Mr. Language Person

[DGS49]

With nothing constructive to do this afternoon I’m going to get a few language-type things off my chest. Unfortunately, I have to start with a sort of disclaimer. People who write dictionaries have an irritating tendency to “normalize” incorrect usages, non-words, and bad form, just because they are becoming common. For example, the word, “copascetic” was originally slang, meaning basically “OK.” Now it’s in some dictionaries as a proper word. So if I say something is improper or incorrect, it may still be possible to find some dictionary that defines a word or sanctions using a word incorrectly, in response to “popular demand,” so to speak. But if you want to speak properly, you will ignore all that.

Here is some of the stuff that drives me bonkers.

“Quality” is a NOUN, not an ADJECTIVE. The statement, “This is truly a quality product,” is nonsense, on steroids. It may be a high quality product or a low quality product or an excellent quality product or an inferior quality product. But it is definitely NOT a quality product. Calling it a quality product is like saying “Manute Bol was a height basketball player.”

“Highly” is a nonsense word. People use it because the word “very” seems so drab and they can’t think of anything else to use. What is the opposite of “highly”? “Lowly”? “This booger contains millions of highly complex micro-organisms.” More so than if they were merely, “…very complex micro-organisms”?
Two of the following statements make sense; one is nonsense.
(1) George is a highly qualified applicant.
(2) George is a very qualified applicant.
(3) George is an extremely qualified applicant.

Imply/Infer. Speakers and writers can IMPLY things; listeners and readers can INFER things. Don’t use them interchangeably; it’s stupid.

“Aren’t I?” In their total revulsion at the word, “ain’t” some people revert to the expression, “I am the prettiest fat girl at the dance, aren’t I?” Unfortunately, the English language does NOT have an acceptable contraction for the two words, “am I.” But the word “are” is definitely plural, so if you are not a Siamese twin or don’t have multiple personality disorder, you should never use the expression, “aren’t I.” It is better to say, “I am the prettiest fat girl at the dance, am I not?” Or just SFTU and hope nobody notices.

“…an historical occasion.” I don’t know where this came from. It is one of the most basic rules of pronunciation in English that the article “a” is used when followed by a consonant sound and “an” is used when followed by a vowel sound. Last time I checked, “h” was a consonant (though sometimes silent). Thus we say, “…a dog,” and “…an asshole.” But some people insist on using “an” in front of the word, “historical.” To me it sounds frightfully pompous.

Sportscasters will often say about a play that has recently occurred, “If he catches that ball, the Ogres win.” But he didn’t catch the ball, did he? And you are talking about something that occurred in the past. Why are you using the present tense? Would it be too difficult to say, “If he had caught that ball, the Ogres would have won”? What is the benefit of mangling the English language and making a totally nonsensical statement? Did you save the effort of voicing three additional words? Is it more exciting?

“Copy me on that memo.” Copy me? You mean like, imprint a photographic likeness of your face on the memorandum? Or do you really mean, “Please send me a copy of that ******* memorandum”? How much time and effort is saved by this linguistic shortcut? Is it worth making yourself sound like a moron? Apparently so.

That’s all for now. I feel better.

 

[Big Black Dog]

You're right. You obviously don't have anything constructive to do this afternoon.

 

[Moonglow]

I dood it...

 

[Mertex]

The word that absolutely is stupid is "irregardless" - the correct word is regardless but some bimbo had to go and add "ir" and now it's supposedly used as meaning the same as regardless.

 

[Mr. H.]

The word that absolutely is stupid is "irregardless" - the correct word is regardless but some bimbo had to go and add "ir" and now it's supposedly used as meaning the same as regardless.

Could it have been the bimbo in your avatar?

There is no letter s at the end of the word anyway. At least there wasn't. Now I see it in dictionaries.

Hmm... according to Merriam-Webster, its first know use was in the 13th century LOL.

 

[DGS49]

I had a Comms teacher at Pitt who used the word, "irregardless" constantly. Drove me nuts.

Also nice is, "I could care less!" when the speaker actually wants to say, "I couldn't care less."

 

[Mertex]

The word that absolutely is stupid is "irregardless" - the correct word is regardless but some bimbo had to go and add "ir" and now it's supposedly used as meaning the same as regardless.

Could it have been the bimbo in your avatar?

Probably, but I've never heard her say it, and it probably got changed before she was even born.

 

[HenryBHough]

And all this from the notorious Turd Distressed Court case popularly known as "Moot v. Mute".

 

[Iceweasel]

If a word or spelling becomes commonplace, it's a word and rightly added to the dictionary. Language has always changed, just look at a King James Old English Bible.

 

[Unkotare]

The OP is clearly NOT "Mr. Language Person."

 

[Dogmaphobe]

The word that absolutely is stupid is "irregardless" - the correct word is regardless but some bimbo had to go and add "ir" and now it's supposedly used as meaning the same as regardless.

But to "ir" is human, Mertex.

 

[Pogo]

With nothing constructive to do this afternoon I’m going to get a few language-type things off my chest. Unfortunately, I have to start with a sort of disclaimer. People who write dictionaries have an irritating tendency to “normalize” incorrect usages, non-words, and bad form, just because they are becoming common. For example, the word, “copascetic” was originally slang, meaning basically “OK.” Now it’s in some dictionaries as a proper word. So if I say something is improper or incorrect, it may still be possible to find some dictionary that defines a word or sanctions using a word incorrectly, in response to “popular demand,” so to speak. But if you want to speak properly, you will ignore all that.

Here is some of the stuff that drives me bonkers.

“Quality” is a NOUN, not an ADJECTIVE. The statement, “This is truly a quality product,” is nonsense, on steroids. It may be a high quality product or a low quality product or an excellent quality product or an inferior quality product. But it is definitely NOT a quality product. Calling it a quality product is like saying “Manute Bol was a height basketball player.”

“Highly” is a nonsense word. People use it because the word “very” seems so drab and they can’t think of anything else to use. What is the opposite of “highly”? “Lowly”? “This booger contains millions of highly complex micro-organisms.” More so than if they were merely, “…very complex micro-organisms”?
Two of the following statements make sense; one is nonsense.
(1) George is a highly qualified applicant.
(2) George is a very qualified applicant.
(3) George is an extremely qualified applicant.

Imply/Infer. Speakers and writers can IMPLY things; listeners and readers can INFER things. Don’t use them interchangeably; it’s stupid.

“Aren’t I?” In their total revulsion at the word, “ain’t” some people revert to the expression, “I am the prettiest fat girl at the dance, aren’t I?” Unfortunately, the English language does NOT have an acceptable contraction for the two words, “am I.” But the word “are” is definitely plural, so if you are not a Siamese twin or don’t have multiple personality disorder, you should never use the expression, “aren’t I.” It is better to say, “I am the prettiest fat girl at the dance, am I not?” Or just SFTU and hope nobody notices.

“…an historical occasion.” I don’t know where this came from. It is one of the most basic rules of pronunciation in English that the article “a” is used when followed by a consonant sound and “an” is used when followed by a vowel sound. Last time I checked, “h” was a consonant (though sometimes silent). Thus we say, “…a dog,” and “…an asshole.” But some people insist on using “an” in front of the word, “historical.” To me it sounds frightfully pompous.

Sportscasters will often say about a play that has recently occurred, “If he catches that ball, the Ogres win.” But he didn’t catch the ball, did he? And you are talking about something that occurred in the past. Why are you using the present tense? Would it be too difficult to say, “If he had caught that ball, the Ogres would have won”? What is the benefit of mangling the English language and making a totally nonsensical statement? Did you save the effort of voicing three additional words? Is it more exciting?

“Copy me on that memo.” Copy me? You mean like, imprint a photographic likeness of your face on the memorandum? Or do you really mean, “Please send me a copy of that ******* memorandum”? How much time and effort is saved by this linguistic shortcut? Is it worth making yourself sound like a moron? Apparently so.

That’s all for now. I feel better.

Hear hear. And while we're scolding sportscasters let's get them to stop mispronouncing the word route.
To the above I'd just like to add the use of disconnect as if it were a noun instead of the verb it is. We need to disconnect that.

Linguistic hyperconservatives unite!

Moreover just as I was typing this I heard a voice say the word is twice in a row:
"And the thinking is, is that..."

Some people just aren't listening to themselves.