ABUSE of the English Language

[Ivan in Oz]

Rick
calling concrete cement is like calling a loaf of bread a loaf of flour . It is an ingredient of the finished product

Rick got me to thinking about the use and ABUSE of the English Language.
I believe we are all guilty, at some time.
My pet hate is the incorrect use of 'Hard' when 'Difficult' should be used.
It came to light during the time when I was working FIFO.

When I got home I was Difficult,
because I was hard :eek: :eek:

I know of the Wood/ Timber one,
and 'May I' / 'Can I'
Any others?

[Clinton1]

I never understood the "She is the cat's mother" business that my mum went on about.

So I ignored it until I went away....:D

I am sure its another example of the abuse of the English language.

[Iain]

You aint seen nothin yet... :confused: :confused:
Bit like the question what colour is God.
White boy said he asked him and he told him he was white, did you see him, no but he told me.
How do you know he is white?, he said "I am what I am, if he was black he would have said 'Ah is what ah is'

[Firewalker]

I use the hard / difficult one quite a bit but I also think they are somewhat interchangeable.

The can I / may I bothers me.

Another one that is not used correctly is the who/whom.

Please explain the wood/timber one to me..... (this is not flame bait) I honestly haven't heard the reasoning behind calling it timber vs wood.

In another thread I used the word lumber and I am used to calling the wood supplier the "lumber yard" although I think lumber in my mind is more of a construction type wood....2x4s and the like.

Anyway, I am sure this will be a interesting thread.

[Iain]

"Lumber' is not a word in use here, seems to be more USA, Canada and I have heard it used in the UK.

[Sturdee]

The can I / may I bothers me.



The phrase " Can I " is asking someone if they believe whether I am able to do something whereas " May I " is asking permission to do it.



Please explain the wood/timber one to me..... (this is not flame bait) I honestly haven't heard the reasoning behind calling it timber vs wood.

In another thread I used the word lumber and I am used to calling the wood supplier the "lumber yard" although I think lumber in my mind is more of a construction type wood....2x4s and the like.



Trees are made of wood but here when they are cut into planks they are called timber not lumber. Hence we go to a timber yard and buy timber and also we use the larger size first so we would buy 4 * 2 and not 2* 4. Neither do we use the phrase 5/4 or 8/4 but 1 1/4 and 2. Similarly nails are described by their lenght and not their pennyweight. :D

Just cultural differences I suppose but it is handy to know these differences. :D

[Firewalker]

That's interesting to know the differences in terms.

I did know the can I / may I ........just agree that it's irritating when used wrong.

I originally typed a long winded reply but my browser froze and it erased......screw it........will just drink another beer instead of retyping.

Cheers!

Scott

[echnidna]

And if we go to a wood yard its to get firewood

[ozwinner]

Rick got me to thinking about the use and ABUSE of the English Language.
I believe we are all guilty, at some time.
My pet hate is the incorrect use of 'Hard' when 'Difficult' should be used.



When ever I make concrete it goes "difficult ??", Huh.....??

Al :confused:

[Mulgabill]

A phrase that REALLY annoys me is one that you hear a lot by financial analysts and politicians and that is "going forward". Why not use "the future".

It seems that most industry sectors are developing into sub-cultures with their own words, phraseology and industry specific acronyms. I surpose wood working can be included in that as well.

[Zed]

At the risk of offending you lot who have goosetepping tendancies re language, swearing, spelling and such... I venture the following ; Is not the purpose of language/s to convey meaning, express thought, profess opinion, laud poetry and song ?? if so who cares if I use difficult instead of hard ? so long as the meaning of the intention of the sentance is expressed without missunderstanding theoretical right or wrong grammer, pronunciation and spelling is TOTALLY irrelevant.

Everyone gets it wrong; politicians, judges, winos, grunt, frank zappa, , you, me. why burden your life with the hating of the irreconcilable ?

wars have started due to misunderstandings in inflection, grammer and pronunication - what a waste!

Alfred Einstien was right when he said (If you allow me to paraphrase his quote here and twist it to my argument as a descriptor) "Nationalism is the bane of civilisation, the scourge of humanity" What am I trying to say here ? The sooner we have a common language the better. I hope my being difficult wasnt too hard for you goosteppers.

[Caliban]

I love the smell of difficultwood, but it's a basterd to machine. :D

[Driver]

I agree with Zed (could be a first! :D )

I have some other thoughts on the subject but they're difficultly worth peopletioning.

[JDarvall]

I've never cared much for correct 'grammer'. I can see how its important, in so far been understood. But thats as far as it gets with me.

But what I think is a little worse, is letting oneself worry about it. For me, the question is.......'do I know what the guy's talking about ? ' .....and most of the time the answer is 'yes' even if he's writen/spoken it the wrong way.

And then what do you do about it, when somebody annoys you with poor english ? ...tell him so ! Like bloody hell I would. The last thing I would wish to resemble is some kind of vigilante,....the bloody grammer police. :rolleyes:

well ..ahhh, actually, thats ' Difficult,,,,not hard' <- most people would tell you, or at least think, 'get stuffed' after hearing you say that. ... :D

Each to their own , Ivan, of course, :D ....some people probably think my pet peeves are bloody ridiculous as well.

p.s. ......sorry about my poor english. :D ..bound to be a lot in my ravings :D

[bitingmidge]

I agree with Zed


Surely not even the bit about Frank Zappa!!! :eek: :eek: :eek:

P

[outback]

The flaw in Zed's argument comes when this philosophy is, and indeed has been adopted by those responsible for education.

Mixing up hard and difficult and making simple spelling errors due to dumb finger syndrome, or, honestly having trouble spelling certain words may not make a world of difference.

However, when our education system allows this to happen, as long as the meaning is expressed , I have a problem. In a short space of time, the meaning fails to be conveyed. I have two children in primary school, their spelling, grammar, and maths is atrocious. The problem is difficult to resolve, we now have a population of teachers which have progressed through the system being taught the close enough is good enough syndrome, and they know no better.

FWIW, both my children are above average intelligence, this is not a proud father boasting, just a simple fact.

This is not a slap in the face to those mebers of the board, who have genuine trouble with spelling. I probably had a shot back in the dark ages when spelling nazis reigned here. I do not, and will not pass comment on the spelling or grammar of any member. I have learnt a few facts since becoming a member here.

[ozwinner]

I do not, and will not pass comment on the spelling or grammar of any member. I have learnt a few facts since becoming a member here.

Good for you.
I always think it is better to get someones opinion, whether their first launguage is English or not.
What matters is that they have some input, and/or a good idea.

I was brought up in England, had a good grasp of the language/spelling, but of late it all seems to be a lost art, maybe I am losing a lot of brain cells every day.
Some days are a real struggle to be able to spell.
Other days its easy.
But I have fun. :D

Al :)