Our Mysterious Tongue

[John Crowley's LJ (RSS Feed)]

Th evolution (or devolution, if you're an old fart on his way out, like me) of the tongue continues apace. Who has noticed the sudden loss of the terminal (and grammatically necessary) conclusion to phrases that begin "As far as..."? For a time it was only ordinary joes, sports commentators or military men, speaking off the cuff and getting caught up in lengthy phrases they forgot to close off: "As far as the resupply of our ground forces who are at present actually in the process of engaging the enemy in a very difficult terrain, I think I can say" etc. Okay so he forgot the "goes" or "is concerned" necessary to sense; he's a busy man with a lot on his mind. But recently the fault has spread and become universal, even in short phrases where you'd think the speaker could keep his conclusion in mind: "As far as steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs, players who use them rarely face any real consequences..."

Both quotations made up but like lots I've been hearing. I've begun to wait, when someone on TV or the radio says "As far as..." just to see if maybe THIS time he'll close the phrase. Almost never. I haven't yet seen it in print -- copy editors are still fussbudgets most places -- but I won't be surprised

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