thursday, fcbrusry 3, 1977
daily nebraskan
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who use ii right
Parallelism. How not to use a conjunction is illustrated 1
in the following sentence: "The National Union, once the
most powerful force in Canada, but which was completely
shut out in 1973 made a strong comeback." The phrase
and which or and who or but which or but who should
appear only when a parallel item introduced by which
or who etc. precedes it. Thus the quoted sentence should
; be made to read, "The National Union, which was once
the most powerful force in Canada but which was
completely shut out. . ." Similarly one should not write,
"Jack Smith, a fine singer and who has his own TV show,
was slightly injured in an auto accident." Insert a who is
after Smith or, if you prefer, knock out the conjunction
and. ,
Praise be. A Mobil ad caused Bob Lundholm of North ,
Wildwood, N.J., to call attention to a misuse that has been
taken up here before. The ad said that there are many
opportunities to tweak the noses of governmental agen
cies, then added, "On the other hand, sometimes an
agency has a kudo coming." There' is no such word as
kudo. The word meaning commendation or glory is
kudos and its final s misleads many people into thinking
it is merely a plural so that they assume the singular
is kudo. That assumption is incorrect.
bernstein on words
Clear "whether," slightly cloudy "if." " r'her if
may be substituted for whether in introducing a noun
clause is the question posed by a letter from William
Barish of Rydal, Pa. The conjunction whether is the
normal word used to introduce such. a clause: "I don't
know whether I can be there. However, in most similar
constructions if is equally acceptable Nor is its accept
ability a recent development; the King James Bible of
1511 used the word in the following sentence, which
appears in the modern version thus: "Then he sent forth
a dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from
the face of the ground" (Genesis viii, 8). When the noun
clause begins the sentence if is not used because it
tends to throw the reader off momentarily by suggesting
a condition; for example: " Congress agrees on tax
reforms is the subject of a forthcoming article." Likewise,
if should be avoided whenever it leads to ambiguity as
in this sentence: "The principal asked to be informed
pupils were unruly." Does it mean when the pupils
were unruly or whether they were?
Question of number. A Lutheran magazine printed a
passage that went like this: "Until earlier this year, the
book's whereabouts were a mystery for something like
30 years. . . ." That use of a plural verb with the noun
whereabouts "startled" Vern Hansen of Philadelphia,
who writes in to ask about it. The noun may be con
strued as either a singular or plural, but most often- ,
when it refers to a single location-it takes a singular verb.
That is what it should have taken in this instance. When
the word refers to more than one location it takes a plural
verb: "The whereabouts of three missing girls were
unknown."
Arthur Kcppo
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I agree wholeheartedly with the "Opinion" editorial
discussing the Union's fling with the budget for its
advertising. I'd like to comment further on the spending
habits of the university.
It seems to me that when the university plans its
budget, it places educational spending behind things
like coaches' salaries and advertising the Union. I'm speak
ing of the new Life Sciences Bldg., which has to open with
old equipment and drastic cuts in the building design due
to a lack of money and inflation. As Russell Meints said
in the article (Jan. 31), "it is not fair.'" Why does the
university feel that it's more important to pad the lining
of the wallets of the coaching staff, and allow the Union
to spend $55,000 (so far) than it is to provide better
facilities for the students? After all, this is supposed to be
an educational institution, not some over-grown country
club.
'7iiere are some buildings here that beg to be replaced.
The Temple and Architectural Hall are good examples.
It is sad that when the university gets around to replacing
an old building, it "can't find the funds to build needed
resources." Funny, they found the funds somewhere
when the Union said they needed $35,000 worth of signs.
No wonder there are Nebraska T-shirts with pictures of
Donald Duck arid Mickey Mouse.
' . (Ms.)M.E.Wylie
Language lends insights
A lot of furor seems to have been stirred up in refer
ence to Prof. Schach's article on the foreign language
requirement in Arts and Sciences. I, for one, would like
to stand up for it. The purpose of learning a foreign
language is not just so you can look up more books in the
library, although that can be valuable. A foreign language
opens up new insights into a particular culture and people.
One cannot hope to comprehend the French, Germans,
Russians, or others without knowing something of their
language. After all, a people is no better or worse than
. what goes on its mind, and these thoughts and ideas can
oti"Of C .only be expressed through language. How they are
I wvvwl expressed makes up the unique qualities of each language
which enable one to better understand the people.
m"mmmmm Practically, this can be invaluable in government, business,
the arts, science, and just everyday me. And n one works
a bit, one can gain a working knowledge of a language in
16 credit hours. This basis can be expanded and improved
by further study, either here or in the country itself.
Remember, "working knowledge" doesn't mean complete
fluency. Think of how little English foreigners can get.
by with here. And comparing foreign language to water
witching is like comparing Algebra to underwater-basket
weaving: inane.
Stefan Debnestian
UNL fans boorish
I saw a medium talent UNL basketball team beat a
highly talented group of Kansas University players in spite
of the UNL team's home disadvantage that is, its boorish
fans. KU looked poorly coached, a bunch of prima
donnas driving to the hoop without a thought of passing
off to a teammate. UNL played a disciplined brand of
ball designed to get the most out of the talent at hand.
If the booing fans can't get their kicks by watching classy
basketball, let them stay home and watch cops and
robbers chase shows (or professional wrestling) on TV.
R.J. Schonberger
Helping hands
I am a part-time student attending classes here. On
Monday, Jan. 25, I slipped on the ice outside Oldfather
Hall. Several students helped me to the lounge, called for
help, got my car and stayed with me until help came. 1
want them to know I love them all. I did break my leg in
three places. The pain they witnessed was real and
without their help I don't know what I would have done.
The world is full of beautiful people, several of them
touched my life Monday. Thank you!
. Suzy Taylor
Radical Irwin discovers he's the (bleep) Establishment
It was ten years ago
Vamplew was bopped on
this month that young Irwin
the head by a nightstick while
ant
smashing windows in Berkeley in order to end the wax in
Vietnam. So you can imagine the elation of his parents
when he finally emerged this week from his decade-long
coma.
His first words, 'naturally, were: "Down with the
Establishment!"
"There, there, Irwin," said his father soothingly.
"Try to keep calm . . , ."
"Oh, it's you, Dad," said Irwin. "Well, I don't care
what you say. The Establishment got us into this mess in
innocent bystander
Vietnam. And the only thing to do is admit our mistake
and withdraw our troops, even if it means letting the
Communists take over."
"Please, Irwin," said his mother, "we already did that "
"No (bleep)?" said Irwin unbelievingly. Then he
caught himself. "Sorry, Mom, to use that four4etter
word," he said, "but you know how I feel about the
Establishment's irrational prud ery ."
Everyone ssys (bleep) "
That's all right, Irwin," said his mother. "Everyone
ssys (bleep), (bleep), and even (bleep-bleep) these days "
"They do 2" said Irwin, wincing. "That's nice." Then
he added defiantly, "But I don't care what you say, I'm
not going to cut my hair."
"It looks lovely, Irwin,' agreed his mother. "It's not
as long as your father's but..."
Irwin seemed to see his father for the first time. "Good
grief, Dad," he said, "you look like a hippie pot smoker."
"Not really, Irwin," said-his father, smiling. "Oh,
we smoke a joint at parties now and then when everyone
else is. Or when your sister, Beth, comes to dinner."
t ' Living together
"Well, Tra glad to hear you've finally forgiven Beth for -running
off with that guy to Eve in a commune," said
Irwin. "But I suppose you forced him to marry her to
conform with your ridiculous iabHshment conven
tions." - . -. ' V. - -
"Oh, no, Irwin," said his mother. 'They're still just
living together. Hardly anyone gets married anymore.
He's in the insurance business and ..."
Irwin looked dazed. "But there's no way the Establish
ment can get rid of its ingrained sexual hangups and
realize that obscenity is simply in the mind of the be
holder because ... "
"Don't shout, Irwin," said his father. "Why donl you
just curl up with a magazine and relax?"
Unfortunately, the. magazine Irwin chose to curl up
with was Playboy, lis took one look at the centerfold and
lapsed back into his coma.
His parents assume he's happier that way, for his final
words wr re a paraphrase of a remark from Pogo. "We have
met the Establishment," he murmured he collapsed,
and they are us."
(Copyright Chronic! PufcSifiina Co. 1377)