In John Cassavettes’ film, “The Killing of a Chinese Bookie,” the lead character – and I’m damned if I can ever remember his name – is a shady gentleman who’s become rich in the adult entertainment dancing industry.

When he’s told, while getting out of whatever shiny make he drives, “Man, you got some class, Mr. So-and-so,” he corrects them: “You mean style. Not class. Style.” I love Cassavettes for touches like that.

You point to the same (or similar) mistake, I think.

Language serves to communicate ideas, although it can be perceived as beautiful or ugly, these qualities are of the most subjective nature. An alien mode of speech that at best sounds contrived to the auditor is really little more than wasted effort. The only appropriate use of any language is to communicate ideas with precision, florid arabesques serving merely as parlor tricks among the self-styled erudite. If one chooses to eschew gross terms, this choice should be a personal matter; not imposed by some elitist mob of cloistered scholars who in all fact are as far removed from the common mode of communication of the modern age as is the very deceased Mr. Shakespeare. Whereas I do advocate they study the works of Shakespeare for the enrichment of their minds, I do not wish to inculcate the use of his syntactical and grammatical mode on my students.