密歇根新闻广播 到底怎样算健康饮食?

Is it "healthy eating" or "healthful eating?" Is there even a difference?

For some people, there is. Anne Curzan, professor of English literature at the University of Michigan, is ready to lead us into the nuanced world of grammarians, where some distinctions are a little more complicated than they seem.

While Curzan was giving a talk on grammar pet peeves¹, someone expressed a moment of frustration²: "People keep saying 'eat healthy food!' And I can't stand it!"

Although this might make you scratch your head, there is a rule behind it. In the 19th century, many grammarians sought to make words complement³ each other. They tried this with healthy and healthful. "To say healthful," says Curzan, "should mean 'conducive⁴ to or causing health,' and healthy should mean 'experiencing good health.'"

"The problem is that healthy has meant both those things for hundreds of years, and the distinction has never really held," says Curzan. "So I have to say I think this rule has not made it."

But this isn't the only place where grammarians tried to create complementary distribution in the language. There's another example: shall and will.

"In the first person," says Curzan. "In other words, with 'I' or 'we,' you use shall to express the simple future. Then you use will to express obligation, necessity, determination, or permission."

But if you use either word in the second or third person, the rules flip-flop. That means if you use you, he, or she, then will expresses the simple future and shall expresses permission/obligation/determination.

What were they thinking!? If you're looking for a grammarian to blame for this headache, Curzan suggests looking back at John Wallis, a 17th century bishop⁵ and mathematician⁶. But don't be too hard on his memory, as the rule hasn't aged⁷ very well. According to Curzan, it's commonly used in just one place: legal writing, where the word shall expresses a legal obligation.

But this, too, is controversial, as the word shall is often misused⁸. Lawyer Bryan Garner⁹, an expert on legal grammar, has more or less given up on it. "His practice, at this point, is to always replace it with will or may or must in order to clarify," says Curzan.

It might seem like grammarians just make the rules, but sometimes they will be the first to break them.

1 peeves   

n.麻烦的事物，怨恨，触怒( peeve的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It peeves me to be ordered out of my own house. 命令我从自己的家中出去，真太气人了。 来自辞典例句
• Write down two of your pet peeves about home or any other situation. 写下两个你厌烦的家务事或其他的情况。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

2 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

3 complement   

n.补足物，船上的定员；补语；vt.补充，补足

参考例句：

• The two suggestions complement each other.这两条建议相互补充。
• They oppose each other also complement each other.它们相辅相成。

4 conducive   

adj.有益的，有助的

参考例句：

• This is a more conducive atmosphere for studying.这样的氛围更有利于学习。
• Exercise is conducive to good health.体育锻炼有助于增强体质。

5 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

6 mathematician   

n.数学家

参考例句：

• The man with his back to the camera is a mathematician.背对着照相机的人是位数学家。
• The mathematician analyzed his figures again.这位数学家再次分析研究了他的这些数字。

7 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

8 misused   

v.使用…不当( misuse的过去式和过去分词 )；把…派作不正当的用途；虐待；滥用

参考例句：

• He misused his dog shamefully. 他可耻地虐待自己的狗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had grossly misused his power. 他严重滥用职权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 garner   

v.收藏；取得

参考例句：

• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals.他的提议得到了广泛的支持。
• Squirrels garner nuts for the winter.松鼠为过冬储存松果。