Hopefully you will read this

Because I had to memorize The AP Stylebook when I joined that organization a lifetime ago, I perk up when I see references to it. Seems The AP has yielded to the great unwashed on the meaning of "hopefully."

Grammatical purists have insisted that the correct meaning is: “In a hopeful manner.” As in, “ ‘Surely you are joking,’ the grammarian said hopefully.”

Now, according to the AP, it's okay if we use it in this sense: “It is hoped, we hope.”

The battle is joined. Monica Hesse of The Washington Post asserts: "The barbarians have done it, finally infiltrated a remaining bastion of order in a linguistic wasteland."

Maeve Maddox, who has taught English and blogs as the American English Doctor, counters: "When it comes to crimes against the language, using hopefully to mean “it is hoped” is a long way from the equivalent of murder."

Maddox says we should keep our powder dry for such offenses as:

• I’ve made reservations for Megan and I.
• The chancellor will talk about he and his wife’s relationship with the governor.
• Why don’t you let your father and I talk.
• Me and my friends attend Cal-Tech.
• The suspect told police that him and another man shot the store owner.
• They’re 100% identical as theirs.
• This is something we probably should have did right after 9/11.

I'll grant that those are worse. But hopefully if we draw the line at hopefully we won't be forced to relent on those.