"...hence why..."
I think a (correct) use of the word "hence" in an episide of Friends helped to make this more of a problem.
For those who don't know: the meaning of "hence" is akin to "therefor" -- so the "why" is redundant.
I do hate things like "...shouldn't of..." and "It's to hot." -- but they can be forgiven as simple ignorance, misspelling or "progressiveness". However, if you use a word like "hence" you do so to appear clever, so to fail to use it correctly is willful ignorance.
(Me, I'm not... in any way intoxicated, Thu 31 Mar 2011, 17:52, 6 replies)

Correctolutely
"Hence" is the genitive case of "here" (just as "whence" and "thence" are of "where" and "there"). So the literal meaning of "hence" is "from here". "Get thee hence" = "fuck off", roughly.

Hither, whither and thither are the dative case, so mean "to here", "to where/where to?" and "to there".

Benefits of a classical education, old thing.
( shinyshinyscalp less a man, more a way of life, Thu 31 Mar 2011, 18:02, closed)

Thanks, I'll admit I didn't realise.
Though I get the impression that "from here" isn't quite correct either, at least not in the current meaning of the phrase. I am probably wrong but my understanding was that it has a meaning closer to "from here comes..."?
(Me, I'm not... in any way intoxicated, Thu 31 Mar 2011, 18:29, closed)

S'okay
Genitive is more usually "of" something, though (apparently) "hence" really is the genitive of "here". And Modern English isn't an inflected language for the most part, so the usage is going to be pretty blurry.

But you're still right - "hence why" is redundant. "Hence" is pretty archaic anyway, the scriptwriters on Friends should've said something more like "that's why...", but if they were any good they'd have steered well clear of the mawkish and clunky humour of that twinklefest of unfeasibly good-looking metropolitan chums anyway and written something good instead.
( shinyshinyscalp less a man, more a way of life, Thu 31 Mar 2011, 18:47, closed)

I have an irrational hatred of the so-called comedy, Friends

(IHateSprouts is baking a huge pie shaped like an enormous pie, Thu 31 Mar 2011, 18:08, closed)

No, that's perfectly rational. It's a bit shit.

( shinyshinyscalp less a man, more a way of life, Thu 31 Mar 2011, 18:15, closed)

Agreed.

(Me, I'm not... in any way intoxicated, Thu 31 Mar 2011, 18:25, closed)