Benjamin Franklin, 1788 These examples are slightly different than "please call myself" because the pronoun is conjoined. However, prescriptive grammar says that conjoined pronouns behave no differently than single pronouns with respect to case, so if "appointed myself" is wrong, then "appointed Mr. Francis and myself" is wrong too. :)Goofy, thanks, this is very interesting. I still find that the reflexive form feels wrong much of the time but I accept the distinguished history of its use. I am not, however, going to let my staff start ending letters with phrases like "please call myself", simply because I still believe that I am the only person that can do that. In other words, I still cannot get comfortable with the reflexive pronoun being the object of the verb, where a different person is the subject. (I hope I have explained that correctly, as I am not a grammarian.)
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Post by Barry on May 24, 2008 18:12:07 GMT
One more for Sue. Not so much a mis-hearing, as an unfortunate line-break. We're all familiar with these: the- rapist being a classic one.
I have a friend who edits music (and musical books). Apparently, according to a book on the composer Paul Hindemith he edited, one of the things that Hindemith was lauded for was his craftsmans- hip (possibly related to tennis elbow?).
Another expression that used to fill me with joy was one always used by a colleague of mine many years ago. Her first language was Urdu, so she could be forgiven the odd infelicity with English. When I was using my phone, any call coming in to me would divert to her, and she'd usually explain to the caller that I was 'over the phone'.
On another note, will some university please give the president of China an honorary PhD.? The standard English way of adding a title to Chinese names is, I think, to use the first one as the 'patronymic', so, currently, Hu Jintao is referred to as 'Mr Hu'. An honorary PhD. would be a useful way of cementing Anglo-Chinese relations, and would give us all a small smile once in a while when John Humhpreys refers to him ...
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Post by Sue M-V on May 24, 2008 23:19:26 GMT
Hee-hee! Thanks Mands and Barry! Only three essays still to go, and it's only 01:18! I must get them done before bedtime as I have lots of other things to mark tomorrow!
Why does anyone ever become a teacher?!
Sue
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Post by Pete on May 24, 2008 23:24:39 GMT
Why does anyone ever become a teacher?! Sue Sue, 25 years ago I lived with a teacher, at a time when teachers were striking for a decent salary. They had a wonderful car sticker that said, "If you can read this, thank a teacher". That's why.
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Post by Pete on May 24, 2008 23:25:59 GMT
Why does anyone ever become a teacher?! Sue Sue, 25 years ago I lived with a teacher, at a time when teachers were striking for a decent salary. They had a wonderful car sticker that said, "If you can read this, thank a teacher". That's why. And I also recognise that I could never be that selfless.
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Post by suvvern on May 25, 2008 0:21:50 GMT
One of my favourite misheard phrases is "My Grandma has old timers disease".
(It actually works better if said out loud).
Sue - while I have forgotten a lot of what I learnt (decades ago) at school, I did have a lovely teacher when I was 6 years old who inspired me with a lifelong love of reading.
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