• Home
  • Recent
  • Calendar
  • Register
  • Login
  • Home
  • Recent
  • Calendar
  • Register
  • Login
Iron Heart Forum
Iron Heart Forum

Iron Heart Fall/Winter 2025 Collection Preview - Now Live

Nuances and Idiosyncrasies of the English Language

General Chat
36
148
11.4k
Loading More Posts
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as topic
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
  • M
    Matt
    見習いボス
    Joined: 4 Oct 2011

    last edited by 7 May 2024, 18:31 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
    • E
      Eza
      Joined: 1 May 2024

      @DeeDee85 oh ok like thingamajig LOL great thanks!

      last edited by 7 May 2024, 20:19 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
      • M
        mclaincausey
        見習いボス
        Joined: 12 Apr 2013

        I think if we’re honest with ourselves, we find it very hard not to include the serial comma in corresponding speech: try saying “lock, stock, and two smoking barrels” (which, btw, is not how the fools wrote the title) without corresponding pauses for the commas. You’ll find it difficult and it will sound odd.

        That proves my point beyond the unassailable logic offered already—not only does the Oxford comma remove ambiguity, it reflects how the sentence is spoken, which is the ultimate aim of grammatical syntax.

        Similarly, “my parents, Alice, and Bob” is spoken differently than “my parents: Alice and Bob” (no pause at the semicolon here) and the syntax should reflect that difference. “My parents, Alice and Bob” doesn’t reflect it and I think that’s why it just looks off to me.

        Think it, be it.

        last edited by mclaincausey 5 Aug 2024, 06:35 8 May 2024, 06:20 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • G
          Giles
          IHUK Crew
          Joined: 22 Sept 2009

          I have no idea what an Oxford Comma is, Paule will know, but if I ask her I will get a long-winded answer, my eyes will glaze over and I won't remember a thing she said.

          I write like I speak. If I would do a short pause when speaking, I will put a comma there. A long pause gets a full stop. Those are my personal rules, and I am happy with them...(3 or more full stops equals even longer pause of total pause)

          Sorry if it makes reading my shite even more shite.

          "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

          last edited by 8 May 2024, 06:30 T 1 Reply Last reply 8 May 2024, 06:41 Reply Quote 3
          • M
            mclaincausey
            見習いボス
            Joined: 12 Apr 2013

            Yep agreed and that’s the random thought I just added above that sprung uninvited in my insomniac head.

            Think it, be it.

            last edited by 8 May 2024, 06:36 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • T
              Tago Mago
              Mod Squad
              @Giles
              Joined: 16 Jan 2021

              @Giles i can feel my mother aggressively rolling her eyes at the use of „would“ in a conditional clause

              last edited by 8 May 2024, 06:41 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • M
                mclaincausey
                見習いボス
                Joined: 12 Apr 2013

                How about “would of” where “would’ve” is the intent? Fingernails on a chalkboard

                Think it, be it.

                last edited by 8 May 2024, 12:38 T 1 Reply Last reply 8 May 2024, 14:53 Reply Quote 2
                • M
                  Matt
                  見習いボス
                  Joined: 4 Oct 2011

                  I’m not even sure they teach English in schools anymore. I’m sure they don’t where I live.

                  last edited by 8 May 2024, 13:23 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • G
                    Giles
                    IHUK Crew
                    Joined: 22 Sept 2009

                    Lived

                    "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

                    last edited by 8 May 2024, 13:27 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • M
                      Matt
                      見習いボス
                      Joined: 4 Oct 2011

                      My favorite teacher will always be my 12 grade AP English teacher. He was one of those teachers that stays with you.

                      last edited by 8 May 2024, 13:33 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                      • D
                        Danimal506
                        Haraki san Expert
                        Joined: 13 Aug 2019

                        I live in Texas and we have the city of Houston, pronounced “Hews-ton”
                        In New York City they have a “Houston Street”, pronounced “House-ton”.

                        I don’t know why

                        New England’s also tend to say “standing on line” vs “standing in line”.

                        Kyle, TX

                        last edited by 8 May 2024, 14:45 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • T
                          tody
                          啓蒙家
                          @mclaincausey
                          Joined: 24 Feb 2021

                          @mclaincausey one of the things i, as a non native speaker, don‘t get. how can you get this wrong?

                          last edited by 8 May 2024, 14:53 T M 2 Replies Last reply 8 May 2024, 14:53 Reply Quote 0
                          • T
                            Tago Mago
                            Mod Squad
                            @tody
                            Joined: 16 Jan 2021

                            @tody Have you seen some people write in German?

                            last edited by Tago Mago 5 Aug 2024, 14:55 8 May 2024, 14:53 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • M
                              mclaincausey
                              見習いボス
                              @tody
                              Joined: 12 Apr 2013

                              @tody I think perhaps being a native speaker you fall prey to phonetics, and “would’ve” sounds somewhat like a lazy “would of.”

                              That and a lot of Americans are really, really dumb, so it never occurs to them that “would of” doesn’t make any kind of sense. You’re taking about people who forced the language to have the word “literally “ indicate its polar opposite, which rendered the word meaningless but unfortunately fell short of creating a species-ending rift in the space time continuum.

                              Another common one is “I could care less.” Oh? How much less could you care? (The turn of phrase is supposed to be “I couldn’t care less”).

                              Think it, be it.

                              last edited by mclaincausey 5 Aug 2024, 15:25 8 May 2024, 15:21 G 1 Reply Last reply 8 May 2024, 15:56 Reply Quote 1
                              • P
                                pechelman
                                啓蒙家
                                Joined: 24 Jan 2022

                                Irregardless of people being really dumb, for all intensive purposes, they just don't care.

                                And yes, I'm using the above sentence to share two other words/phrases that make me cringe when I hear them.

                                In some respects, I'm fine with the lexicon evolving, even if it breaks rules that were once considered standard like not breaking infinitives or ending phrases with prepositions; both of which seem to be fully accepted practice today.

                                last edited by pechelman 5 Aug 2024, 15:50 8 May 2024, 15:50 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • G
                                  Giles
                                  IHUK Crew
                                  @mclaincausey
                                  Joined: 22 Sept 2009

                                  @mclaincausey said in Nuances and Idiosyncrasies of the English Language:

                                  I couldn’t care less

                                  Which is all we know in UK

                                  "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

                                  last edited by 8 May 2024, 15:56 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • M
                                    Matt
                                    見習いボス
                                    Joined: 4 Oct 2011

                                    I could not care less than how much I currently care.

                                    A little clunky I guess but grammatically sound.

                                    last edited by 8 May 2024, 16:04 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • P
                                      popvulture
                                      見習いボス
                                      Joined: 2 Oct 2018

                                      I feel like the Oxford Comma argument is just extremely frustrating, because in my head at least, both options have ways of making sense. I'd actually argue that the inclusion of the comma feels less conversational, adding a sort of unnecessary pause that could feel almost theatrical. That said, using it when writing ultimately just came to make sense to me.

                                      Writing conversationally is a big thing, though — I do that a lot and see no problem with it. I think you can be that way and also be a stickler for grammar in other situations. It's just preference.

                                      "Should of" is just unforgivable in my eyes, like I take a person down several intelligence rungs in my mind if I see them write it. I also had a coworker that said "makes since" instead of "sense" and man... I get irritable just thinking about it.

                                      Had an ex who said "I feel badly" constantly and I was so happy to say goodbye to that (and other things) when our relationship ended.

                                      "Between you and I" UGH.

                                      The obscure one that makes me nuts is "chomping at the bit." Sounds weird, but it's "champing."

                                      WTB
                                      IHSH-IHG-BLK XXL
                                      Sugar Cane Coke Stripe SS L charcoal

                                      last edited by 8 May 2024, 16:15 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                      • M
                                        mclaincausey
                                        見習いボス
                                        Joined: 12 Apr 2013

                                        Like I said above, that third comma is spoken as a pause when you’re listing more than two items. Try to not pause before the last list item in that scenario: “I have pen and pencil ready” (no pause) versus “I have pen, pencil, and eraser ready” (pauses at each comma). I really should have made that the primary argument because it’s even more sound than the syntactic arguments; my background in computer science and studying linguistics in that as well as English academic contexts kind of weighted my arguments towards logic and syntax where really it’s as simple as mirroring the spoken word correctly.

                                        Think it, be it.

                                        last edited by mclaincausey 5 Aug 2024, 16:26 8 May 2024, 16:23 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • M
                                          Matt
                                          見習いボス
                                          Joined: 4 Oct 2011

                                          All these thing make me cringe (particularly improper usage of I and me) but I’ll be damned if I’m going to actively preach the gospel by correcting people. Except my kids for whom I’m responsible and my wife just so I can piss her off.

                                          last edited by 8 May 2024, 16:24 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 4
                                          111 out of 148
                                          • First post
                                            111/148
                                            Last post
                                          Copyright Iron Heart 2025.