Decapitated head near Lyon
Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 8:16 am
It may be jaded to focus on the language of reporting rather than on the victim, but the expression "decapitated head" is jarring and perhaps completely wrong. The victim was decapitated, his body was decapitated, but the head was severed or separated from the body or perhaps "decorporated" (clearly not idiomatic).
My guess is that reporters on CNN, for example, are using the language unthinkingly and might not ever have been taught correct usage. Yet if this is how respected people are using English in public, this usage is or will unfortunately be accepted as correct in the descriptive sense.
It seems to be part of the general laxness such as using "amount" rather than "number" with count nouns.
Comments? Advice?
My guess is that reporters on CNN, for example, are using the language unthinkingly and might not ever have been taught correct usage. Yet if this is how respected people are using English in public, this usage is or will unfortunately be accepted as correct in the descriptive sense.
It seems to be part of the general laxness such as using "amount" rather than "number" with count nouns.
Comments? Advice?