Not entirely. They have a specific purpose when used correctly, and can't really be replaced with anything else.
"She sees her" does not mean the same thing as "She sees herself". If you can't use "herself", "she sees her" is ambiguous because nobody knows whether "she" and "her" are the same person or two different people. (This is the bane of same-sex romance writers everywhere.)
"Please, forward the information to myself" is a case of the speaker thinking bigger words are automatically classier. It's like saying "this task is actionable" instead of "this task needs to be done". It smells like corporate doublespeak.
But we've both seen enough debates about grammar, and improper use thereof, over in ffrants. ;)
Yeah, yeah...evolving language, blah, blah, blah. But if you strip the meaningful distinction between "me" and "myself" away under the guise of "evolving language", there ceases to be a need for "myself", so you're killing the word through misuse.
I think you're agreeing with me... if people understand the importance of the distinction, they'll use it properly, and avoid killing it through misuse.
I try to stay away from ffrants these days. It was causing logic shrinkage.
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(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-26 03:09 pm (UTC)"She sees her" does not mean the same thing as "She sees herself". If you can't use "herself", "she sees her" is ambiguous because nobody knows whether "she" and "her" are the same person or two different people. (This is the bane of same-sex romance writers everywhere.)
"Please, forward the information to myself" is a case of the speaker thinking bigger words are automatically classier. It's like saying "this task is actionable" instead of "this task needs to be done". It smells like corporate doublespeak.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-26 05:27 pm (UTC)But we've both seen enough debates about grammar, and improper use thereof, over in ffrants. ;)
Yeah, yeah...evolving language, blah, blah, blah. But if you strip the meaningful distinction between "me" and "myself" away under the guise of "evolving language", there ceases to be a need for "myself", so you're killing the word through misuse.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-26 09:08 pm (UTC)I try to stay away from ffrants these days. It was causing logic shrinkage.