Palin V. Carlson

Posts like this one are why I read Language Log. Two brief excerpts:

For most intellectuals today, grammar is no longer a tool of rational analysis, but rather a source of incoherent metaphor. As a recent example, consider Margaret Carlson’s analysis of Sarah Palin’s resignation speech

In my opinion, there are legitimate questions about the logical and rhetorical coherence of Gov. Palin’s statement. But Ms. Carlson’s apparent attempt to characterize this as syntactic incoherence was analytically lazy and linguistically silly.

There’s a good chance I’m going to try and work “linguistically silly” into a conversation tonight.