Due To

[Barry West <Barry_West -dot- S2K -at- S2KEXT -dot- S2K -dot- COM>]

>... the common use of "due to" is bastardized English...

Just a note to 10th grade teachers:

Since my college days, I have had a fascination with the never ending debate
about what is acceptable usage and what is not. I tend to side with those who
hold that usage is not necessarily incorrect simply because it cannot be
explained formally. Granted that deviations from formal usage are generally not
made as conscious decisions for change, but rather, are 'due to' the fact that
we are not all preservers of the grammatical word. But even so, language
belongs to the people who use it, not just to the language prescriptionists who
try to dictate it. Maybe it's my blue collar upbringing, but I find the
"bastardizing" of English usage, particularly American English, is what makes
our language fascinating. Variant language is part of the makeup of our many
subcultures. It helps define the character of those subcultures, and it helps
define the people who use it. Language is dynamic, and cannot always be
explained. But we shouldn't label usage that doesn't follow the Harbrace script
as 'bastardizing' simply because we can't explain it.  If we suddenly realize
one day that this use of 'due to' went away on its own, well, that's neato.
Until then, however, I don't think we should spend a whole lot of time worryin'
about it.

Well, enough of this harangue. I be goin' now.


Barry_West -dot- S2K -at- s2kext -dot- s2k -dot- com