Author Topic: Funny English and Linguistics stuff... (Read 217113 times)

Jonathon · « **Reply #475 on:** May 01, 2012, 04:05:50 PM »

Well, now I've gone and done it by moving posts while someone was posting. Those posts are now over here.

Jonathon · « **Reply #476 on:** May 01, 2012, 07:11:08 PM »

Quote from: Tante Shvester on May 01, 2012, 03:56:12 PM

Quote from: Bryan Garner
This blogger is well worth reading.

I have to agree.

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #477 on:** May 02, 2012, 12:18:30 PM »

We hired a Jamaican-born woman as a caregiver for my husband. She lives with us during the week and goes home on weekends, and it cracks me the heck up how she has started to include some of our lingo into her Jamaican-inflected English. I overheard her talking on the phone to her daughter, in Patois, which I barely understand, and correctly including the word "schmutzadecke" (schmutz means dirt and schmutzadecke means dirty), and then exclaiming, "Oy! I'm turning Jewish!"

Jonathon · « **Reply #478 on:** May 02, 2012, 12:59:59 PM »

BlackBlade · « **Reply #479 on:** May 02, 2012, 01:33:28 PM »

That's awesome.

Jonathon · « **Reply #480 on:** May 07, 2012, 08:09:46 PM »

From a job listing for a print services director:

Quote

Manage editing section understanding the work done is creative involves people skills, managing relationships with clients, having a global view of the product, along with grammar, etc.

BlackBlade · « **Reply #481 on:** May 07, 2012, 08:28:08 PM »

To be considered for the job you're supposed to send them their job listing back with grammatical corrections. My father did that with my mother's love letters when they were dating and he ended up hitched, so it must work!

Marianne Dashwood · « **Reply #482 on:** May 09, 2012, 08:32:39 AM »

Just now saw the Grammar Dalek post. Love it!

Nighthawk · « **Reply #483 on:** May 18, 2012, 08:07:03 AM »

And you're so far away from me...

On the front door of the local U.S. Post Office.

Tante Shvester · « **Reply #484 on:** May 18, 2012, 09:45:08 AM »

Close, but no cigar.

Brinestone · « **Reply #485 on:** May 18, 2012, 03:16:35 PM »

Reminds me of this movie I watched in German class and the associated U2 song.

Kristina · « **Reply #486 on:** May 20, 2012, 05:10:48 AM »

Sometimes I listen to a Christian pop morning show on the way to work. There's a song with these lyrics in the chorus:

It's Your love
Your love
all I ever needed is Your love
(Your love is all that I needed)

I know I can't call up the station and ask, "Doesn't that sound funny to the songwriter or any of the other listeners?" but this seems like the perfect place.

I remember when Alan Jackson's post 911 song was popular and I could never hear, "I don't know the difference in Iraq and Iran" without wondering if "the difference in" is some kind of regional usage, because I've never come across it before and it's always jarring to my ear.

ETA: And I know this isn't actually funny, so feel free to move it to a more appropriate thread.

Jonathon · « **Reply #487 on:** May 20, 2012, 09:41:23 AM »

I think I'm missing something in the lyrics. What's funny about them?

And I don't know about "the difference in". It's not a regionalism I've ever heard of. It could just be an idiosyncrasy or a mistake.

rivka · « **Reply #488 on:** May 20, 2012, 10:48:47 AM »

It's a otherwise-this-won't-scan thing.

Jonathon · « **Reply #489 on:** May 20, 2012, 10:58:19 AM »

What is? I feel like I'm still not seeing it.

rivka · « **Reply #490 on:** May 20, 2012, 11:23:33 AM »

"Difference in" (instead of "difference between").

Jonathon · « **Reply #491 on:** May 20, 2012, 11:33:43 AM »

Oh, that. For some reason I thought you were talking about the Christian pop song.

<—not fully awake yet

rivka · « **Reply #492 on:** May 20, 2012, 12:30:18 PM »

Nah, I don't get what's funny with that one either.

dkw · « **Reply #493 on:** May 20, 2012, 01:39:23 PM »

"All I ever needed is" vs. "All I ever needed was."

rivka · « **Reply #494 on:** May 20, 2012, 02:15:28 PM »

Kristina · « **Reply #495 on:** May 20, 2012, 06:28:51 PM »

Quote from: dkw on May 20, 2012, 01:39:23 PM

"All I ever needed is" vs. "All I ever needed was."

That. It just sounds so off to me every single time I hear it. I realize it isn't funny, sorry 'bout that.

But my knowledge of tense breaks down somewhere in trying to rewrite it. All I ever needed was your love works for me, especially as a song lyric. If I were speaking or writing, I'd probably start out "All I've ever needed . . ." but then I get confused: was your love OR is your love?

Jonathon · « **Reply #496 on:** May 20, 2012, 09:32:43 PM »

"Was and continues to be your love."

I'm not sure there's really a right answer there.

BlackBlade · « **Reply #497 on:** May 31, 2012, 07:00:59 PM »

I was reading an essay about prejudiced attitudes towards Mormonism in acadamia, and came across this interesting point.

In regards to how people in can make barbed comments about Mormonism that they wouldn't make towards other minorities,

Quote

But this sort of flippant and biased comment about Mormons is somehow socially acceptable. Responsible people don’t use "Indian giver" anymore (and we shouldn't). But we Welch on deals and get away Scot-free. I have a sprinkling of Welsh and Scottish blood in me, and I don't appreciate those comments*.

It had never occurred to me those phrases are based in ethnicity at all, but it seems so obvious now. I'm going to try to phase them out of my vocabulary in the future.

*The article has an annoying feature where you can't copy and paste text, it instead puts the URL on your clipboard. I bypassed it by highlighting part of the quote and selected "search in google". I then copied from the google text bar. I had to do it twice to get the whole quote so it's not an elegant solution.

rivka · « **Reply #498 on:** May 31, 2012, 07:07:52 PM »

He's probably right about the origins of "welch". But he's completely wrong about scot-free.

Marianne Dashwood · « **Reply #499 on:** May 31, 2012, 08:51:49 PM »

I don't feel offended at all by phrases that were originally meant as slurs towards some of my very distant ancestors.