It distinguishes between locomotion and m***********.
[Humour] The continued drop in English language standards.
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It distinguishes between locomotion and m***********.
- Jan 3, 2012
- 17,355
I do some peer review for science journals. I sent a paper back to the authors recently inviting them to pay for some native English speaker proofreading before resubmitting the revised manuscript. Then I noticed that a native English speaking pal of mine was one of the co-authors. FFS. Putting your name to a 'scholarly' work without actually reading it?
Anyway, for the next month, the volume of illiterate shudder-inducing piffle on NSC is likely to fall by 50%, while old droopy serves his ban
More insidious than poor grammar, however, is grotesque misuse of words. 'Literally' is a good one. 'I was literally over the moon'. Private Eye published a memorable one years ago: 'The audience were literally glued to their seats and electrified'. I would have paid good money to have seen that.
The one example that actually does grind my gears is 'how significant (e.g., do you think the Prime Minister's announcement was?)'. In my job, something can be biologically significant or statistically significant, each of which is judged on a binary basis. 'a bit significant, very significant and more significant' are meaningless concepts, as silly as a bit dead, very dead and more dead. Significant does not mean 'big'. FFS.
This is probably unfair to engineers, but when I was at Uni (mid 1970s) it was often jokingly said: "Three years ago I couldn't even spell engineer. Now I are one!"
And Mrs DiS often gets cross at people qualifying the word "unique". It can't be very unique. It's either unique or it's not.
Dr Bandler
Well-known member
I did chuckle at the football commentator who said that "the crowd literally blew the roof off the stadium". I loved the image that conjured.
Taking something that's correct and changing it into something that is wrong (the defuse/diffuse example someone gave is apposite) does not exemplify a living language. It exemplifies degeneracy. Fact.
The use of goals annoys me. Normally northerners when they mean the singular. Thick, thats wot they is.
doogie004
Well-known member
Times have changed innit
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I think that a few years ago they (The Correct Language Powers) expanded the definition of "literally" to include "figuratively". Obviously complete bananas and a sign of mad, devilish times, but a change forced by the people who refused to understand the original difference. Anyway, this means saying "literally" when you mean "figuratively" is now "technically" correct.
About the deteoriation of language correctness in general, I thought as a teenager that we were going downhill. I was comparing what my friends and people in general wrote with the stuff in books and papers etc. But as the old people found out about the Internet, they were even worse. I think that the common perception that people are getting worse at spelling and grammar probably could be something of a myth - probably a lot have always been shit, only difference being that nowadays so much communication go through text so it becomes more obvious.
As for the English language I'm also annoyed with the "could of" thing, and I only see native English speakers make that mistake, oddly enough.
Something I've noticed both here and around the web is that the grammar/spelling police never point out when I mix UK & American English (which happens a lot since I'm both a victim of American cultural imperialization and English footy imperialisation). Is this generally done correctly by you UK folks, or are the kids of today saying "game" instead of "match" etc?
RossyG
Well-known member
- Dec 20, 2014
- 2,630
That’s a fair use of So at the beginning of a sentence. But as I mentioned earlier, it’s So + pronoun that is stupid and annoying.
GingerBeerMan
3-0
- Dec 29, 2011
- 8,205
This is one of my main ones too. Most obvious when people use 'good' instead of 'well'.
All the lads played good today, I can't fault them
) and now parroted by idiots.
I hope your response is "Yes you can, but you may not."
Icy Gull
Back on the rollercoaster
- Jul 5, 2003
- 72,015
But even worse is when you ask someone how they are and they then tell you in great and boring detail
I am at a company where the staff are predominately younger and being in USA we have a large use of "Super" usually followed by "excited or pumped"
All thrown into sentences that have "like" as every other word. FFS.
Another one that gets me is the use of a name to illustrate other people doing or being part of the same thing. Example "we have the Murreys, the Ryans, the Dickers" etc.
Super Steve Earle
Well-known member
I would like to add menus with adjectives preceding the content. Examples might include:
Bill's lovely pork sausages.
Fred's tasty cheese and onion pie.
I'll decide if my food is lovely or tasty, not the menu writer/cafe proprietor.
Bill's lovely pork sausages.
Fred's tasty cheese and onion pie.
I'll decide if my food is lovely or tasty, not the menu writer/cafe proprietor.
- Jan 3, 2012
- 17,355
But even worse is when you ask someone how they are and they then tell you in great and boring detail
I went to a conference a number of years ago where a South African Bishop talked about this. In his culture, if he asked you how you were and you said fine, and he found out later that you weren't, he would actually mind - almost be offended. The reason for that would be that it was a serious question, he was interested in the answer and he would be concerned and sympathetic if you were not OK.
So maybe the moral is if you don't want the answer, don't ask the question...…… while accepting it is a throw-away line most of the time.
Jaxie
Well-known member
Use of the word So to start every sentence.
People saying “he’s” rather than “his”.
People saying “he’s” rather than “his”.
black & white seagull
Active member
I noticed a magazine on the shelves in a shop the other day. It was called Eat Healthy. I nearly kicked the stand over in rage.