'My other half'

thehappybutterfly

I remember a neighbour telling me how her daughter had to have 'fourslips' when she was having her baby. I didn't correct her.

And someone else I know once said, and I've never been able to get it out my head, 'Em awa' tae the Asda'. I believe she meant 'I'm just popping out to the supermarket'. Grrrrr.

And my MIL! She's come out with loads of them but the best one was when she was telling me about a relative of ours who had 'that motorola disease'. I believe she meant motor neurone! Hilarious!

coolcait

Amber_Sunshine wrote: »

It could be worse. In Spain, when someone is looking for a partner, they refer to "buscando a mi media naranja".

That means looking for my half an orange ...

Although, isn't the underlying concept that you're looking for the other half which will make you whole?

To coin a phrase which may already have been used

You're two halves of the same orange, each looking for your other half.

If we want to get really technical on a language level, the use of the preposition 'a' makes it clear that your "media naranja" is a person - not a citrus fruit.

And if you want to get political, the word "orange" has its own connotations in the west of Scotland (and other parts of the world)...

Interesting thread - which all started with a discussion of internet abbreviations.

In terms of 'most difficult language' - I'd still pick English over any of the others already mentioned. Although the regular grammar is pretty straighforward, there are many irregularities.

Not to mention phrasal verbs, which can be a nightmare. Pronunciation is equally erratic - "two mice sat on a bough over a trough outside two houses. Enough!"

Not to mention words which look the same, but are pronounced differently, and have different meanings: "I will present him with his present, presently". "Is that polish Polish? It is Polish polish, indeed!"

If native speakers can't get to grips with your and you're (much less 'ewer'); their, there, they're (you could always use that one to soothe a distressed grammar nazi...;)); "here, here!" (where, where?...); or

(deep breath)

"should have, would have, could have" :eek:
Maybe it's not as easy a language as we might think.

Or, educational standards have slipped (cue another thread :cool:)

coolcait

thehappybutterfly wrote: »

,... 'Em awa' tae the Asda'... QUOTE]

"Ah'm awa' tae the Asda - fur mah messages".


That's a right glesga/ayrshire way of putting it!

bluebeary

i do say my other half but prefer partner because that way, the person im talking to isnt sure wether im straight or gay, fun

balletshoes

pink_princess wrote: »

I do not want to type my families names on the internet, not even their forenames.

thats exactly why I use OH on the internet - I never use the term "other half" or "hubby" (thats another one which makes me cringe) in real life. He's not really my Other Half, I'm a whole person.
I don't know what else I could use online though which would be recogniseable as a shortened form of husband that I would be happy with - hubs is completely out (cringe again, sorry) and I don't use DH because the D doesn't mean Darling to me, it means Disney (overdose on other forums ) and he doesn't come to Disney with us, its not his thing. My daughter I'll quite happily call DD on forums, because she's Disney Daughter .

balletshoes

pimento wrote: »

Good grammar is always needed.

One of my (many) pet hates is 'hubby'. *cringe*

It took me a long time to work out what the initials stand for on this forum.
At first, I thought that DH stood for d!ckhead. In my head, it still does.

:rotfl::rotfl: maybe DH would work fine for me then :rotfl:

balletshoes

persa wrote: »

I write "my OH" online, I say "my boyfriend" in real life.

The alternative is to start talking about my "bidie-in"! (Live in partner.) Now that really is local dialect!

you're clearly from the same neck of the woods as I am .

balletshoes

coolcait wrote: »

thehappybutterfly wrote: »

,... 'Em awa' tae the Asda'... QUOTE]

"Ah'm awa' tae the Asda - fur mah messages".


That's a right glesga/ayrshire way of putting it!

thats most definitely the Dundee way as well - but not the Arbroath way, we don't say "the" Asda, just Asda.

will.i.amnt

I refer to my girlfriend as "the missus" informally to those i know only in passing. With friends, generally "the bird". Formally, "my partner", although I hate saying this as it implies a business relationship or that im gay (I am exceedingly good looking and well kept so this can be a veritable minefield).

DH,DS etc are just stupid. I used to think DD referred to cup size and had images of all these buxom women sitting in their underwear posting on mse... !

As for those who confuse brought/bought, to/too/two, lose/loose there/their/they're, your/you're etc etc - this isn't "dialect", or "slang" or "a regional thing", its simply a fundamental lack of understanding and highly indicative of lower than average intelligence.

Talking in slang on Facebook/forums - whats the pont? It can't take much less time to type, and in some cases takes people longer to read.

Lastly - people who say "mom". Are you from North America? No? Why say "mom" then? Yes, it's a regional thing, but only if you're a bloody Yank!

Please forgive any typos as editing from a mobile on this site is awful.

thorsoak

coolcait wrote: »

If you say "should of" etc, it's still wrong. No matter where you live, and no matter that everyone around you says it.

You recognise that fact when you type the correct version for people outside your immediate circle/

Just as I listen to family, friends and colleagues say things like "I have wrote", "I have went", "I have never went", "I have did", "I done", "I have saw", "I seen"

and all the "would of, should of, could of" stuff.

Day in, day out.

It's rife in this part of Scotland. You can call it dialect if you want.

But, if you are writing it down, you're expected to use the grammaticaly correct version.

Just as - if you were more noticeably bilingual - you'd be expected to use the correct language in context.

Bit of a boo-boo here then ....surely the spelling should be correct as well

Ten lines, please "I must ensure that I spell grammatically correctly"