Having been greatly distracted by two momentous events, Brexit and the American election, I’ve been very remiss with this blog. And, let’s face it, language misdemeanours, however diverting, pale into insignificance with what’s going on in the world. But having stumbled across this snippet, widely broadcast by the British media, I’m unable to resist a mini-rant. The revelation came courtesy of an eminent foreign correspondent, who commented on a catastrophic plane crash thus.
There is little hope of finding survivors alive.
Although overcome with an overwhelming sadness, I nevertheless wondered whether there might be some dead survivors – an obvious (to me, at least) interpretation of this tautological statement. As I’ve mentioned in other posts, tautology – saying the same thing twice in different words – is a stylistic fault which is quite common, but the venerable BBC and its reporters might be expected to be above such lapses. What the correspondent should have said is, of course, this.
There is little hope of finding anybody alive.
Or this.
Flaming English by Anna Nolan 
Wonderful Anna, in my opinion, I think you have explained tautology perfectly
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Thank you so much, David!
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I agree, Ana. There are some terrifying things going on in the world. But I sincerely hope that at the end of it all, the survivors are indeed alive!! ha ha ha!
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So sorry, Diana, for having overlooked your witty comment. Yep, I’m extremely worried by what’s going on – but rather encouraged by the early signs of a fight-back. We shall see … In the meantime, enjoy your lovely part of the world – and be very careful with hammocks! x
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Hello Anna,
I’ve unfortunately spotted a number of headlines like this across the press. When I read this one, my first thought was ‘well how else is a survivor supposed to be found!’
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Absolutely, Mark! I am delighted your writing is going well and hope you’ve enjoyed the lovely wintry spell we’ve just had.
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Priceless 🙂 Anna, you’ve made my day!
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Millions of thanks, Jennie! 🙂
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Hi Anna. I missed this post on my WP Reader page. I have really appreciated that you are dropping in regularly and reading my posts. I wanted to drop over here and wish you Happy New Year! Thanks for continuing to read my posts. ❤
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It’s lovely to hear from you, Deborah. Yes, I do enjoy your posts; unlike mine, they are very varied and interesting. You too have a healthy and happy 2017. xxx
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Thanks so much, Anna. Looking forward to seeing you on my blog in the New Year and I will be checking in on yours. xo ❤
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Excellent!!!
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