The English Language Is Constantly Shifting, But . . .

I heard an interview with a university English professor the other day, and was surprised and dismayed to learn that she believes that most of the bad grammar we run across in our daily lives is actually the natural and legitimate evolution from a certain set off standards to another.

As an example, she said that the word “unique” has come to mean “rare,” as in “she has a fairly unique talent.”  Really?  What’s the matter with pointing out that it’s a grammatical error to qualify the word “unique?”  A thing is either unique or it’s not.

Similarly, the sentence at the above left shows a disagreement of subject and verb.  “Opportunities” is plural, so we need the plural “there are,” not the singular  “there is.”

I’m worried that the rules of grammar are evaporating in front of our eyes, as this particular error has leapt into our language over just the last five years.  For better or worse, I pay close attention to the type and frequency of mistakes like these, and I’m quite certain that this is a very recent thing.

IMO, it’s far harder on the ears than “fairly unique.”  Even elementary school kids wouldn’t say, “There is two dogs barking.”

Not yet, any way.  Again, I’m concerned about our grammatical future.