In which I make a plea for endangered words

When an animal is endangered, it gets put onto a list and celebrities hold fundraisers and go on talk shows to raise awareness. I think the same should happen for words. I've noticed lately that a few of them seem to be slipping into oblivion due to misuse. So, let us begin our endangered words list with a few noble entries and keep our fingers crossed that some young starlet takes up their cause:

*vise (as opposed to vice)

*vale (as part of the phrase "of tears", which I saw abused last week on the CNN website--it isn't a VEIL of tears...)

*vial (it isn't always vile)

*prise (as opposed to prize)

*ravel (Ask Shakespeare--to ravel is to UNDO. Why then must we have UNravel?)

*nauseous (to make someone queasy, not to be MADE queasy)

And now I sound all writerly and peevish...

Comments

[Julie]

I've noticed a worrying trend for the 'peddling' of bicycles...

[Kelly O]

I'm actually rather fond of the "s" instead of "z" spelling of words. It just looks a bit more proper. And I'm oddly in favor of the extra "u" for reasons I can't fully comprehend.

FYI, I saw the "veil of tears" and nearly stroked, but figured I was the only grammar geek out there who cared.

[kristen]

Good idea. How about a plea for proper useage of "There", "They're" and "Their". That drives me nuts.

[Marsha]

nauseous - ooooh, this one drives me crazy. I fear, though, that it is a losing battle and the language is evolving to the point where saying that someone is nauseous isn't an insult and we're just going to have to cope.

I was recently mocked for the use of neither/nor, the accuser suggesting that I was ridiculously reverting to "pseudo-Dickensian" English. Since then I've made a point to use the construction as often as possible, if only to prove a point to myself.

I suppose you can consider me a peevish sister in linguistic arms.

[Journey]

How about proper language usage too? I've heard the words "I've went" and "I've did that" until I want to SCREAM! It's like fingernails on a blackboard to me ...

[Ranger]

I always have to laugh - can't help it - when I hear that someone is nauseous. I get nauseated at the thought of the condition they must be in . . .

[Katherine]

How about a case for its, it's, and its' (no such word)? A lot of people get those mixed up as well.

By the way, what IS a "veil" of tears?

[Katherine]

Oh--and I thought of another one: grotty, the slang word. It's short for "grotesque," but the other day I saw--in a published book, no less--that it was spelled groddy. Yikes. By the way, I think we should bring back "grotesque," as well as "natural(ly)" ("natch"), and all those other words that get shortened unnecessarily.

[Anna Claire]

Ugh, the nauseous/nauseated thing drives me crazy, too.

And has anyone been around people--educated, intelligent people--who mispronounce Alzheimer's? I hear it called everything under the sun, from Alltimer's to Alheimer's to (my personal fave) Oldtimer's--and this is by adults who should know better. What gives?

[Dan F.]

From the male perspective: A remarkable number of men refer to their prostate (gland) as the prostrate (lying face downward).

[Carolyn]

We should add 'twice' to the list. Every time I hear someone say 'two times' I want to scream!

[Amanda]

I married into a family that always says "I seen". I've bitten my tongue many times over the years. I'm not going to change them, so it's not worth the bother. As long as *I* don't start saying it...