In yesterday’s
New York Times, I read with amusement and some interest William Safire’s discussion of
APPROVE vs.
APPROVE OF and of the disappearing
OF. The dropping of the
OF as in “a couple times” has irritated me for some time (for some discussion of this see [url=http://www.wordwizard.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=6331]
couple / couple of [collective nouns). However, I don’t have any particular reason for this other than, I was born and raised with the
OF version.
In the case of this present
APPROVE OF flap (in a teapot), I’ll check the ‘no preference’ box but giving the slightest edge to the sans
OF version. I say this because I seem to detect a small difference, in that
APPROVE sounds like one is applying an official stamp of approval, whereas
APPROVE OF is something that might be said in passing, but which doesn’t include that seal with the coat of arms on it. But that could just be a figment of my imagination.
Anyway, here is what Safire had to say in his
Sunday New York Times ‘On Language’ column of May 11, 2008:
Quote:
Let’s begin at the ending.
The sentence we will hear most frequently between now and Election eve is “My name is [whoever], and I approve this message.”
Responding to a diatribe in this column about the disappearance of of as in “a couple times” Sam Polonsky e-mails: “My Boston-school-systems teaching places of in front of this in that message. Please comment.”
“I’m John McCain, and I approve this message,” says McCain, whose 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (“McCain-Feingold”) mandated the identification to pin responsibility on attacks. “I’m Hillary Clinton, and I approve this message,” dutifully says Senator Clinton. “I’m Barack Obama, and I approve this message,” says Senator Obama, adding in some instances, “because to fix health care, we have to fix Washington.”
Obama’s addendum is within the law, which states that after the self-identification, “I approved this message” and “I approved this advertisement” are “not the only allowable statements” of the required “oral disclaimer.” That means, if I read the election law correctly, it is allowable for the candidate to add, “And good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are” if so moved. You can also substitute “My name is” for “I am,” and I presume the contraction “I’m” is permissible because that’s what the major candidates are now using.
But the act takes an unequivocal stand against “approve of.” Say “approve this” without the disappearing preposition between those two words or the Feds could conceivably come after you. Where does that leave the Polonskyites, to whom approve of is the correct form?
This is a job for the Language Maven. The O.E.D. makes clear that in both the sense of the 1380 “to pronounce to be good” and the 1413 “to confirm authoritatively,” the verb stood alone; no of followed. In the 17th century, the construction approve on appeared, followed by approve of. For reassurance, I turn to Dennis Baron, professor of English and linguistics at the University of Illinois, who concludes that “for the two most relevant meanings of approve, the verb without preposition is both the earliest form and the one that continues through to the present.”
Thus, all three major presidential candidates are safe, though I’d be careful of that contraction I’m.
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Disclaim Check
My name is William Safire, and I approve on this message. (Nah; sounds as if I’m dumping on it.) I approve of this message. (Sounds elitist, out of touch, like a blessing given by the Charles River Gang.) Ready? I approve this message. There; that government-approved, preposition-free usage has an executive tone, as if the speaker were running for chief executive. If you can cut earmarks out of the budget deficit, you can cut the needless word out of the sign off, and it saves a fraction of a second, which — multiplied by thousands of TV spots — adds up to real money.
