That's rich, coming from a country that brought us such gems as "that's your one" instead of "that's yours". Or saying "I like them ones" instead of "I like those". How about how some British use...
That's rich, coming from a country that brought us such gems as "that's your one" instead of "that's yours". Or saying "I like them ones" instead of "I like those". How about how some British use the Royal we? "Make us a cup of tea, will you?" Us? Are there two of you?
I will defend season for television until my death. Star Trek TNG and Deep Space Nine are different series, but the first year and second year of TNG are not. (I would argue that the third year...
I will defend season for television until my death. Star Trek TNG and Deep Space Nine are different series, but the first year and second year of TNG are not. (I would argue that the third year almost qualifies as a different series from the first two, however...)
This is a laundry list of one persons pet peeves after living in a country for a year or two. I've been there. Some Americanisms are brilliant. Like flip flops. Others are head scratchers. Like...
This is a laundry list of one persons pet peeves after living in a country for a year or two. I've been there.
Some Americanisms are brilliant. Like flip flops. Others are head scratchers. Like bangs or sideburns. The biggest pain in the ass isn't the Americanisms, it's the imperial measuring system and the date format.
After about ten years of living in a new country, you visit back home, and realize your old homeland also has a bunch of minor irritants that drive you bloody bonkers. Oh how the tables soon turn.
It lists a few of his personal annoyances in the third paragraph, but the main list is from some of the most common annoyances that people sent in after he wrote about it:
It lists a few of his personal annoyances in the third paragraph, but the main list is from some of the most common annoyances that people sent in after he wrote about it:
When Matthew wrote about this for the BBC, the BBC invited the public to send in their own pet aversions (English), bêtes noires (French), and bugaboos (American).
A lot of these are pretty fun. I've totally heard people say that. Just wait until they hear people talking about 'pinging' one another. This one may actually be legitimate, dealing with...
A lot of these are pretty fun.
“I got it for free” is a pet hate. You got it “free” not “for free.” You don’t get something cheap and say you got it “for cheap” do you?
I've totally heard people say that.
“Touch base”—it makes me cringe no end.
Just wait until they hear people talking about 'pinging' one another.
My brother now uses the term “season” for a TV series. Hideous
This one may actually be legitimate, dealing with differences in how television is constructed in the two nations.
That all said, I'm fully behind the point of view that english is a garbage language, with no hard and fast rules whatsoever. Sometimes we follow historical english pronunciation and spelling guidelines despite a word being of french origin, sometimes we follow french rules. We have letters with duplicate sounds, punctuation rules which are mostly suggestions.
Of course, that garbageness is one of it's strengths. But I do pity someone learning to speak, or, god forbid, write in it.
Some of these appear simply ignorant. physicality: the OED lists non-American examples dating back to the early 1800s, and use with a different meaning dating back much further. It is not only a...
Some of these appear simply ignorant.
physicality: the OED lists non-American examples dating back to the early 1800s, and use with a different meaning dating back much further. It is not only a word, but a word with a distinct meaning that would be difficult to capture with any other word.
transportation: as I explain elsewhere, the changing use of this word, much more common than transport until the 1660s. It became less common as a result of transportation being used to refer to the transportation of convicts.
expiration: "Thou art a banished man and here art come, before the expiration of thy time, in braving arms against thy sovereign."
alphabetize/alphabetise: has been in use since the 17th century, and underwent the same -ize to -ise change in British usage as other words of similar form. The OED does not describe it as chiefly US.
What I find funny about this article -- a language so replete with exceptions and nuances, and people think that English somehow still has structural integrity such that there's a hard-and-fast...
The next time someone tells you something is the “least worst option,” tell them that their most best option is learning grammar.
What I find funny about this article -- a language so replete with exceptions and nuances, and people think that English somehow still has structural integrity such that there's a hard-and-fast "right" way to say things.
Some of them I can understand being annoyed about, but 24/7 is a fraction of the syllables as "24 hours, 7 days a week" or "all day, every day." also more generally brits mad (x24)
Some of them I can understand being annoyed about, but 24/7 is a fraction of the syllables as "24 hours, 7 days a week" or "all day, every day."
Because a turn-of-the-century grandstander can't sell a crowd of simple, late-19th Century Americans on new technologies and/or snake oil while snapping his suspenders without the extra "-ation"...
Transportation. What’s wrong with transport?
Because a turn-of-the-century grandstander can't sell a crowd of simple, late-19th Century Americans on new technologies and/or snake oil while snapping his suspenders without the extra "-ation" part of the word.
Imagine, for example, this guy selling the crowd on that bottle of bullshit without calling it a libation.
The story there is actually quite different. According to the OED, transportation, not transport, was the word most commonly used in English for the act of transporting, dating back to the 16th...
The story there is actually quite different.
According to the OED, transportation, not transport, was the word most commonly used in English for the act of transporting, dating back to the 16th century or earlier (though this is distinct from transport as a means of transportation). It remained the more common term, and "much used" in the 17th century, until the 1660s, at which point transport gradually became more common.
In addition to the Restoration, the 1660s also saw the beginning of significant penal transportation, and discussions of this practice referred to it simply as "transportation." As the OED points out, this association of the word with a very specific, punitive action was likely the cause of its decline in favor of transport. However, transportation
Amusingly, as transportation was presumably chosen to refer to the act of penal transportation because it was the word most commonly used at the time, if transport had instead been the most commonly used word, transportation would likely now be more common.
That's rich, coming from a country that brought us such gems as "that's your one" instead of "that's yours". Or saying "I like them ones" instead of "I like those". How about how some British use the Royal we? "Make us a cup of tea, will you?" Us? Are there two of you?
I will defend season for television until my death. Star Trek TNG and Deep Space Nine are different series, but the first year and second year of TNG are not. (I would argue that the third year almost qualifies as a different series from the first two, however...)
This is a laundry list of one persons pet peeves after living in a country for a year or two. I've been there.
Some Americanisms are brilliant. Like flip flops. Others are head scratchers. Like bangs or sideburns. The biggest pain in the ass isn't the Americanisms, it's the imperial measuring system and the date format.
After about ten years of living in a new country, you visit back home, and realize your old homeland also has a bunch of minor irritants that drive you bloody bonkers. Oh how the tables soon turn.
It lists a few of his personal annoyances in the third paragraph, but the main list is from some of the most common annoyances that people sent in after he wrote about it:
A lot of these are pretty fun.
I've totally heard people say that.
Just wait until they hear people talking about 'pinging' one another.
This one may actually be legitimate, dealing with differences in how television is constructed in the two nations.
That all said, I'm fully behind the point of view that english is a garbage language, with no hard and fast rules whatsoever. Sometimes we follow historical english pronunciation and spelling guidelines despite a word being of french origin, sometimes we follow french rules. We have letters with duplicate sounds, punctuation rules which are mostly suggestions.
Of course, that garbageness is one of it's strengths. But I do pity someone learning to speak, or, god forbid, write in it.
Some of these appear simply ignorant.
physicality: the OED lists non-American examples dating back to the early 1800s, and use with a different meaning dating back much further. It is not only a word, but a word with a distinct meaning that would be difficult to capture with any other word.
transportation: as I explain elsewhere, the changing use of this word, much more common than transport until the 1660s. It became less common as a result of transportation being used to refer to the transportation of convicts.
expiration: "Thou art a banished man and here art come, before the expiration of thy time, in braving arms against thy sovereign."
alphabetize/alphabetise: has been in use since the 17th century, and underwent the same -ize to -ise change in British usage as other words of similar form. The OED does not describe it as chiefly US.
What I find funny about this article -- a language so replete with exceptions and nuances, and people think that English somehow still has structural integrity such that there's a hard-and-fast "right" way to say things.
Is unfortunately a statement which most people would agree with.
Hey at least it's a try to get "same paged" or "right ballparked" donchaknow? My fave is "thusly".
Some of them I can understand being annoyed about, but 24/7 is a fraction of the syllables as "24 hours, 7 days a week" or "all day, every day."
also more generally
brits mad (x24)
Because a turn-of-the-century grandstander can't sell a crowd of simple, late-19th Century Americans on new technologies and/or snake oil while snapping his suspenders without the extra "-ation" part of the word.
Imagine, for example, this guy selling the crowd on that bottle of bullshit without calling it a libation.
The story there is actually quite different.
According to the OED, transportation, not transport, was the word most commonly used in English for the act of transporting, dating back to the 16th century or earlier (though this is distinct from transport as a means of transportation). It remained the more common term, and "much used" in the 17th century, until the 1660s, at which point transport gradually became more common.
In addition to the Restoration, the 1660s also saw the beginning of significant penal transportation, and discussions of this practice referred to it simply as "transportation." As the OED points out, this association of the word with a very specific, punitive action was likely the cause of its decline in favor of transport. However, transportation
Amusingly, as transportation was presumably chosen to refer to the act of penal transportation because it was the word most commonly used at the time, if transport had instead been the most commonly used word, transportation would likely now be more common.
Linguistic prescriptivism is boring, hiders both the joy of language and the joy of expression, and is an dead-end for fresh ideas. News at 10.
No kidding. Whoever wrote this is missing the point of [vernacular] language and linguistics, let alone communication and culture.