A
literary acquaintance recently went into throes of agony when I used the word
“nite” as a shortcut in an email. And, boy, did I hear about it!
“The
word in question would be your insouciant employment of ‘nite’ for ‘night,’” he
replied.
(Admittedly this sent me to the dictionary to
look up “insouciant,” which means “exhibiting light-hearted unconcern.” I did
know that once upon a time when my brain was younger and information jumped the
synapses in a flash, but, alas, I had forgotten.)
My
learned friend with the steel-trap mind went on to say, “Some references call
it an 'informal' variation. Others say it is slang, a lazy corruption,
or just another prime example of how some Americans seem to regularly misspell
even the most elementary English language words.”
I
thought he was a little curmudgeonly, even overly concerned about the shortcut,
but he is a perfectionist when it comes to use of language and I have to
respect that.
He wasn’t
finished expressing his disgust, however – in fact, he had just begun.
Random
House excuses its usage by calling it a simplified spelling,” the purist
continued
He
indicated that it didn’t seem worth it to "simplify" a five-letter
word by dropping two letters and adding a new one back in to create a
four-letter word. I believe he has a legitimate point.
“Such
illiterate wallowings may have begun with our construction of the Interstate
Highway system, and the willingness to allow sign-makers to replace the word
"through" with "thru," as in "thru lane" or
"thruway." Next thing you knew, the word "light" had been
debauched by "lite." What's next…we go the airport to catch our
"flite," or have to purchase new underwear because the old ones are
too "tite?"
Are you thru?” I asked.
Are you thru?” I asked.
But
he does make sense – not that that will stop any of us from using those fun little
shortcuts in an iPhone or an email message.
After
that trouncing, I am curious to know what other people think. My
own inclination is to go with the correct spelling. On the other hand, when I am
in a hurry just to get an email or text out on its way, I like to use the shortcuts
even if I do consider them cutsey or la-zee. (No disrespect intended toward my
friend---I just couldn’t resist.)
How
‘bout it? Is it okay to use the EZ-to-rite form or should everyone stick to
literary perfection?
Lemme
know…
