My Personal Grammar Gripes

[WillyW]

I'm sure they're are good reasons for those things that are done that get on you're nerves.


 

heh ..   I wasn't referring to the times that it is done in good fun, intentionally when addressing me.   There are plenty of other examples.

But, even with the times that it is done just for me, I try to do my part and not contribute to the dissemination of stupidity by NOT accepting it.   

[lectrocrew]

While I tend to agree with your point, I try to remind myself that these are teens.  Teens have been doing this for ages... using their own set of buzz words to be 'cool'.

Agreed.
"cool  (kl)
adj. cool·er, cool·est
1. Neither warm nor very cold; moderately cold: fresh, cool water; a cool autumn evening."
 The usage of cool as a general positive epithet or interjection has been part and parcel of English slang since World War II, and has even been borrowed into other languages, such as French and German. Originally this sense is a development from a Black English usage meaning "excellent, superlative," first recorded in written English in the early 1930s and I've used this term as a positive descriptive term since the 60's myself although my parents often 'brow-beat' me for doing so. I still use that word often today and sometimes start sentences with "well now', "Uh", "tell ya what" ect.
 Then in 2001 when I thought my Pontiac Trans Am was so cool, a young poster on one of the hot rod forums stated that he thought my car was "sick". I can't link to the thread since that forum no longer exist but I remember my response was not pretty.
Since then I've realized "sick" has a whole new meaning as slang as seen in The Online Slang Dictionary
"sick - adjective
great; "cool", "awesome"."
 I.ve been watching the olympics and believe it was during a well executed gymnast routine when the NBC commentator referred to the routine as "sick'. 
 It's a living, evolving language of the words and how/when they are used and I'm trying to keep up with the new lingo's as best I can - and also realize how my parents felt when I was young. 
Hang in there Allan. You are not alone!


 

[Daisymae70]

So true. (so..... in the truest sense of the word  I still use "cool" and feel outdated. 

[Helpmeh]

One thing that bugs me (and I do it all the time) is that people often introduce quotes with something along the lines of "and she's like 'blah blah blah.'"

[Allan]

One thing that bugs me (and I do it all the time) is that people often introduce quotes with something along the lines of "and she's like 'blah blah blah.'"

Right there with you. "And I'm like..... and she's like" instead of "And I said.... and she said".
Drives me nuts.

[Helpmeh]

Right there with you. "And I'm like..... and she's like" instead of "And I said.... and she said".
Drives me nuts.

I'll be telling a story to one of my friends and say "And I was like..." but in my head I'm like (there I go again ) "WHY DO I KEEP SAYING LIKE? LIKE DOES NOT BELONG THERE!"

[CBMatt]

I also have my pet peeves when it comes to grammar.  Personally, I can't stand anyone who spells "definitely" as "defiantly".  Not only is it worrisome to think that someone is stupid enough to think that word could actually be spelled that way, it is rather confusing at times.  I often find myself thinking "Why is this person so defiant?  And what are they defying anyway?"  "Irregardless" is another annoying one.

I also hate people who say "would of", "could of", and "should of".  Again, it is difficult to comprehend the level of stupidity involved here.  Didn't they ever see the Conjunction Junction?  In any case, I defiantly won't be sharing my supplies with any of them during the zombie apocalypse.

When it comes to things like "like", I'm a bit more forgiving of it as long as it's not overused.  Heck, I say it myself sometimes simply because it is something that has been ingrained in our language (and my brain) for some time now.  We have to keep in mind that we're not speaking Latin; English is still alive and evolving.  I mean, the word "dove" used to only refer to birds, but it is now [heterophonically] used as the past-tense for "dive".  There are plenty of currently acceptable words that were once considered incorrect.  Your parents very well may have had a discussion just like this in regards to the way kids in your generation talked, Allan.

[Allan]

You "can't stand" people who misspell "definitely"? You "hate" people who say "of" instead of "have"? Wow, even I'm not that obsessed with the language

And you're more forgiving if it's something you do too, huh?

[WillyW]

...
 Heck, I say it myself sometimes simply because it is something that has been ingrained in our language (and my brain) for some time now.  We have to keep in mind that we're not speaking Latin; English is still alive and evolving.
...

The trick is in knowing when it crosses the line:

Quote from: truenorth on August 09, 2012, 12:51:01 PM

    ...
    What is evolving is a series of new languages based on mainstream languages but due to many limitations/constraints are being modified.

Translation:  We are allowing stupidity to be acceptable.

from a living language to stupidity.


Also, you're (not your ...hehehe)  quite right regarding conditioning.  That's how some of this idiocy creeps in, then becomes the norm.   Accepting it is allowing stupidity to rule.   

On the other hand, an example of new words with new meaning in a living language:
'I'm going to put my cup of coffee in the microwave' .

I'm sure there are a few of us here old enough to remember a time when if someone had said that to you, you would have had absolutely no idea what was meant.   

THAT is an example of how new things get into the language, in a good way.

[CBMatt]

You "can't stand" people who misspell "definitely"? You "hate" people who say "of" instead of "have"? Wow, even I'm not that obsessed with the language

Ha ha, it's extreme, I know.  I'm obviously not perfect by any means, but I have become less tolerant of people in general.  And for what it's worth, I don't hate all people who are guilty.  Although I've never tested her, I'm fairly certain my wife wouldn't be able to spell "definitely" if her life depended on it, but she also has a reading/writing disorder and I know that she is an otherwise intelligent person.

And you're more forgiving if it's something you do too, huh?

Exactly!  Most of us work that way, don't we?  I did hate it for quite a while, though, especially as a teen.  My Lit/Comp teacher in 7th grade was really hard on kids who misused "like" and "Can I", and I was always on her side.  And it still drives me crazy to listen to teenage girls who use "like" as 90% of their vocabulary.  But having grown up on the Gold Coast of California, it's something I had to come to terms with and eventually accept because it's not going away anytime soon (although I'm sure it eventually will one day).  But like I said, I'm only okay with it in moderation.

Also, you're (not your ...hehehe)  quite right regarding conditioning.  That's how some of this idiocy creeps in, then becomes the norm.   Accepting it is allowing stupidity to rule.

I agree to an extent, but it can't always be up to us to determine what qualifies as stupidity.  Some things are going to be easy to classify as such (e.g. lazy text speech or internet meme lingo), but it's not always going to be so clear-cut, largely because much of it is subjective.  For instance, "the Net" is perfectly acceptable to most people as more than mere slang, but I personally think it is a stupid thing to say.  But it's not up to me to decide.  And when it comes to "like", I feel that it is less about stupidity and more about confidence.  Growing up on the beach, I typically only heard it in phrases such as "That was, like, totally radical!"  Nowadays, most of its usage is in the place of where "uh" and "um" used to be...and while people do indeed sound stupid saying these things, it's more appropriate to say that they are simply not confident about what they're saying or they are essentially talking faster than their brains are thinking.

I do get your point, though, and I agree that it's important to keep our language from deteriorating entirely.


If we ever happen to start a CH Book Club, I nominate this for the first week:
http://www.amazon.com/Um-Slips-Stumbles-Verbal-Blunders/dp/0375423567/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-8932074-5418209?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194536144&sr=8-1
It sounds like an interesting read.

[Fed]

I've got a question say you're sitting at home with your wife telling her what you are going to do, what is correct?

I'm going to take my car to the garage and get some gas.

or

I'm going to bring my car to the garage and get some gas.

Every time I see bring used in that context I cringe.

[truenorth]

Actually for most of humankind this is an impossible feat.The car will take you (your along for the ride so to speak).
As well "I'm going to bring my car to the garage and get some gas." You don't bring it "it" brings you. truenorth

[Salmon Trout]

In standard English 'take' = convey from here => somewhere else, and 'bring' = convey from somewhere else => here. However there are many local dialects and variant varieties, so it doesn't have to be 'wrong'.

One of my own pet hates is using 'of' after an adjective e.g. "It isn't that big of a deal". It used to be mainly American but it's creeping over here now. Also people who insist on spelling 'dilemma', 'dilemna'.

[CBMatt]

In standard English 'take' = convey from here => somewhere else, and 'bring' = convey from somewhere else => here.

Exactly how I see it.

One of my own pet hates is using 'of' after an adjective e.g. "It isn't that big of a deal". It used to be mainly American but it's creeping over here now.

I'm guilty of this one.  But for what it's worth, I don't think I use it outside of "that big of a deal".  I'll have to pay more attention and see if I can catch myself using it in other sentences.

[Salmon Trout]

I'll have to pay more attention and see if I can catch myself using it in other sentences.

People say "It's not that long of a journey" and "She didn’t give too long of a talk", and "How hard of a job do you think it’ll be?". Don't get me started on "bored of" when people mean "bored with"...