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Grammar Gripes and Other Psycholinguistic Squawkings

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

Page 16 of 25
  1. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    I'm pretty sure this is just a British thing.
     
    Baraka_Guru, Mar 12, 2012
    #301
  2. EventHorizon

    EventHorizon assuredly the cause of the angry Economy..

    Location:
    FREEDOM!
    i'll concur
     
    EventHorizon, Mar 12, 2012
    #302
  3. Zen

    Zen Very Tilted

    Location:
    London
    Zen, Mar 12, 2012
    #303
  4. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    In Canada, it seems simply interchangeable.
     
    Baraka_Guru, Mar 12, 2012
    #304
  5. grumpyolddude

    grumpyolddude Very Tilted

    Location:
    Metro Detroit, Michigan, USA
    Here in the colonies, we "practice" for both uses. You Brits talk funny:p
     
    grumpyolddude, Mar 12, 2012
    #305
  6. Lindy

    Lindy Moderator Staff Member

    Location:
    Nebraska
    "Practice is" (noun) "as practice does" (verb) was the way one of my professors helped make the distinction.
    He likewise said that in the USA practice was acceptable for both, even though he wasn't a grumpyolddude.:)

    Lindy
     
    Lindy, Mar 12, 2012
    #306
    • Like Like x 1
  7. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    It seems like a silly distinction. You know as silly as "licence" (noun) and "license" (verb).
     
    Baraka_Guru, Mar 12, 2012
    #307
  8. cynthetiq

    cynthetiq Administrator Staff Member Donor

    Location:
    New York City
    cynthetiq, Jul 2, 2012
    #308
    • Like Like x 4
  9. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    Those folks could just as easily have been editors.

    Teachers' parties are more fun. At least they have interesting war stories.
     
    Baraka_Guru, Jul 2, 2012
    #309
  10. TheSurgeOn

    TheSurgeOn Getting Tilted

    Location:
    England
    shit.jpg
     
    TheSurgeOn, Jul 2, 2012
    #310
    • Like Like x 6
  11. Xerxes

    Xerxes Bulking.

    NO

    is not an affirmative answer. It does not confirm. It negates.

    Consider the scenario: Jane did not go to school today. She stayed home because she was ill.

    So, given the above, I pose a question for you: "Jane didn't go to school today?"

    The correct answer to this question is not NO. The correct answer is "Yes. She didn't go to school today" or, alternatively "She did not" will suffice. In that exact inflection. Simply saying "Yes" by itself is confusing. In order to confirm that Jane did in fact not go to school, you have to complete the phrase and be clear about it.

    Also, USE YOUR FUCKING SHIFT KEYS!

    Mother fuckers.
     
    Xerxes, Jul 17, 2012
    #311
  12. Hektore

    Hektore Slightly Tilted


    "Jane didn't go to school today?" isn't a question, it's a statement. "Did Jane go to school today?" is a question, provides more clarity for the responder and is more appropriate if you actually want a response. Asking in the negative as you have done is more of a rhetorical device than proper grammar, primarily for when you already know (or think you know) the answer. If you insist on asking in the negative, "Didn't Jane go to school today?" is the correct way to do it.
     
    Hektore, Jul 17, 2012
    #312
    • Like Like x 2
  13. uncle phil

    uncle phil Moderator Emeritus (and sorely missed) Staff Member Donor

    Location:
    pasco county
    snuck?
     
    uncle phil, Jul 18, 2012
    #313
  14. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    North American dialect/colloquialism
     
    Baraka_Guru, Jul 18, 2012
    #314
  15. uncle phil

    uncle phil Moderator Emeritus (and sorely missed) Staff Member Donor

    Location:
    pasco county
    not taught as such/at all by any of my english teachers...
     
    uncle phil, Jul 18, 2012
    #315
  16. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    I imagine English teachers only tend to teach about colloquial language when covering literature that employs it.
     
    Baraka_Guru, Jul 18, 2012
    #316
    • Like Like x 1
  17. roachboy

    roachboy Very Tilted

    roachboy, Jul 18, 2012
    #317
  18. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    First it was the encyclopedias, now it's the dictionaries.

    I think this kind of thing is inevitable. The Internet is basically the mass democratization of language. I mean, technology itself is a driving force behind how language is shaped. Consider the impact of the printing press, radio, film, television, etc. The more that mass communication gets into the hands of the plebs, the more they will exert an influence on how language is used.

    I don't see this is a good or bad thing. I just see it as an evolution in communication. Language is never going to be pristine and static. I mean, people still gripe over "incorrect" words first used in the 19th century.... Let it go. Embrace it, even!
     
    Baraka_Guru, Jul 18, 2012
    #318
  19. Fangirl

    Fangirl Very Tilted

    Location:
    Arizona
    I agree with you and I understand the evolutionary aspects of languages(s) and how they've accelerated dramatically due to the technological revolution.
    Still, after decades of using words like 'sneeked' because for a time it was the only correct word for that activity, it is an adjustment to say 'OK, we'll just say snuck', because, let's be honest, it is easier to do so.
    Both my parents were Anglo-Canadian language nit-pickers so it is a rough go for people like me with one foot in the door of modern language usage and the other not quite in with what sounds most natural to our ears.
     
    Fangirl, Jul 19, 2012
    #319
  20. Xerxes

    Xerxes Bulking.

    Is gender a state? Like, for example, a headache? Can you switch genders at will? No? THEN YOU DON'T ASK IF SOMEONE IS "A" MALE. You ask, "Are you male or female?"

    You have to include the "female" part because there are no other options.

    Dumbasses.
     
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2012
    Xerxes, Jul 19, 2012
    #320
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