What language mistakes bug you most? (english classes, TX, experience, college)

[maestramommy]

Originally Posted by gentlearts

I saw that, but I believe it is a recent cave-in to American useage...doesn't make it right.

(This is in response to forte pronounciation)

Actually it is probably a take on the Italian pronunciation for "strong."

[chaz longue]

Originally Posted by RH1

Yeah I think it is just an Americanism isn't it? Like "math" instead of "maths", which I've never really understood since it's a contraction of "mathematics" isn't it? Hey ho, evolution...

I tell you what does annoy me though - why have we ended up with different ways of writing the date? It annoys me from a comprehension point of view - if I'm curious about when you posted something I've got to remember that it's 7th May, not the 5th of July (although that serves me right for getting addicted to an American forum!) which is fine when it's current - I know it's May - but it does take a second when you're looking at older info. You guys (people in USA) probably have the opposite irritation.


Where is she from? It's a regional thing with some accents but I agree, it is irritating when taken to that extent! That said, some people here do it and I'm sure I've been guilty on occasion when I'm not thinking. Just quick little phrases like asking people at work if they want drinks can very easily come out "D'sanyone wan'acuppatea?" but it all happens so fast I don't tend to notice! I do speak too quickly though.

Bill Bryson's Mother Tongue was a real ear opener for me on that whole issue. He would say that when Brits say X it often comes out as Y and I'd be thinking "No it doesn't" but then I'd catch myself actually saying it in conversation and I'd think "Oh my God! Yes it does!"

Gosh I must try to stop myself doing that. It's terrible.

Bill Bryson's The Mother Tongue, (the English language and how it got that way) is one of my favorite books. Actually - several of Bryson's books are favorites of mine.

Have you read his
A Short History Of Nearly Everything?

David Beckett

[RH1]

Originally Posted by chaz longue

Bill Bryson's The Mother Tongue, (the English language and how it got that way) is one of my favorite books. Actually - several of Bryson's books are favorites of mine.

Have you read his
A Short History Of Nearly Everything?

David Beckett

No I haven't actually - maybe I should. I'm in danger of overdosing on Bryson though! I read 2 others of his just recently. I'll put it on my list anyway.

Oooh I'm going off-topic... er... think of a language mistake.... er....

People who say "er" too much... lol

[chaz longue]

How about the neologism "login". I keep expecting web sites to ask me
to "log in" ...instead, I get a button which reads "login" which seems really clunky ("kludgy" would perhaps be a better term since it's computers...).

[chaz longue]

"Doable" instead of possible, or plausible

[chaz longue]

Waitstaff
Waitpersons
Waitrons
(no kidding)

I must be missing something, but I refer to people who wait on tables as (you guessed it) waiters.

Authoress, Poetess and Aviatrix became Author, Poet and Pilot. But people seem anxious about calling a woman who waits on tables a waiter.






...sigh...

[sberdrow]

Originally Posted by chaz longue

Waitstaff
Waitpersons
Waitrons
(no kidding)

I must be missing something, but I refer to people who wait on tables as (you guessed it) waiters.

Authoress, Poetess and Aviatrix became Author, Poet and Pilot. But people seem anxious about calling a woman who waits on tables a waiter.





...sigh...

I thought they perfered to be called Servers, am I wrong?

[mielcita]

The languages descended from Latin, the language of the Romans.

Forte. This word may have been borrowed from French, but it was originally from Latin - fortis (don't recall which case this is, or if the form forte appears in some other case. It's possible, someone else may know?). Anyway, in the other romance languages I know, Spanish and Italian, it is pronounced fu-wear-tay (fuerte) and for-tay (forte), respectively. I looked up strong, powerful, and hard in Romanian, but found no cognate, so I can't compare in that case. It is also for-tay in Portugués.

Essentially this means that French is the odd one out, and it's likely that the pronunciation changed over time - in French - so that it no longer sounds like the 'Anglicized' version that is the subject of so much spite on this thread, nor does it resemble its brothers, the other descendants of Latin, all of which are consistent on the pronunciation of the word final e.

When one member of a family of languages stands out from the rest, you can be nearly positive that change occurred in that one, rather than simultaneous change occurring in the other three - unlikely, that. So I hypothesize that we borrowed the word forte from French at a time when it was pronounced more like the cognates in the other romance languages, and then the pronunciation changed in French, so now everyone can rant about how dumb it is when people say it wrong!

Quick example: Once upon a time we (English speakers) borrowed the word chief from French. Then, years later (decades or centuries perhaps?) we also borrowed the word chef. These words demonstrate one type of pronunciation change that has occurred in French, as they are essentially the same word (or were until we got a hold of them) but the pronunciation of ch changed from ch to sh.

Changes happen to all languages, all day, every day. Even 'dead' languages can come back and be 'living' again. Just look at Hebrew, Welsh, and the effort that is being made to maintain the Maori language in New Zealand. As much as we'd like to believe we've got it right, and others are wrong, that position is essentially untenable. We can try! Lord knows I have my own pet peeves, most of which are mentioned here, but if your great-great-grandpa heard the way you speak, even the super-psycho grammar nazis, he'd have an aneurysm!

We're especially funny, because in most instances we're mad that it's changing, but with forte we're mad because it hasn't! LOL, humans are crazy.

[studedude]

"The Mayor will open the new mall tomorrow morning at 9 AM"


Good thing he told me. I thought it was tomorrow evening at 9 AM.


I almost forgot-----redouble our efforts

In really don't think they intend to multiply their effort by 4

[RH1]

Originally Posted by chaz longue

Waitstaff
Waitpersons
Waitrons
(no kidding)

I must be missing something, but I refer to people who wait on tables as (you guessed it) waiters.

Authoress, Poetess and Aviatrix became Author, Poet and Pilot. But people seem anxious about calling a woman who waits on tables a waiter.






...sigh...

Really?? We just call women waitresses...and men waiters...