Board "Style book" and Grammar

kriss_boy

phil_b wrote: »

I think the bought/brought mix up is the worst, and it plagues every forum I've seen. That's less of a grammatical error and more of a stupidity thing though.

I didnt realise that common mistake occured until I spotted someone had it in their signature!

Now Ive began to realise how many people seem to make that mistake! Its weird!

Cleaver

Generali wrote: »

The only thing in the use of English that p 1 sses me off is people getting pompous about Americanisms like 'fall' (meaning autumn) or 'color'. I always spell words with the suffix -ise/-ize with -ize in the hope that it might annoy someone like that.

One of the great strengths of the English language is that there is no Academie Anglaise to stifle innovation and regional difference. There isn't a single correct version of English and that's what makes the language Great.

Just a quick fun fact. I believe that the word 'Fall' to describe Autumn is actually an English word that was in vogue in the 16th and 17th Century in England when no one really used the term 'Autumn'. Because the first settlers from England went to America during this period they took the word Fall with them and it stuck in the USA. The word Autumn came back in to vogue in the UK and Fall dissapeared from our vocabulary.

So 'Fall' is an Englishism rather than an Americanism.

Cleaver

A._Badger wrote: »

Selfridges is in Oxford St, not on Oxford St, as no one at the BBC any longer seems aware.

If everyone says "Selfridges is on Oxford Street", at what point does their version become correct and the other version becomes wrong and obsolete?

I'm always uncomfortable with these types of threads. My typing / spelling / grammar / language on forums is always a little loose. Firstly because it doesn't really matter that much, and secondly because on a debate forum you're trying to get the throughts from your head on to the screen as quickly as possible, so I regulary mispell words, miss them out completely or put in the wrong word. I wouldn't ever do this at work, for example, as I am writing at a slower pace and generally check things more.

U c wat i is sayin?

vivatifosi

Cleaver wrote: »

Just a quick fun fact. I believe that the word 'Fall' to describe Autumn is actually an English word that was in vogue in the 16th and 17th Century in England when no one really used the term 'Autumn'. Because the first settlers from England went to America during this period they took the word Fall with them and it stuck in the USA. The word Autumn came back in to vogue in the UK and Fall dissapeared from our vocabulary.

So 'Fall' is an Englishism rather than an Americanism.

I read that too. Wasn't it in a Bryson book at some point? The two things I remember are that Fall was an English word and Benjamin Franklin invented a well known swear word or two.

nickmason

decimate means reduce by 10%. Often people use it to mean annihilate.

"House prices were decimated..." useful misdirection for bears....

Generali

Cleaver wrote: »

Just a quick fun fact. I believe that the word 'Fall' to describe Autumn is actually an English word that was in vogue in the 16th and 17th Century in England when no one really used the term 'Autumn'. Because the first settlers from England went to America during this period they took the word Fall with them and it stuck in the USA. The word Autumn came back in to vogue in the UK and Fall dissapeared from our vocabulary.

So 'Fall' is an Englishism rather than an Americanism.

Well precisely!

There is an excellent Melvyn Bragg book called the Story (History?) of English and according to him it was a dialect word (from Norfolk possibly???) that became the prevalent word in the US for autumn. IIRC, autumn was used in Plymouth(???).

Lots of 'American' words are regional English words AIUI.

There is a lot of pomposity IMHO surrounding English grammar and spelling, much of which is to do with class: these days (and I include my generation in this) state school kids aren't taught grammar and syntax properly so they will get it wrong. It's a very easy way for the privately educated middle classes to make themselves feel superior.

A long time after leaving school I took the effort to learn a little about English, mostly as a result of learning French and so discussing language a lot with Europeans thus realising that I really didn't understand the underpinnings of my own mother tongue.

GDB2222

Cleaver wrote: »

so I regulary mispell words

Big oops there!


BTW. I agree completely with everything you wrote there.

Cleaver

GDB2222 wrote: »

Big oops there!


BTW. I agree completely with everything you wrote there.

Ha ha! Poiunt nicley ilustrated.

tomterm8

Cleaver wrote: »

If everyone says "Selfridges is on Oxford Street", at what point does their version become correct and the other version becomes wrong and obsolete?

Usage is always correct. That is, if enough people use any phrase it is correct, whatever those linguists’ amongst us think.

I love proper, Dickensian sentences, these new style short sentences are OK for Americans; the intrepid breed of humans who read Strunk & White, but with a little effort, and a lot of comma's, I really think we can make appropriately lengthy sentences into an art form.

nearlynew

When writing, I never use a long word when a more diminutive one would suffice.


And I avoid cliches like the plague.