News analysis: Taking the fine-toothed comb to Nashville English First

[Article available without subscription]

Email | Print By NashvillePost.com Staff

06-13-2008 11:26 AM — As we speak, the good folks at the U.S. Postal Service are distributing to Davidson County voters some 30,000 postcards on behalf of Metro Council Member Eric Crafton’s push for an English-only clause to be added to the city’s charter.

While NashvillePost.com has in the past been critical of Crafton’s efforts on this front, we thought we’d take a different, more constructive tack this time around. Being a little partial to words, we sat down with our trusty red pens to determine if Crafton’s former English teachers would approve of this missive.

The verdict? We found almost a dozen errors and flaws, including several punctuation gaffes, a subject-verb disagreement and a heck of a tongue twister that doesn’t make for pithy advocacy writing.

We’ve detailed our recommendations here should the Crafton camp decide to print a second run of cards this summer. Oh, and by the way, Geert De Lombaerde, our associate editor, didn’t learn English until he was 10.

See related articles:

bpieper@dsattorneys.com States:

Posted on 6/13/2008 3:28 pm

This is ridiculous. Would the Metro Council please spend its time (and our tax Dollars) on something that will actually make a practical difference on life in Nashville, and better yet, improve it? How these freaking Yahoos get elected is beyond me.

ijkuhn States:

Posted on 6/13/2008 3:57 pm

The way it reads, Metro would not be able to provide tourists with information in French, German, or any language other than English. The department of Economic Development could not communicate with a non-English speaking foreign company in its native language about relocating to Nashville.

You must be logged in to comment. If you do not have an account, you can join our esteemed subscribers.