Our newest contributor is our resident expert on Language Arts.  Dennis has spent the majority of his adult life writing and editing.  In fact, his nickname has always been “The Walking Dictionary”!  He will be offering us advice and information on Language Arts, so keep checking back or subscribe to get his latest English tips automatically.  –  Shelly

I received my BA-Journalism from Marquette University in Milwaukee and spent my entire career in communications as a writer/editor/publisher, mostly in the aerospace/defense industry in Southern California. I was also a long-time member of the Society for Technical Communication (STC).

No matter what course we follow in life, the proper use of English is important. But it seems to have become devalued in this day and age. Correct English still says something about the writer…that he or she is educated and articulate. This is especially important for those whose native language is not English and those who felt that “even though it’s not quite right, they’ll know what I mean.”

Two of the most glaring errors I see nowadays are typos (even in professional media, including television) and the use of “that” instead of “who” or “whom” when referring to a person.

With much of today’s communications originating on computers that incorporate spell-checkers, there is really no excuse except carelessness for the typos that seem to appear everywhere.

The other problem just requires a little thought by the writer. (For instance, do I really mean “the player THAT hit the home run” or “the player WHO hit the home run”?) Sounds different, doesn’t it?

That’s it for now…perhaps in the future, I’ll have some additional suggestions from “the wonderful world of English.”

–  Big Den