The Good Fight

The following letter is from today's Sunday Herald (the Glasgow-based quality newspaper, sister publication of The Herald). I don't know the story referred to but I do admire the way Dr. McLachlan takes the paper to task for its sloppy use of language. More power to him.

Imprecise meaning
THE story by Aasmah Mir about her return from London to Glasgow is called: “Return of the prodigal daughter” (Seven Days, March 5). Why? “Prodigal” means “wasteful” but there is no suggestion in her article that she is or was wasteful. In the biblical story about the wasteful son, the wasteful son happened to return. Has this created the false impression that a prodigal person is one who returns? Not all prodigal sons or daughters return. Not all sons and daughter who return are prodigal. The prodigal son was so called because of his prodigality, not because he returned home.
It is obvious that words can change their meaning and that misuses of language can become, through their frequency, correct uses over time. However, to say that the rules of language can change is no reason for disregarding them or acting as if they had already changed.
Dr Hugh V McLachlan
School of Law and Social Sciences
Glasgow Caledonian University

Isn't that a treat?