294 posts
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Post by dani on Apr 12, 2018 11:01:17 GMT
My biggest English language gripe is . . . Americans. Everything else I can just about take but what they've done to the language is, quite frankly, criminal. There are 325 million of them, compared with 65 million in the UK, and there are possibly 1 billion people worldwide who have English as their second language. It's not Britain's possession any more.
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721 posts
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Post by hulmeman on Apr 13, 2018 8:39:38 GMT
Call centre speak - I will send it to yourself. Aggghhh! Oh Tibidabo, me too! Myself is also used in the same, incorrect manner. I may have already posted this, but I'll give it another airing - "happy belated birthday". AAARRRGGGGHHH! It is the greeting which is late not the birthday. Drives me daft it does.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2018 8:52:07 GMT
The difference between less and fewer... Even the BBC doesn't know the difference!
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2,302 posts
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Post by Tibidabo on Apr 13, 2018 9:17:48 GMT
The difference between less and fewer... Even the BBC doesn't know the difference! Don't they? 😜😜😜😜🤭
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2018 9:58:42 GMT
The difference between less and fewer... Even the BBC doesn't know the difference! Don't they? 😜😜😜😜🤭 BBC= singular, so I assumed doesn't was correct... (It's the people who work for them on TV and radio that don't...)
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2,302 posts
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Post by Tibidabo on Apr 13, 2018 10:11:46 GMT
BBC= singular, so I assumed doesn't was correct.. Oh I wasn't correcting you! I was just forcing you to do some mental gymnastics. 🧐 Sorry. I'll stand in the corner and have a word with myself. 🙃
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4,799 posts
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Post by The Matthew on Apr 13, 2018 10:18:09 GMT
BBC= singular, so I assumed doesn't was correct... (It's the people who work for them on TV and radio that don't...) This isn't a gripe about other people's use of English, but it causes me more anxiety than it should when I need to refer to a company and can't decide whether singular or plural feels better, especially when a singular they is thrown into the mix. I usually just fiddle with it until I stop wincing.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2018 10:29:14 GMT
BBC= singular, so I assumed doesn't was correct... (It's the people who work for them on TV and radio that don't...) This isn't a gripe about other people's use of English, but it causes me more anxiety than it should when I need to refer to a company and can't decide whether singular or plural feels better, especially when a singular they is thrown into the mix. I usually just fiddle with it until I stop wincing. Attaboy, Matthew!
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376 posts
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Post by sherriebythesea on Apr 13, 2018 21:10:10 GMT
My biggest English language gripe is . . . Americans. Everything else I can just about take but what they've done to the language is, quite frankly, criminal. Do do you mean American's from Canada, US, Mexico, Central America or South American? The America's is North and South America. This is one of my gripes. When people say American's when they really mean from the US. I don't think anyone else from the America's would appreciate being lumped in with what is happening in US now
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2018 10:30:44 GMT
Not gripes as such but having just returned from India, I noticed that some of the wording on signs wasn’t quite as we’d say... So on the lawns in New Delhi there’d be “Don’t pluck the flowers”. In laybys there’d be “No halting”, and by surly looking policemen with rifles, “No halting. No queries.” The one that amused me the most was this one which was by the metal detector and security guards at the entrance to one of the hotels:
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475 posts
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Post by bimse on Apr 15, 2018 14:44:43 GMT
Not gripes as such but having just returned from India, I noticed that some of the wording on signs wasn’t quite as we’d say... So on the lawns in New Delhi there’d be “Don’t pluck the flowers”. In laybys there’d be “No halting”, and by surly looking policemen with rifles, “No halting. No queries.” The one that amused me the most was this one which was by the metal detector and security guards at the entrance to one of the hotels: Such a polite notice , it would be rude not to comply ! I’m not long back from India myself , I was particularly impressed with the devices for searching under vehicles .... mirrors fastened to walking crutches .
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2,302 posts
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Post by Tibidabo on Apr 16, 2018 20:07:27 GMT
I love Richard Ayoade. He's a super-intelligent ex-Cambridge Footlights president. I love his dry humour. Travel Man is hilarious.
But.
In today's episode after the adverts in his voice-over he said:-
"Welcome back to Funchal with Robert Webb and I."😲😲
AAAAAGGGGHHHHHHH!
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1,907 posts
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Post by sf on Apr 16, 2018 20:24:41 GMT
"Very unique", "quite unique". You can't qualify "unique", either something is or it isn't.
When I rule the universe - and the day will come - this will be a punishable offence. Probably with sharpened bamboo.
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231 posts
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Post by harrietcraig on Apr 16, 2018 20:51:57 GMT
"Very unique", "quite unique". You can't qualify "unique", either something is or it isn't. Similarly, television newscasters who introduce a story by saying, "And now here's the very latest on that four-alarm fire we told you about earlier". Either something is the latest or it isn't; trying to emphasize how up-to-date your news coverage is by calling it "the very latest" is just stupid. (This may just be a US thing.)
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Post by stagebyte on Apr 17, 2018 0:30:05 GMT
Starting an explanation with ‘Basically...’.
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Post by ellis2ca on Apr 23, 2018 1:11:03 GMT
Well, the French never care what they do, actually, as long as they pronounce it properly. tmesis , bugbear twins! And Hebrews learn it backwards which is absolutely frightening. There even are places where English completely disappears ! Why, in America they haven't spoken it for years ! - (Professor Higgins... My Fair Lady...)
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1,316 posts
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Post by tmesis on Apr 23, 2018 6:26:09 GMT
Starting an explanation with ‘Basically...’. Or: 'At the end of the day...' and 'He turned round to me and said...'
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1,316 posts
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Post by tmesis on Apr 23, 2018 6:42:39 GMT
The difference between less and fewer... Even the BBC doesn't know the difference! Well call me snob if you like but I think this speaks volumes for the comparative quality of two of my local supermarkets: Tesco (Camberley) 'Ten items or less' Waitrose (Sunningdale) 'Five items or fewer.'
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18,800 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Apr 23, 2018 7:00:19 GMT
I was on an audio conference the other day with a man who had the “you know what I mean?” tick. He said it so often, literally two or three times in a sentence, that he’d found it necessary to abbreviate it to “yermean?”. He was saying “yermean?” Every couple of words at one point.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2018 7:14:11 GMT
Starting an explanation with ‘Basically...’. Or: ' At the end of the day...' and 'He turned round to me and said...' Whenever I hear anyone say that I have this (almost uncontrollable) urge to interrupt them and sing at the top of my voice, " At the end of the day you're another day older, And that's all you can say for the life of the poor..."!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2018 8:00:16 GMT
I was on an audio conference the other day with a man who had the “you know what I mean?” tick. He said it so often, literally two or three times in a sentence, that he’d found it necessary to abbreviate it to “yermean?”. He was saying “yermean?” Every couple of words at one point. I don't mind "you know what I mean?" as a tic, but I do get really teed off with people who frequently ask "do you understand what I'm saying?" (or similar) and seem to mean it. I get that the person saying it is probably coming from a place of "I just need to make sure that you're still with me so I'll just check periodically that I'm not moving too quickly", but honestly the day is drawing nearer when I just respond with "actually, I forgot how to speak English at some point within the last five seconds, so no, I don't understand a word you're saying".
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4,799 posts
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Post by The Matthew on Apr 23, 2018 8:09:39 GMT
I don't mind "you know what I mean?" as a tic, but I do get really teed off with people who frequently ask "do you understand what I'm saying?" (or similar) and seem to mean it. Perhaps it's just me, but "do you understand what I'm saying?" carries overtones of "I'm dumbing this down for you, but I'm so much smarter than you that I worry I might not be dumbing it down enough".
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31 posts
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Post by misspiggy1979 on Apr 28, 2018 21:33:16 GMT
Like the word basically...obviously...
If its obvious to you may not be to the other person!! How is it obvious?!?!😀 obviously.
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2,302 posts
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Post by Tibidabo on Apr 30, 2018 14:22:39 GMT
Dear Radio Newsreaders,
Amber Rudd is absolutely not the home secca terry.
No, really.
(And I mean absolutely, not appsalutely.)
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4,960 posts
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Post by TallPaul on Apr 30, 2018 14:29:24 GMT
Dear Radio Newsreaders, Amber Rudd is absolutely not the home secca terry. No, really. (And I mean absolutely, not appsalutely.) Not any more she ain't!
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2,302 posts
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Post by Tibidabo on Apr 30, 2018 14:37:46 GMT
^'swot I said.
Go back to yer tripe fishing.....🎣🤪
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231 posts
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Post by harrietcraig on Apr 30, 2018 21:26:22 GMT
Dear Radio Newsreaders, Amber Rudd is absolutely not the home secca terry. No, really. (And I mean absolutely, not appsalutely.) Nor is the number that shows on a thermometer the "temp-a-cher".
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4,799 posts
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Post by The Matthew on May 1, 2018 5:04:27 GMT
I get annoyed at "kil-OM-etre". If it was the only kilo- prefix word anyone was likely to have encountered then I'd understand it, but everyone seems to have instinctively managed to get kilogram, kilobyte and kilohertz correct. I assume it's been influenced by "thermometer", but it's still a dumb mistake to make considering that everyone managed to get "centimetre" and "millimetre" right.
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112 posts
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Post by MusicalTalk on May 1, 2018 6:33:07 GMT
"like" "legit" "could of" "awesome" "where you at" "literally" "WEST-minster" "FI-nance" "It's gotten cold"
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Post by d'James on May 1, 2018 10:12:08 GMT
I get annoyed at "kil-OM-etre". If it was the only kilo- prefix word anyone was likely to have encountered then I'd understand it, but everyone seems to have instinctively managed to get kilogram, kilobyte and kilohertz correct. I assume it's been influenced by "thermometer", but it's still a dumb mistake to make considering that everyone managed to get "centimetre" and "millimetre" right. My Physics teacher used to say that about ‘kilometre,’ and used to mispronounce ‘kilogram’ to prove the point.
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