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Grammar Gripes and Other Psycholinguistic Squawkings

Discussion in 'General Discussions' started by Baraka_Guru, Aug 6, 2011.

Page 17 of 25
  1. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    Actually gender is a state, but it's not something one typically changes at will. (The most common way I can think of is cross-dressing against your typical gender role.) You're probably referring mostly to a biological state, rather than cultural or social ones. The biology is normally referred to as "sex."

    As for "a male," isn't this more or less the same as asking whether one is a man, a cyclist, or a teacher, etc.?

    It's the difference between:

    "Are you a [noun]?"

    vs.

    "Are you [adjective]?"

    I think it depends on the context. Are you taking about information forms?
     
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2012
    Baraka_Guru, Jul 19, 2012
    #321
    • Like Like x 1
  2. Xerxes

    Xerxes Bulking.

    Mostly forms. Yes.
     
    Xerxes, Jul 19, 2012
    #322
  3. cynthetiq

    cynthetiq Administrator Staff Member Donor

    Location:
    New York City
     
    cynthetiq, Jul 27, 2012
    #323
    • Like Like x 3
  4. highjinx

    highjinx "My phobia drowned while i was gettin' down."

    Location:
    venice beach
    i'm probably going to be unpopular for this opinion, but grammar and pronunciation and punctuation nazi's drive me bananas.

    language is a vehicle for getting an idea or point across at it's root. by simply corresponding with someone there's no unwritten or unspoken rule that it needs to adhere to some traditional or proper structure. there is a lot of wiggle room to get things wrong and rely on common sense from the receiver to construe the way to point b and continue, and how uptight people get about the small tax it puts on their brain to auto-correct a sentiment seems ridiculous to me.

    getting on someone's case because they got something wrong in a conversation even though you've already gleaned the correct meaning of it seems disingenuous and condescending to me. it's taking a shot at someone that will either get it right next time or won't but the person on the other end of it will most likely again figure it out... just like you did.

    slang and dialect happens and language evolves. if someone text's me "hey, your not going to the movies tonight, are you?" I move on. seriously. i say leave it to the professionals to be accountable.

    and by the way, i have a degree in english and a blistering vocabulary. i'm not trying to protect my own ignorance by any stretch. i just don't sweat the small stuff, and this pet peeve qualifies as such if you ask me. i think i backlash the other way so much because i'd get SO annoyed as a kid when my dad would talk at a newscaster that couldn't hear him on a tv or get on my case at the dinner table over some silly quip or gaff on my or the newscasters part. it just felt like nitpicking and qualified as putting someone else down to pick himself up.
     
    highjinx, Jul 27, 2012
    #324
    • Like Like x 3
  5. Lindy

    Lindy Moderator Staff Member

    Location:
    Nebraska
    And I did figure it out. I believe that I finally understood everything that you were trying to convey. After the distraction of grammar, word order, word usage, and punctuation potholes sent me back to read some parts more than once. I think that is what Kyle Wiens was getting at.

    Pet peeves are usually just small annoyances that occur so regularily that they become peeving, don't cha just know?
    I think that proponents of a freer style of writing are rebels without a clause.;)

    Lindy
     
    Lindy, Jul 27, 2012
    #325
    • Like Like x 2
  6. grumpyolddude

    grumpyolddude Very Tilted

    Location:
    Metro Detroit, Michigan, USA
    [​IMG]

    Pardon, if a repost... but, I chuckled:)
     
    grumpyolddude, Jul 28, 2012
    #326
    • Like Like x 8
  7. SirLance

    SirLance Death Therapist

    Location:
    Where you least expect me
    If you cannot communicate, you cannot be understood. I'm not a "grammar Nazi," but I am a stickler for proper communication. I have been known to send staff members to a Business English course at the local community college. If the person you work for can't understand what you are trying to say, no one else can either. Mistakes cost money, and while some can't be avoided, grammatical mistakes always can.
     
    SirLance, Jul 28, 2012
    #327
    • Like Like x 7
  8. Zen

    Zen Very Tilted

    Location:
    London
    Yup ... when I screw up and someone corrects me, I thank them and give special attention to correcting the error. The fact that someone correctly guessed my intent, thereby knowing to correct me, is a combination of my good luck and their astuteness. I do not want to rely on these as I navigate within my business and personal relatonships.
     
    Zen, Jul 28, 2012
    #328
    • Like Like x 1
  9. Mysugarcane

    Mysugarcane Vertical

    Sure it does, just not favorably.
     
    Mysugarcane, Jul 29, 2012
    #329
    • Like Like x 2
  10. Zen

    Zen Very Tilted

    Location:
    London
    This is a rare gift!

    Hello, Mysugarcane
    Pleased to meet you, and thank you :)
     
    Zen, Jul 29, 2012
    #330
  11. Mysugarcane

    Mysugarcane Vertical

    Thank you and I'm pleased to meet you as well. Hope you are enjoying your weekend.
     
    Mysugarcane, Jul 29, 2012
    #331
  12. omega

    omega Very Tilted

    my wife thinks it is "play it by air". even after explaining it to her, she thinks play it by air works because things are up in the air.
     
    omega, Jul 31, 2012
    #332
  13. Mysugarcane

    Mysugarcane Vertical

    The one that drives me crazy is, "I seen it..." For the love of not sounding like a grade school dropout, it is "I saw...or I have seen or I had seen." Oh! I have another one - it makes me cringe especially when I see it spelled incorrectly in advertising. The word is cannot. It is always one word and no, you CANNOT spell as two!!!

    Ok...a few more.

    Is it:
    alright or all right?
    a lot or alot?
    in regard or in regards to?
    as regards or as regard to?
    with regards or with regard to?
    altogether or all together? ;)

    Ok, I will stop now.
     
    Mysugarcane, Jul 31, 2012
    #333
  14. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    Actually you can. It's merely that cannot is far more common, most likely because it's technically a contraction of can not. Language tends to migrate towards efficiency. The key is to be consistent in usage.

    Sometimes can not is actually the better form:
    Definition of cannot - Oxford Dictionaries (British & World English)

    Either. Again, consistency is the key.

    a lot
    in regard to
    as regards
    With regards sounds like "best wishes," as in "with my regards." However, it should be "with regard to" instead of "with regards to."
    altogether = "totally": It's altogether terrible.
    all together = "all in one place": Let's keep them all together.

    Please don't. :p
     
    Last edited: Jul 31, 2012
    Baraka_Guru, Jul 31, 2012
    #334
    • Like Like x 2
  15. Lindy

    Lindy Moderator Staff Member

    Location:
    Nebraska
    Perhaps the "playing it by ear" i.e., improvising, is done on "air guitar.":D
    Would not the use of "regarding" avoid all of those awkward constructions?:)

    Lindy
     
    Lindy, Jul 31, 2012
    #335
  16. Mysugarcane

    Mysugarcane Vertical

    I appreciate that language does evolve, but what I see happening today with grammar rules, in both verbal and written communication, is tragic. They are treated as mere suggestions and some younger people border on functionally illiterate.

    I will just keep texting with proper punctuation anyway lol. Shall we talk about commas?
     
    Mysugarcane, Jul 31, 2012
    #336
  17. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    I still find that there is a clear distinction between formal writing and colloquial or casual writing. I view grammar on a spectrum rather than as a right/wrong dichotomy. It really depends on the purpose of the writing and the audience.

    I don't see recent trends in language creeping in on formal writing (e.g., business reports, academic publishing, etc.) unless it's used knowingly. Much of what we may gripe about is either on the Internet or other mainstream electronic communication or used inappropriately in certain contexts. I wouldn't say the inappropriate usage is degrading the language. Rather, I would say that the average person's grasp on language is degrading.

    I suppose you could be seeing things I'm not. What grammar rules are you talking about? Any examples?
     
    Baraka_Guru, Jul 31, 2012
    #337
    • Like Like x 1
  18. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    I just about fainted when I heard one of the NBC commentators use the word "ginormous" to describe how much air a gymnast got during the vault event.
     
    snowy, Jul 31, 2012
    #338
    • Like Like x 1
  19. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    I'm totally fine with the use of ginormous in describing things like the Olympics. You know why? I find that the descriptive elements from commentators all sound the same. It's like listening to the judges on those TV shows that are essentially singing and dancing competitions. How many different ways can you describe that thing people have done countless times?

    I welcome the influx of new words to describe repetitive things, even if they're informal. I find the Olympics so bombastic to begin with, I say why the fuck not?

    (Also, I didn't know that ginormous has been around since WWII.)
     
    Baraka_Guru, Jul 31, 2012
    #339
  20. Remixer

    Remixer Middle Eastern Doofus

    Location:
    Frankfurt, Germany
    Something I always notice when I pretend to do business and write/receive E-mails from colleagues, partners and others I communicate with.

    Whenever I start the letter with the routine "Dear XXXX," I always begin the next line with a small letter, unless it begins with a name or "I".

    I've very rarely seen others do the same. How common is this experience of mine?
     
    Remixer, Jul 31, 2012
    #340
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