Continuing in my efforts to identify improper usage of English words and the miscarriages of suitable writing by those employed to write, I would like to take a moment to discuss an word short in length, but of such great potential to be applied incorrectly; Via.
Via literally means 'by way of', indicating the process and direction of the trip or journey, but not the means by which said journey is achieved.
It is a proper application of the word to say, for example "That we flew from Toronto to Las Vegas via Los Angeles." The journey is from Toronto to Las Vegas, however a stop-over in Los Angeles is an essential piece of information and the usage of Via in this case is the correct literal application.
On the other hand, where it is most often applied incorrectly is to describe a means of travel; "I arrived in London via concord" or "We landed at 12:00 and reached our destination via train." Both of these instances feature a poor usage of Via
The fact that Canada's primary coast-to-coast train is named Via should only help confuse locals, but the fact of the matter is that Via should always indicate the direction of the journey, and not the means by which it's achieved.
Thanks for reading. Again, sorry for the lack of content of late - I've been a busy boy.
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