A Rant On The Use Of Language
“Gonna” is my most recent pet peeve.
I’ve been a reader since the summer my dad pulled a fifth-grade reader from his bookshelf for me. Plowing through that compilation of stories, I found a world opened to me far from the small farm where we lived.
Since that day, over fifty years ago, books and stories have transported me to places I have not yet traveled. Through each author, I find a new view of life I might otherwise miss.
Oddly, while I am drafting my own novels, I read the same few books over and over. Because I know the stories so well and none of them are in the same genre I write, the structure influences me more than the author’s style.
I’m also intrigued by the nonfiction worlds of brain science, self improvement, productivity and the vastness of space.
On Medium, I read a variety of articles, each designed to share the perspective of the author. The overwhelming majority of these thoughtful pieces broaden my knowledge of the world.
This life of reading and writing heightens my sense of word use. As you might expect, I can easily find misspellings and unusual turns of phrase when I read, not so much in my writing. (Hence the use of editing software and hiring a human editor. Even with those safeguards, things slip through. You will probably even find a few things in this article.)
Recently, I read two otherwise well-written articles on Medium.com. The writers were using factual, grounded arguments and explanations.
Until they each used the word “gonna”.
A screeching sound, much like the grinding of gears, echoed in my brain. I re-read the sentence. The writer wasn’t using colloquially or in dialogue, both appropriate uses as defined by Merriam-Webster.
— used for “going to” in informal speech and in representations of such speech
“It’s not gonna be easy.”
“They’re gonna get married in July.”
“I felt like something bad was gonna happen.”
“Gonna.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gonna. Accessed 13 May. 2024.
The sentences in the articles were more like:
Now you are gonna insert Part A into Slot B.
No, that is not the actual sentence. Unfortunately, the insertion of such a casual word rendered me unable to recall anything else about the article. I cannot remember the topics, references, or any other specific thing about either article, except the use of “gonna” in an otherwise authoritative sounding piece of writing.
Moral of the story: if you want to keep my attention, do not use “gonna” when you mean “going to”.