From the Wired article:
Set to the tune of disgraced crooner Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines,” we present you with “Word Crimes,” a takedown of English language abusers everywhere! If you’ve ever been confused about the use cases of who versus whom or the difference between irony and coincidence, Al is here to provide you with a catchy little cheat sheet—and supply some well-deserved shaming in the process. Consider this a kind of addendum to “Conjunction Junction,” a Schoolhouse Rock! installment for the snark age. Our favorite moments from the video include, but are not limited to:
- Dancing punctuation marks
- Yankovic’s ability to fluidly rhyme “nomenclature” with anything
- Use of Doge as an icon for word murdering
- Putting people on blast who say “expresso” (people who, coincidentally, could* probably care less about this song)
- Limiting use of numbers in words to Prince, because no one else has earned the privilege
- Punishment for misuse of the word “literal” in a figurative situation being a crowbar to the head
Socrates said, "The misuse of language induces evil in the soul." He wasn't talking about grammar. To misuse language is to use it the way politicians and advertisers do, for profit, without taking responsibility for what the words mean. Language used as a means to get power or make money goes wrong: it lies. Language used as an end in itself, to sing a poem or tell a story, goes right, goes towards the truth.
A writer is a person who cares what words mean, what they say, how they say it. Writers know words are their way towards truth and freedom, and so they use them with care, with thought, with fear, with delight. By using words well they strengthen their souls. Story-tellers and poets spend their lives learning that skill and art of using words well. And their words make the souls of their readers stronger, brighter, deeper.