Go woke, go broke is another example of what happens (1) when people of good faith mishear things, or (2) when people of low IQ, with their reality-distorting brains, mis-process auditory input.* The proper phrasing is Get woke, go broke. The misquoted expression shouldn't bother me as much as it does, but it really seems to be taking over.
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*Some smartass will come along and suggest that mishearing things and mis-processing auditory input are the same thing. They are not. Think of it as the difference, in linguistics, between a mistake and an error. A mistake can be made by someone who's competent. You don't expect the person to repeat the mistake: it was probably just a one-time thing. An error, on the other hand, is the result of native incompetence, and it will be repeated long and often because the person making the error is convinced of his own correctness or unable to correct himself because he doesn't understand (can't be bothered to learn) where he went wrong. In French linguistics, a mistake is a faute de performance and an error is a faute de compétence—terminology that lays out the problem more clearly, in my opinion.
Mishearing something is a mistake that is not likely to be made again. Mis-processing auditory input is an error arising from the brain's poor wiring, which means such mis-processing will occur again and again. When I finally land in hell, that's going to be my torture: being surrounded by idiots who can't process reality correctly. Then again, assuming I don't die at 60, I might live long enough to become a drooling idiot myself.
"I might live long enough to become a drooling idiot myself."
ReplyDeleteWelcome to my world!
I hope to avoid being erroneous in the manner you describe; make no mistake about it!