As reading recedes into being a specialized skill many people are on their own when trying to spell what they hear. "You're" sounds the same as "your", "they're" sounds the same as "their". The logical difference is moot. On teh interwebz a select picture is accepted as a valid response (we see this on TB too). No further argumentation need be attached, and the skill of decoding the intended message in a particular image constitutes a metalanguage that brings us around to pictograms - the beginnings of writing. Strange.
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What's your biggest grammatical pet peeve?
- Thread starter doctorjazz
- Start date
And could someone please explain the recent fad of pronouncing 'what', 'why' and 'way' as 'hwat', 'hwy' and 'hway' ?! 
it's because progress stopped around the invention of television and leaf blowers. We recede more quickly than we develop.
I don't even know what you're saying.
Ask Fassa, she's a linguist, too
Right, translation for Maki's benefit:
Languages change ALL the time and the more successful languages are constantly changing. English is a prime example as it's moving all the time and has always been able to accommodate loanwords/foreign terms. Compare different periods in English literature and you'll see.
A few examples include the dropping of archaic terms such as 'lest' and 'thee/thou/thine/thee' (and variants)from the language and the gain of loanwords such as 'chav' (from Romany), 'algebra' (Arabic) and 'vehement' (from Latin).
So it is wrong to say that any such development in language is in anyway wrong or degrading to the language, simply because a naturally evolving language SHOULD change.
And could someone please explain the recent fad of pronouncing 'what', 'why' and 'way' as 'hwat', 'hwy' and 'hway' ?!
Do you live in Newcastle ...?
Do you live in Newcastle ...?
No, Fassa does
But I'll take that as a compliment on my English
I live in Belgrade so English is far from my native tongue but I've never heard British English being spoken that way, only American.
'This video is not available in your country'
And they keep us in the dark...
IMO, there's still a difference between "the language is evolving" and "your grammar is terrible." At what point does a grammatical error become so commonplace that its ubiquity legitimizes it?
The Geordie language is probably one of the biggest crimes against grammar.
Here's an example (with some swearing unfortunately)-
The film, Purely Belter, is about two Newcastle fans trying to get season tickets.
Here's an example (with some swearing unfortunately)-
The film, Purely Belter, is about two Newcastle fans trying to get season tickets.
Local PBS station is doing another beg-a-thon and saying numbers, reminding me the word "and" should never be spoken when saying a number. Consider this example:
"One hundred and one."
Now let's illustrate how cumbersome this can be:
"Six billion and eight hundred and thirty-two million and seven hundred and sixty-six thousand and four hundred and ninety-eight."
Now let's look at how that number should be spoken:
"Six billion, eight hundred thirty-two million, seven hundred sixty-six thousand, four hundred ninety-eight."
"One hundred and one."
Now let's illustrate how cumbersome this can be:
"Six billion and eight hundred and thirty-two million and seven hundred and sixty-six thousand and four hundred and ninety-eight."
Now let's look at how that number should be spoken:
"Six billion, eight hundred thirty-two million, seven hundred sixty-six thousand, four hundred ninety-eight."
"One hundred one" sounds weird to me. I'll use "and" until it gets into the thousands.
And the general use of nouns as verbs.Something I'm hearing a lot these days: the use of "gift" as a verb.
I know it's been done for decades, but it's being done to an especially annoying degree lately. There's a commercial for online bank Marcus by Goldman Sachs where the tagline is "You Can Money."
Yes, I've seen a lot of "verbing of nouns" over the past few years. It's as if companies and institutions which you'd think would be catering primarily (if not exclusively) to adults are taking their cues from teenagers. It seems that everyone is afraid of not being seen as sufficiently hip these days.And the general use of nouns as verbs.
I know it's been done for decades, but it's being done to an especially annoying degree lately. There's a commercial for online bank Marcus by Goldman Sachs where the tagline is "You Can Money."
I've been seeing a PG&E commercial where the CEO talks about "undergrounding" power lines. That rubs me the wrong way just a little. I suppose that's in part the consequence of my age and my 40 years as a professional editor.
Still, I agree with the earlier point that languages can, do, and even should change. The ability to "verb nouns" easily is actually one of the features that make English so flexible. It's not wrong, but it can get annoying, to me at least, when used a lot. I admit that some instances grate on me more than others, especially when a good, clean, clear, concise alternative has already been available for a long time. Why do we need "gift" as a verb when "give" has been around forever? (EDIT: OTOH, "regift" is a useful verb for which there's no real single-word alternative in common use.)
Still, I agree with the earlier point that languages can, do, and even should change. The ability to "verb nouns" easily is actually one of the features that make English so flexible. It's not wrong, but it can get annoying, to me at least, when used a lot. I admit that some instances grate on me more than others, especially when a good, clean, clear, concise alternative has already been available for a long time. Why do we need "gift" as a verb when "give" has been around forever? (EDIT: OTOH, "regift" is a useful verb for which there's no real single-word alternative in common use.)
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