Beware of Absolutes

TRUE, BUT -- A new PBS documentary on Bill Clinton referred to him as "the first Democratic President to win re-election to a second term since Franklin Roosevelt." Like many political speakers, this Clinton backer found something that is, indeed, true as far as it goes. The problem is that it doesn't go very far. At first blush it sounds impressive, until one asks, how many other Democratic Presidents have sought re-election since Franklin Roosevelt. Answer: One, Jimmy Carter, who lost to Ronald Reagan. Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson chose not to run for a second term, and John Kennedy was assassinated.

OTHER FAVORITES -- "The only Democrat holding statewide elective office." In New Jersey at the time, there were only three statewide elective offices: Governor and two U.S. Senators. The state has since added a fourth, lieutenant governor. And there were the raceway ads that proclaimed "the fastest quarter-mile, high-banked, macadam speedway in the East." It may well have been the only one.

WILD GUESS -- A Philadelphia TV outlet led its news program with this: "A man was found bound, gagged and beaten, and police say it could be connected to a murder." If the man was found dead, there is no question that it was murder. If still alive, specify that.

GRAMMAR MANNERS -- The role of a linguist is to describe the forms and patterns of the language under study, and how it fits with other languages in the same group, e.g.  Germanic, Slavic, Latin-based or some other set of related languages. The role of a grammarian is to study and describe the forms and patterns of how a particular language is used. In this way, the study of grammar is a subset within the larger field of linguistics. However, some who call themselves grammarians not only list the forms and patterns typically used by speakers and writers, but to insist that these are the rules that everyone must follow.
While it is true that speaking and writing a particular dialect may have economic advantages, there is no legal requirement that one do so. At least, not in America. Not yet.
Even so, speaking the language of the country does help in finding a job, and using the more prestigious dialect can lead to social and job advancement.
For proof, look around and take note of the speech of those in charge. They tend to speak the more socially accepted dialect. Except when they're on the campaign trail back home. Lyndon Johnson was a master at it.
Or, watch the movie "My Fair Lady," based on G.B. Shaw's play, "Pygmalion." Shaw's lead character, Professor Henry Higgins, was based on a real-life linguist name Henry Sweet, a pioneer in the study of phonetics, who reportedly was every bit as crotchety as the character so well portrayed by Rex Harrison.