Here are some questions for the group from a colleague. I think they
fall in the recent-history-of-the-language category:

) Was there a specific period in the last 30-40 years where "people"
began
to notice a proliferation of "me" used in the subject - especially
compound
subjects ("John and me will be late") and began an "education campaign"
to
correct it?  If so, how did the "word" get out (newspaper articles, word
of
mouth, increased emphasis in K-12/college) that people needed to be more
conscious/clean up this part of their grammar?

B) Is there any opinion or evidence that a sudden realization of the
improper use of "me" instead of "I" in compound subjects led (via
overcorrection or other means) to the seemingly recent proliferation of
the
use of "I" in a compound (or even singular) form in the indirect
object/subject of the preposition? Eg: "The chocolate cake was a
surprise
for my sister and me."

C) Any concrete examples of this overcorrection making its way into
mainstream media (Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw, Larry King, Oprah, etc.)?


My own take on this is I started hearing "between you and I" from even
highly educated people in the 80s. I attributed it to hypercorrection
mixed with a lack of grammar instruction that would have cued people to
know when to use the objective and when the subjective. It's been in
this decade that I've heard the I moving to the indirect object and to
the objective of prep and subject of infinitive places when it is a
compound and even sometimes when it is not a compound.

Edith Wollin

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