A little while ago, I referred to the revision of the rules of a North American Parliament. I made mention of a Ms Pelosi, for which mention one reader rebuked me strongly. So I will not refer to silliness in this present piece.
The theft of our birthright, aka the deformation of the English lanuage, has now spread to this Kingdom ... if Brighton and Hove is truly part of the Kingdom of England. If there is a Kingdom of England.
Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust Maternity Services Department is leading the way.
Oops ... "Perinatal Services". We speak of a wokeish Department where they have "human milk" "Breast/chestmilk" "milk from the feeding mother or parent". And where "woman" becomes "woman or person"; "Father" becomes "parent, co-parent or second biological parent".
I feel that bit diminished by the fact that that my own life came just that weeny bit too early for me to hear five little voices at family bed-time squealing "Second biological parent, can you read us another chapter of Narnia?"
The story in The Times rather archly commented "An estimated 1 per cent of the adult population in Britain identifies as transgender or non-binary but the trans population in Brighton and Hove is understood to be larger".
"Understood to be." I really do like that. Nice one. It deserves to be added permanently to our armoury of twee and evasive circumlocutions.
I also recently mentioned that I had firmly refused to enable a thoroughly deplorable comment describing Ms Pelosi as a monstrous old hag. I am, indeed, prepared to go to any lengths necessary to train readers to avoid dittography. It would, I presume, have been within the current rules of engagement if the disgraceful person who offered me those out-of-order words had instead written ... Pelosi, who is understood to be a ... et cetera.
As a Brighton resident I look forward to receiving the Census which I understand will be taken this year and shall alter any wording I disagree with.
ReplyDeleteDear Father,
ReplyDeleteBrighton was always celebrated for the number of interesting and unusual people living there. What are a few 'trans' among so many? What does it all mean? And why....
Yes Father, "understood to be..." is on a par with "sources say..." "informed sources say...""a government official confirms..." and suchlike. Inevitably the 'understood' sources must remain anonymous as they "are not authorized to comment".
ReplyDeleteWell if they're not authorized, why are they commenting? And in that case who should believe them anyway?
"Better to be silent and be thought ignorant, than to speak and confirm the fact".
"Understood to be..."
ReplyDeleteThe headmaster of Wikipedia College would annotate this expression with red pen in the margin: "weasel words..understood by whom? Citation needed...how much larger? Can you give figures and margin of error from a reliable source?
Dear Father. The modernists practiced on us Catholics before moving on to the world at large.
ReplyDeleteThe once glorious Roman Rite has been replaced by that which is understood to be a worship hack; you know, something akin to what it replaced but much easier and faster to accomplish.
The Jewish Meal Prayer which replaced the offertory is understood to be mo'better because as Ottaviani and others observed, the idea of the new rite is that it is a meal.
For me *personally*, I've not never understood the dislike of tautological repitition.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, 'pelosi' is the (masculine plural) Italian for 'hairy', which probably goes some way to explain that funny old woman's support of transgendered loos, nominative determinism being what it is.
I have a modest contribution to offer to the study of grammar. Constructions such as 'it is understood to be' and 'it has been decided that's should be called the Passive Evasive. As the Wikipedia editor might well ask, who so understands or decides? With what authority? On what grounds etc etc?
ReplyDeleteAs a transpecies person who has self identified as a chicken I will move to Hove. We say "egg laying parent" and "crowing parent". The NHS has registered me for beak and feather transplants.
ReplyDelete