BajaNomad

Also for the New Year

Osprey - 1-2-2014 at 01:50 PM

For all of us please:

1. remember the Edit button and

2.

Almost forgot: when you type about people, remember they are humans, warm, animate, living, breathing things. They are WHO, not THAT. They are travelers WHO, fishermen WHO. I can't figure out what it is about the concept that drives you to DEHUMANIZE humans in casual speech (posts). I'm talking about the last 2,000 posts about people, not some hit and miss mistake. Whew!

[Edited on 1-2-2014 by Osprey]

grammar 1.jpg - 37kB

BajaBlanca - 1-5-2014 at 11:39 AM

:biggrin:

The linguist in me is smiling right now. One of the biggest dilemmas in linguistics is precisely the "proper" way to speak vs. the colloquial (in this case the THAT which is often used to refer to humans).

If a different way of saying something is used enough times, does that then make it correct?

and the debate continues.

Osprey - 1-5-2014 at 11:47 AM

Blanca, in this case if you replace all the Who's with That's, Who will ever again be a Who? Oh, that's probably been covered in Who's Who?

Seriously: if we relegate humans in our speech to objects, what does that tell us about how we see ourselves, about how we value humans and humanity? Try telling your group of friends "My wife that I met in a bar." See how the wife likes THAT.

chuckie - 1-5-2014 at 11:59 AM

Does that mean you will stop picking on me?

watizname - 1-5-2014 at 12:14 PM

I yam what I yam, and that's all what I yam.

Osprey - 1-5-2014 at 12:57 PM

Chuckie, I will not only stop but I will heap praise upon thee. You have to do two things:

Look on the bright side in the new year and

Get Spellcheck (and mindcheck because even spellcheck sometimes can't figure out if you are trying to say RIGHT, RITE, OR WRITE.).

chuckie - 1-5-2014 at 02:51 PM

Geez, you are already on my case....and the electrons havnt even cooled down...Write? or is it rite? How about OK?

DavidT - 1-5-2014 at 03:13 PM

I saw a lady on TV, she was born without arms. That's sad, but then they said, "Lola does not know the meaning of the word 'can't'." That, to me, is even worse in a way. Not only is she missing arms, but she doesn't understand simple contractions. It's easy, Lola - you just take two words, put them together, take out the middle letters, put in a comma, and you raise it up!

Mitch Hedberg

Osprey - 1-5-2014 at 04:04 PM

I suppose none of us can be to blame for errors now and then -- probably most posters watch television news, weather, etc. Even though locals and the networks, cable have producers making sure the talking heads are talking straight, those heads get their words from reader boards prepared by others and with all that knowledge and backup they make egregious mistakes one after the other 24/7.

A couple of my favorites are "Try and...." "IT IS TRY TO" and those people who are supposed to tell us the truth, explain what's happening, use the words INCREDIBLE AND UNBELIEVABLE ---- how strange is that? They show you a train wreck and tell you not to believe it, record snow, "Don't believe it" What happened to UNUSUAL, REMARKABLE, NOTABLE, ETC?

[Edited on 1-5-2014 by Osprey]

[Edited on 1-5-2014 by Osprey]

danaeb - 1-5-2014 at 04:29 PM

My favorite colloquialism: Something, or someone "turned up missing".

chuckie - 1-5-2014 at 04:37 PM

How about "LOL" after everything?

Bajahowodd - 1-5-2014 at 05:59 PM

I have heard tell that Osprey is quite a cunning linguist.:bounce:

toneart - 1-5-2014 at 06:47 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bajahowodd
I have heard tell that Osprey is quite a cunning linguist.:bounce:


Is that said (with) tongue in cheek? :tumble:

Seriously, thank you for the list. Osprey. It is a good list to start out the New Year. I try to humanely scold human Nomads periodically, but to no avail. So many posts are unreadable due to the inattention to the correct usage of these contractions. If they only knew...but of course, they don't. :no:

durrelllrobert - 1-5-2014 at 07:50 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DavidT
I saw a lady on TV, she was born without arms. That's sad, but then they said, "Lola does not know the meaning of the word 'can't'." That, to me, is even worse in a way. Not only is she missing arms, but she doesn't understand simple contractions. It's easy, Lola - you just take two words, put them together, take out the middle letters, put in a comma, and you raise it up!

Mitch Hedberg
A comma?

durrelllrobert - 1-5-2014 at 07:52 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Osprey
I suppose none of us can be to blame for errors now and then -- probably most posters watch television news, weather, etc. Even though locals and the networks, cable have producers making sure the talking heads are talking straight, those heads get their words from reader boards prepared by others and with all that knowledge and backup they make egregious mistakes one after the other 24/7.

A couple of my favorites are "Try and...." "IT IS TRY TO" and those people who are supposed to tell us the truth, explain what's happening, use the words INCREDIBLE AND UNBELIEVABLE ---- how strange is that? They show you a train wreck and tell you not to believe it, record snow, "Don't believe it" What happened to UNUSUAL, REMARKABLE, NOTABLE, ETC?

[Edited on 1-5-2014 by Osprey]

[Edited on 1-5-2014 by Osprey] [/quote

..and awesome!:o

vgabndo - 1-5-2014 at 08:13 PM

I'm sure I will go up in smoke before I hear the end of: "I could care less" when that is exactly the opposite of what the speaker intended to say.:fire:

I should really try to let that ignorance fly by me without irritating me!

OK 2014 resolution. I could care less if people continue to not say I couldn't care less. (LOL)

bajalinda - 1-6-2014 at 09:57 AM

Oh boy Osprey - looks like you've struck a nerve here - interesting thread.

Here are a couple of my favorites.

Using 'less' instead of 'fewer' as in "We had LESS participants than last year." instead of "We had FEWER participants..."

or "You can clean your car EASIER with X brand!" instead of "You can clean your car MORE EASILY with X brand!"

I see and hear this all the time - it drives me crazy.

David K - 1-6-2014 at 10:03 AM

:lol: Good luck with that, Osprey.

I am only hoping Nomads spell Guerrero Negro, Los Barriles, Mulegé, Puertecitos, and Alfonsina's correctly! :lol:

I mean afterall, they say Spanish is an easier language than English!

Bajahowodd - 1-6-2014 at 05:55 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by David K
:lol: Good luck with that, Osprey.

I am only hoping Nomads spell Guerrero Negro, Los Barriles, Mulegé, Puertecitos, and Alfonsina's correctly! :lol:

I mean afterall, they say Spanish is an easier language than English!


Would you kindly care to show us your official credential as the Nomad spelling authority? After all is two words. Just sayin'. :P:P

David K - 1-6-2014 at 06:01 PM

Never ever claim to be an English spelling authority... ever.

My interests are the historic place names of Baja California, which typically are Spanish, and not always correctly spelled in Spanish (such as Santa Rosalillita and Santa Ynez)!

Bajahowodd - 1-10-2014 at 05:56 PM

I know, DK. Just tugging your chain a tad. :lol:

Osprey - 1-10-2014 at 07:10 PM

Howard, do you know where that "Chain" thing comes from? In case you don't:

Turn of the century coal miners had a special waste car on rails down in the caverns (makes perfect sense, right?). When they had to use it, they would block the wheels with a wedge chained to the honey wagon frame. Old hands would often wait till the newbies climbed up and sat down in the dark to do their business, then they would "Yank the chain" and the car would often go racing down the dark tunnel at a scary speed for an unhappy end.

Bajahowodd - 1-11-2014 at 05:55 PM

Interesting, Jorge. Thanks for the education.