language use & abuse – Page 16 – don't confuse the narrator

old wounds

A story on the BBC website this morning – Councils ‘unprepared’ for elderly – has me a little worried. Not simply because most English councils are unprepared for the impact of a rapidly aging population, though that in itself is cause for concern.

Firstly, the phrase “rapidly ageing population” makes me do a double take. Surely we are all getting older at the same rate – taking it a day at a time? What steps can I take to I avoid being one of those who is ageing more rapidly?
Continue reading “old wounds”

adopt-a-gay

Well, no, that probably isn’t what the newspaper is saying, but it’s the way I read it. From today’s Público online:

Cambio de sexo gratuito en la Sanidad pública

Catalunya en 2005 ya había aprobado una ley que favorecía la adopción de parejas del mismo sexo. […].

And the phrase which has caught my attention is la adopción de parejas del mismo sexo, which appears to me to be talking about adopting same-sex couples.
Continue reading “adopt-a-gay”