Obama's Campaign Slogan Ends With A Period, And This Is Apparently Upsetting People (this is real)

[Tx4obama]

Remember a few months ago when the Obama campaign revealed “Forward” as a campaign slogan and it got a mixed reception? Well, another aspect of the slogan is now riling up grammar Nazis inside the Obama campaign: why is there a period at the end of it?!

Not since the Oxford comma has punctuation drawn such national attention from people who care about this sort of thing. The Wall Street Journal details just how seriously the Obama campaign is taking this dot.

-snip-

Full article here: http://www.mediaite.com/online/obamas-campaign-slogan-ends-with-a-period-and-this-is-apparently-upsetting-people/

[bluestateguy]

1. Because this would be for his second and final term

In 2016 the American people can decide for themselves if they want to continue forward or go backwards with Jeb Bush or Scott Walker or Chris Christie.

[Wait Wut]

2. Poetic license.

Maybe they should...

"Think different."

That spun some heads, as well.

[HopeHoops]

3. It is a one word directive sentence (imparative) and it is totally grammatically correct.

Forward.

Move.

Go.

RUN!

[MADem]

8. Precisely! nt

[HopeHoops]

9. Grammar is a dying art.

[MADem]

13. Indeed! nt

[CTyankee]

11. Usually, the imperative has an exclamation point because it is, well, imperative as in

Leave! or Go! or Stop!

I think it's ok, really not worth even speculating about...

[HopeHoops]

14. No, that was "School House Rock". An imperative is simply a directive in a short phrasing.

"Go fuck yourself." qualifies as an imperative. And as rMoney's adviser so politely put it to the reporters in Poland, "kiss my ass." qualifies as well.

[CTyankee]

20. Oh, that's funny! I'll have to tell my Advanced ESL students!

My Chinese students are particularly interested in the intricacies of the English language...we can have a whole lesson around the imperative...

[HopeHoops]

22. You just reminded me of Robin Williams in "Good Morning Viet Nam" (teaching the class)

"FLIP THEM THE BIRD!"

"Stupid. And God dammit. And asshole."

"I am waiting to die!"


Another similar situation is Cheech Marin in "Born in East L.A.".
If you haven't seen it, this isn't a spoiler. He's teaching a group of "Indians or Chinese or something" (his boss calls them that) who don't speak Spanish, and neither does Cheech for that matter, but they need to be prepared to avoid immigration agents after they are illegally smuggled in. One of the best scenes is when he's teaching them how to have attitude by wearing a bandana so you have to tilt your head back to look out from under it. All of the students have theirs on wrong and he tells one of them, "You look like you're going to rob a 7-11".


As for YOUR students, this may sound silly, but the Engrish Is Funny images are a perfect way to work with them. Start with the bad translations and help them understand why we find it so amusing. Most of those (not all) are "intricacies of the English language" problem, the others are mostly phonetic problems. If they can correct the mistakes, they grasp the syntax and pronunciation they will need to become proficient.

I took two years each of Russian and German in college. My Russian teacher kept telling us to come to her office to get a "verb veal". I finally did so and upon receiving it exclaimed, "OH, a verb WHEEL!" and she looked completely confused by my shock. And this is a woman who yelled at us for not getting the subtle sound of a myacki znack (soft sign) correct.

[CTyankee]

25. My Chinese students tend to be well educated elites. They really want to learn American

idioms that they have a hard time understanding. In 2004 I had a class of wives of students at Yale such as post-docs and Visiting Scholars. They all watched "Sex and the City" and made little lists of idioms used on that show that baffled them. I also taught them terms we were using in our Presidential Election. I got to where I could easily spot a speaker from Hong Kong due to their use of the British English term, "actually," starting each sentence!

Now I have Chinese students not connected with Yale as well as other students from all over the world. I have learned to use different techniques for each group (I specialize now with only Intermediate and Advanced students). There is now more emphasis on business English idioms than with my Chinese elites. Our phrasal verbs and prepositions, always tough in many languages, also tend to baffle them.

[HopeHoops]

27. They need to read "Dilbert" cartoons. There's no better way to spot business bullshit phrases.

I'm serious about that. "Dilbert" is usually way ahead of the curve on the stupidity that creeps into business-speak. How about the word "marketecture" (marketing and architecture combined)? That's one of the dumbest I've ever heard. There's no way to translate it into ANY other language, but I consider that a good thing. How about "smartsizing" (alias for "outsourcing&quot ? It's a continually changing word soup of stupidity even for Americans. I can't imagine how frustrating it would be for someone whose native language isn't English to even grasp what the words are supposed to mean, much less the context in which they are used.

[CTyankee]

29. I had one Chinese student angrily demand to know how we could have the phrase

"holy shit" in our lexicon. She said it didn't make any sense. I explained it as "irony."

[valerief]

33. Yep, makes as much sense as Floridians voting for Rick Scott. nt

[HopeHoops]

42. Yeah, sort of like "Jesus H. Fucking Christ on a pogo stick" - none of that makes sense.

But hey, that's one of those "intricacies".

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. It's a very unusual form of the imperative - the verb actually being 'go'

(or 'move', 'leap', etc.), but the 'go' is understood, rather than explicitly stated, and only the adverb 'forward' used.

[HopeHoops]

19. As long as it is a direction or command, it is an imperative. There's no need for an "!".

[CTyankee]

32. Interestingly, we now accept "forward" as a verb (that happens in English) but in this

instance it is understood that what is meant is "go forward." Sort of like "Onward, Christian soldiers" in the hymn of the same name.

[Psephos]

21. Imperative is spelled with an e.

As long as we're handing out English language tips.

[HopeHoops]

23. I thought I did. There's no spell check in the subject line so it might have been a typo somewhere.

On Edit: Found it. Too late to edit it.

[Wounded Bear]

4. "several grammar expert"

In an article about grammar police.

[polichick]

10. Ha!

[Avalux]

5. It's grammatically correct to use a period.

The 'grammar experts' must be new at this. I like the period, it emphasizes the word.

[bemildred]

36. Yes, this argument is illiterate, at best. nt

[yellowcanine]

6. Yep this is right up there with Mitt dissing the London Olympics.

This is real? In some minds maybe.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

7. Is the existence of a period

bothering some women or something???

[otohara]

12. There's A Band Called "FUN."

Love FUN. & FORWARD.
Period!!!

[muriel_volestrangler]

15. Anyone who can work a semicolon into a campaign slogan would win me over

Obama's period appears to have some 'flare' on it, too. Does that have some meaning?

[rug]

17. Sounds like Meta.

[Whisp]

18. I see it as a full stop. It sounds different

w.o the period. And I like it fine. I would like it fine w/o the period too but prefer it with.

and graphically, what the period may also have been meant for is a balance of sorts with the Obama O.

people are spoiled babynuts if they have nothing else to gripe about but this. really.

[magical thyme]

24. Maybe it's incorrect in Amercian?

Or is it Amercianese? I can never keep that straight. Sorry.

[BlueToTheBone]

26. Don't forget this is a Mordock paper.

He will say anything, steal anything and use any method he chooses to get his desired end.

[Scuba]

28. It's grammatically correct. Besides, a missed period can cause stress for lots of people.

[valerief]

31. How can it be grammatically correct when there's no verb?

Not that I care about the damn period anyway.

[Scuba]

34. It's an imperative. "Go" is understood, just as the "you" is understood in the sentence "Run.".

[valerief]

35. Run is a verb. Forward is an adverb, unless it's meant as a verb as in "to forward an address."

I don't think the president is asking us to forward any addresses. Except maybe to his website!

I think you need to read this.
http://grammar.about.com/od/il/g/impersent09.htm
http://rwc.hunter.cuny.edu/reading-writing/on-line/req-sent.html
http://suite101.com/article/how-to-write-a-complete-sentence-a77972

Everyone knows about an implied "you." I've never heard of an implied "go." Sounds like teabagger English.

[muriel_volestrangler]

37. It's recorded from a long way back, in the Oxford English Dictionary

with ellipsis of some part of the vb. go. Also Mil., as a word of command forward!, for'ard on! in Fox-hunting: of the fox: Gone on in front.
a1533 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) lv. 186 His horse wolde nother forwarde nor backe warde.
1583 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Serm. on Deut. xv. 86 Therefore let us on forewarde as he commandeth.
1833 Regulations Instr. Cavalry i. i. 25 The word Forward..is given by the commander.
1848 W. K. Kelly tr. L. Blanc Hist. Ten Years II. 207 Ibrahim..had but to cry ‘Forward’, and Constantinople was his.

[valerief]

38. I'm trying to understand what this "with ellipsis of some part of the vb. go." means.

Do you have a link? Thanks.

[muriel_volestrangler]

39. I can't give you a link - I get access through my library

"with ellipsis of some part of the vb. go." means that some form of 'to go' (eg 'go', if it's a command, 'went' for the past, and so on) has been omitted, but is understood to be there. In this case, it's the imperative 'go'.

[valerief]

43. But that only applies to the word Forward and only in military usage, correct?

I tried to find something about it somewhere else but can't. Imperative only means implying 'you' not 'go.'

Thanks anyway!

[muriel_volestrangler]

45. Not only in military usage

some of those examples are military, but "A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Serm. on Deut" is A. Golding's translation of John Calvin's 'Sermon on Deuteronomy' - "Therefore let us on forewarde as he commandeth" - "therefore let us (go) on forward as he commands". My point is that this is a specific entry under "forward" in the OED, saying it's a recognised usage with the 'go' part omitted, while there isn't such a usage note for other adverbs (such as 'backward').

[Scuba]

40. I defer to your greater wisdom.

[valerief]

44. Oh, hell, don't ever do that!!!!!

[valerief]

30. But they're not complaining about the moronic spelling of Chick-fil-A?????? nt

[RC]

41. If people think a period is bad, how about a

"?" A question mark?

Forward? Suddenly that period pales into significances.

People can get upset over the most trivial things. The period, not the question mark.