Re: Me vs. Myself

[Fran Freiman <ffreiman -at- IX -dot- NETCOM -dot- COM>]

Cathy Luther wrote:

quoted material deleted...

>This is not a flame, but when did "myself" replace "me"?  In the last
>couple of years, I've seen regular use of "myself" in print, heard it
on
>broadcasts (TV and radio) from professional broadcasters and writers
..  Did I miss a
>change in usage?  Or have I been wrong all these years?



This falls under the general category of people-watching, doesn't it?

I thought *I* was myself <g> going crazy. I've noticed this recent
language mannerism, too. You are not wrong. These are reflexive
pronouns and are considered nonessential. You can use them WITH another
noun or pronoun but never by themselves. I myself prefer to think that
when people use them to replace the essential noun or pronoun, either
they don't *realize* the error or else they are suffering from
self-deprecation. It's like that Seinfeld episode where everybody
starts eating candy bars with knife and fork. (Monkey see, monkey do?)
Hopefully, the fad will blow over. (Especially now that people are
talking about it...) It could be a case of being missing class the day
they taught reflexive pronouns. We all missed class sometime.

Fran.
ffreiman -at- ix -dot- netcom -dot- com

--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 ----
Fran Locher Freiman, Owner, Editor      |       "The young boys throw stones
WordRight Editorial Consulting Services |           at the frogs in sport,
Houston, TX 77070                       |      but the frogs do not die in sport;
Email: ffreiman -at- ix -dot- netcom -dot- com           |           they die in earnest."
                                                                --Samuel Beckett