I was thinking about a couple of words this morning. There is often a discrepency among people as to the correct way to phrase the concept of taking information for granted. In common language, it seems that people choose to say "I assumed this was true." Many Grammar Fantatics will argue that this is grammatically incorrect because to "assume" literally means to "take on", as in responsibility. They will say that the correct word to use here is "presume." I have no issues with this argument, other than that it is a hard habit to break. I like the word presume. It sounds almost old fashioned and makes me purse my mouth in a way that seems to me to be almost British in nature. But as I thought more and more about this, I came to the conclusion that I might also be okay with using the word "assume" as it is, because the way in which it is most often used seems to say, "i am taking on the responsibility of taking for granted that this information is true." When one assumes that something happened, or that something is true, they are taking responsibility for thinking that, and will generally be held accountable for any results of their assumptions. In this way I think that both words are appropriate linguistically, and therefore have resolved to be more forgiving of this apparent faux pas and might even let myself use "assume" from time to time.
There are a lot of issues concerning the rights of women and children being debated both locally and nationally right now. I find myself very strongly on one side of that argument, but that is not what I am here to discuss. At least, not specifically. In order to complete my master's degree in English, I am taking a class in Victorian literature. For the last few weeks in that class, we have been studying Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and my world has been completely changed. In most classes, when you study EBB, you study her Sonnets to the Portuguese, or, as I think of them, "How much I love my husband". They are very romantic and extremely well-written, but reading her other, less universally acknowledged works has been an eye-opening experience for me. I have just read Aurora Leigh . For those of you who are completely unfamiliar with this work, let me give a brief overview. Aurora Leigh is a young woman recently returned to England after the death of her father. I say r...
Yeah but you missed that the definition(s) of "presume" sometimes characterize how the assumption is made.
ReplyDelete1: to undertake without leave or clear justification : dare
2: to expect or assume especially with confidence
3: to suppose to be true without proof
4: to take for granted
As grammar continues to be seen as a hindrance to communication it becomes even more important for people like you, put in place to serve as guardians over grammar and syntax, to maintain proper usage of words.
There may come a day when english speakers tire of having a small and ineffectual pool of words to describe life, and at that point your work would take on a newfound appreciation.
Hmm. I missed this post somewhere along the way. But you know, I've often wondered why we have "assume" and "presume," two words which are often used interchangeably. At first I was right with you on your explanation of why assume would be wrong. Then, when you refuted yourself, I was right there with you again. You're one smart cookie. And I'm back to square one.
ReplyDeleteAnd might I please point out my overt and complete envy of the fact that you have a boyfriend who reads and comments - thoughtfully, even - on your writings. Never in my life in all the many boyfriends I've had (and that's actually been quite a few) or even the many more boys I've liked, have I been able to wrangle a readership out of any of them, even the supposedly intellectual ones. Dating someone who reads my writing (because he wants to, not because I ask him to) is a MUST on my next-time-around list. You're lucky. I hope you know it.