The New York Times offers this summary of words that were introduced or popular during 2010. I'd like to give my candidate: Gonna.
As in going to.
Look, this has always been a lazy contraction. I remember reading a transcript of my own testimony over a decade ago, certain that the stenographer had misquoted me. But no, I had often slipped into this slurred version of going to. It caused me to train myself not to, and I have pretty much killed the habit.
But none other than our Commander in Chief has now made it acceptable. He uses it all the time. Here's one example.
I argue that his persistent use of the word has now influenced the entire country.
A sign of how pervasive it has become is that I heard it from an NPR radio announcer! OMG, the bastion of good grammar and pronunciation has been corrupted. Are we gonna have to stop listening to Weekend Edition?
Even the spellcheck on this blog service does not recognize it as a mistake.
Please, Mr. President, along with giving up smoking, can you give up gonna?
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