Tonite?
I'm flabbergasted. I just saw a poster at a local school advertising the upcoming PTA meeting, saying it was at 5:30 "tonite". Call it "text style" if you will, but this was at an elementary school! Shouldn't we first teach the children walking past the sign as they leave their classroom the correct way to spell words, and then let pop culture do what it will?
Well, when I asked this question of a retired English professor once, he shot back "Why are you opposed to language evolving?". He believes the archaic "ight" of tonight, or "ough" of through is on its way out. The far more practical and efficient "tonite" and "thru" will soon be the grammatically acceptable way of spelling those words. For now, though, spellcheck still flags 'em.
So I suppose that's what I'm seeing: evolution in motion. Clearly, texting is leading the way, though we've seen those spellings splashed across signs for fast-food joints and at car dealers for years. I guess PTA signs would be the next step in the evolutionary chain. Still, it somehow offends my senses.... I guess I really am old fashioned.
