Another proper England rant...

[MSTRS]

Come on peoples....say what you mean & mean what you say. Being correct in your use of capitals, spelling & punctuation makes all the difference to the reader.
eg: - Proper capitalization is the difference between helping your Uncle Jack off a horse, and helping your uncle jack off a horse...(thanks Disco Stu)
My pet hate is the your you're thing. THEY ARE NOT THE SAME MEANING.

[Grahameeboy]

Come on peoples....say what you mean & mean what you say. Being correct in your use of capitals, spelling & punctuation makes all the difference to the reader.
eg: - Proper capitalization is the difference between helping your Uncle Jack off a horse, and helping your uncle jack off a horse...(thanks Disco Stu)
My pet hate is the your you're thing. THEY ARE NOT THE SAME MEANING.

Alan Whickers to that geezer.....you know us Londoner's can't speak proper..

[MSTRS]

It's not your accent mate.....

[Posh Tourer :P]

Londoner's what?

[deathstar]

Here here jolly good English show my good man

[zadok]

Isn't this Hitcher's territory?:motu:

[Lou Girardin]

Come on peoples....say what you mean & mean what you say. Being correct in your use of capitals, spelling & punctuation makes all the difference to the reader.
eg: - Proper capitalization is the difference between helping your Uncle Jack off a horse, and helping your uncle jack off a horse...(thanks Disco Stu)
My pet hate is the your you're thing. THEY ARE NOT THE SAME MEANING.

Damn right. People may have something of value to contribute, but if it's a mish mash of lower case text speak I quickly lose interest.

[Grahameeboy]

It's not your accent mate.....

ewe na I cnt spl ever..............

[Sniper]

Just wait until Mr. Hitcher does get here...... Until then, I bet there will be a few taking the piss. Aye Scoots Magoo (aka OMGWTFBBQ)

[MisterD]

Londoner's what?

Ha ha ha. I saw a great episode of "Grumpy Old Men" on UKTV over Xmas. Tony Hawks (he of Morris Major and the Minors fame) was complaining about why "Earl's Court" has the apostrophe and "Barons Court" does not.

He wrote a letter to red Ken and got a three page letter back with meticulously mis-used apostrophes throughout! :2thumbsup

[Grahameeboy]

something of value to contribute, .

Is this you Lou....he he.......remember, ly down, rest a while and don't get up in a hurry!!

[MSTRS]

Isn't this Hitcher's territory?:motu:
Well done....apostrophe (damn, do I need one here?) in the right place and excellent use of a contraction....

[Keystone19]

My pet hate is sort and sought. How hard can it be people?

[Hitcher]

Here here jolly good English show my good man
That should be "hear, hear..."

Just because a word sounds the same doesn't mean it is:

Air/ear
Here/hair/hear
Passed/past

[zadok]

Hitcher is watching!:spudwave: He must be proud of you:done:

[MSTRS]

That should be "hear, hear..."

Just because a word sounds the same doesn't mean it is:

Air/ear
Here/hair/hear
Passed/past
....and hare.....

[Colapop]

I was going to write a big speil about people being lazy and the advent of computers (and forums) causing people to type what they want to say instead of saying it, but it's just too hard to type it all out. I've gone back and edited this passage probably half a dozen times already not including backspacing. How many people have actually learned to touch type? People just want to be heard not understood. Fat fingers!
And there's already been 5 posts since I typed this

[Keystone19]

Flow, darling, it's all about flow. If your writing does not flow in a manner conducive to easy reading, people will not read it, hence you will not be heard.

[MisterD]

Just because a word sounds the same doesn't mean it is:

Air/ear


Sheesh, only in Noo Zealund

[Posh Tourer :P]

Here here! jolly good English show, my good man!

that would be hear hear??? with punctuation too??

[DMNTD]

...Air/ear

...and e hoa:bleh:

[Phurrball]

That should be "hear, hear..."

Just because a word sounds the same doesn't mean it is:

Air/ear
Here/hair/hear
Passed/past

Ahhh yes - allegedly they do sound the same in New Zild. But let's not go down that path. Regional pseudo-homophones perhaps??

I must say, 'tis a breath of fresh air to read such a grammatically healthy thread, that is well punctuated and spelled. :banana:

[MisterD]

I must say, 'tis a breath of fresh air to read such a gramatically healthy thread, that is well punctuated and spelled. :banana:

Oui, absolument.:doh:

[MSTRS]

Two ems in grammatical.....with this bastard language, a spelling mistake may change the meaning of a ward (sic).

[Grahameeboy]

pear, pair
you, ewe
bean, been
for, four
meat, meet
key, quay
no, know.........

[Posh Tourer :P]

Oui, absolument.:doh:

Sì, y mi gustan tambien...

[Hitcher]

Even though they may sound the same:

bow/bough
doe/dough
ruff/rough

People just don't care anymore. Tragic. Having a rich and diverse language built on strong and robust traditions that everybody in the third world yearns to speak is no mean feat. Yet there are the philistines what didn't do no good at skool who want to torch it all in favour of some grunted TXT language.

My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains
My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,
Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains
One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk:
'Tis not through envy of thy happy lot,
But being too happy in thine happiness,
That thou, light-wingèd Dryad of the trees,
In some melodious plot
Of beechen green, and shadows numberless,
Singest of summer in full-throated ease.

[Grahameeboy]

Sì, y mi gustan tambien...

Why do you like it too?

[Hitcher]

I must say, 'tis a breath of fresh air to read such a grammatically healthy thread, that is well punctuated and spelled.
Or spelt. We may agree to disagree...

[zadok]

pear, pair
you, ewe
bean, been
for, four
meat, meet
key, quay
no, know.........
They say English is the hardest language to learn. No wonder I couldn't pass U.E english at three attempts!:Oops:

[Grahameeboy]

Or spelt. We may agree to disagree...

Furball/Phurrball

[Motu]

Yeah,I just can't be botherd to read someone's speil if it has no capitals or punctuation...the odd fopar and spelling mistake is OK,but I'm not going to read it 3 or 4 times to figure out what they are trying to say.

My pet hate is break and brake,and I was soooo embarrassed the other day to read my post on another forum where I got it wrong...and there was no edit function,so everybody in the whole world could see what an idiot I was!

[Phurrball]

Two ems in grammatical.....with this bastard language, a spelling mistake may change the meaning of a ward (sic).

Oh, that I know. :o The shame, the shame. Of course it had to happen in this thread, in that post. Duly edited. English is a bastard language in the true sense of the word. I blame the school system - the hammering of spelling was absent when I was at high school but 10 years ago...farking double letters!

I do try...Was für blödsinnig!

[MisterD]

People just don't care anymore. Tragic.

I quite agree. I'm not much for poetry, but if something's worth doing, it's bloody well worth doing properly.

[Sniper]

One fine day in the middle of the night
Two dead men got up to fight
Back to back they faced each other
Unsheathed their swords and shot each other.

[James Deuce]

... People just want to be heard not understood.

Another quote of the year for 2006

[Hitcher]

English has its idiosyncrasies but I dispute that it's "difficult" or hard to learn. We all seem to have managed quite well on that score, mother's knee and all that.

At least it doesn't have masculine and feminine nouns and all that shit that German involves.

[deathstar]

That should be "hear, hear..."

Just because a word sounds the same doesn't mean it is:

Air/ear
Here/hair/hear
Passed/past

that is exactly how i was proving the point and (good spotting)

[MisterD]

English is a bastard language in the true sense of the word.

I prefer "mongrel" to "bastard", which is of course, what gives it's peculiar vigour. I whole-heartedly agree with your comments regarding the teaching of English though, I hadn't heard of the past imperfect tense until I started learning French!

[Sniper]

Very true Master Hitcher. But isn't that coming from someone brought up learning mainly English? My household was dual-speaking so I don't really know what my first langauge but I know Afrikaans (Baby Dutch to some) is a fairly easy langauge to get the hang of.

[Posh Tourer :P]

Why do you like it too?

Seconding phurrball´s post... via another post....

[Phurrball]

Or spelt. We may agree to disagree...

I did wonder about that. I'm not feeling all that pedantic today - so I didn't check. Clearly I should have. Strong verbs are evil in any language. Apparently spelled/spelt and a few other verbs have irregular and standard forms coexisting - curious...

[Hitcher]

Afrikaans (Baby Dutch to some) is a fairly easy langauge to get the hang of.
Even though it sounds like the speaker is always trying to cough something up?

[Posh Tourer :P]

Yeah,I just can't be botherd to read someone's speil if it has no capitals or punctuation...the odd fopar and spelling mistake is OK,but I'm not going to read it 3 or 4 times to figure out what they are trying to say.

My pet hate is break and brake,and I was soooo embarrassed the other day to read my post on another forum where I got it wrong...and there was no edit function,so everybody in the whole world could see what an idiot I was!

I add lose and loose to that hate list, and note that you have (perhaps) made a faux pas?

[Posh Tourer :P]

Another quote of the year for 2006

Doesn´t "quote of the year" imply that there is only one of them??

[Sniper]

Even though it sounds like the speaker is always trying to cough something up?

If you can't understand it, yes. But have you ever heard someone speak fluent Bushman? Now thats a langauge that stresses the brain. Not as easy as 'Xau makes out on, "The Gods Must Be Crazy"

[Phurrball]

English has its idiosyncrasies but I dispute that it's "difficult" or hard to learn. We all seem to have managed quite well on that score, mother's knee and all that.

At least it doesn't have masculine and feminine nouns and all that shit that German involves.

Absence of genders is good - otherwise English strikes me as darstardly to learn. Of course, one only appreciates this as a native speaker when one learns another language. I would suggest that you can't really appreciate your own language properly until you've at least part-learned (learnt??) another one... see my deranged ranting elsewhere...

[yungatart]

Not to mention, site and sight.
If you really want to understand English, may I recommend the learning of Latin. It is very easy and helps to develop the understanding of, not only English, but many other languages too.

[Posh Tourer :P]

I prefer "mongrel" to "bastard", which is of course, what gives it's peculiar vigour. I whole-heartedly agree with your comments regarding the teaching of English though, I hadn't heard of the past imperfect tense until I started learning French!

True, neither had I until I read a Spanish verb handbook.... There are some fascinating aspects to English - like the idea that we have beef from cattle and mutton from sheep because the French-speaking aristocracy ate the stuff and the Anglo-Saxon growers of the beasts

[Mooch]

Speaking of which I'm a bit confused about your user name. Should it be Master or Ms TRS or Miss Tar or Mr T Arse. Could you please explain it in the Queens best English.:doobey:

[Posh Tourer :P]

Even though it sounds like the speaker is always trying to cough something up?

Like in "Hoek van Holland"??

[yungatart]

Speaking of which I'm a bit confused about your user name. Should it be Master or Ms TRS or Miss Tar or Mr T Arse. Could you please explain it in the Queens best English.:doobey:
It is Mistress- as in that upon which he showers love, affection, admiring glances and money.

[Phurrball]

Furball/Phurrball

Um, <a href="http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showpost.php?p=471213&postcount=124
">yes</a>, that too...

[MisterD]

True, neither had I until I read a Spanish verb handbook.... There are some fascinating aspects to English - like the idea that we have beef from cattle and mutton from sheep because the French-speaking aristocracy ate the stuff and the Anglo-Saxon growers of the beasts

Time for a useless factoid methinks: There are more Indian words in the English language than there are Celtic.:crazy:

[Posh Tourer :P]

Absense of genders is good - otherwise English strikes me as darstardly to learn. Of course, one only appreciates this as a native speaker when one learns another language. I would suggest that you can't really appreciate your own language properly until you've at least part-learned (learnt??) another one... see my deranged ranting elsewhere...

That is probably true.

However I don´t think that English sentence structure is that dastardly. When it comes to reading or spelling it though, I´d rather have Spanish....

[Posh Tourer :P]

Time for a useless factoid methinks: There are more Indian words in the English language than there are Celtic.:crazy:

Quite believable seeing as the Aryan people (including the Indians) overran the Celtic cultures as they came in. To look at language anaylsis, the group of people known as Aryans includes Asian Indians, Germanic language speakers and Romance language speakers, but not Celts.

[MSTRS]

Speaking of which I'm a bit confused about your user name. Should it be Master or Ms TRS or Miss Tar or Mr T Arse. Could you please explain it in the Queens best English.:doobey:
Explained.....?

[Phurrball]

That is probably true.

However I don´t think that English sentence structure is that dastardly. When it comes to reading or spelling it though, I´d rather have Spanish....

Indeed, the English sentence structure isn't too bad - German works well for me on a spelling and pronounciation front - apart from their bastard, bastard 854 letter long compound words! WHY?!

[MisterD]

Quite believable seeing as the Aryan people (including the Indians) overran the Celtic cultures as they came in. To look at language anaylsis, the group of people known as Aryans includes Asian Indians, Germanic language speakers and Romance language speakers, but not Celts.

As I understand it, they are mostly words absorbed over the time of the Raj. The best example I can come up with at the moment is "bungalow" which interestingly has slightly divergent meanings in NZ and UK...:spudbn:

[Keystone19]

Absense of genders is good - otherwise English strikes me as darstardly to learn. Of course, one only appreciates this as a native speaker when one learns another language. I would suggest that you can't really appreciate your own language properly until you've at least part-learned (learnt??) another one... see my deranged ranting elsewhere...

Should that not be 'absence of genders'?

Yes I agree with the language learning. Having learnt a couple of, shall we say, 'interesting' languages in my time (Finnish and Russian among them) it is not until one has partaken in the privilege of learning another language that one truly learns the subtle nuances of ones own.

[MSTRS]

And while we are at it...what's with the word 'PHONETIC"

[Phurrball]

Should that not be 'absence of genders'?

Yep - today I exist to make everyone else look good - typing does not seem to elicit the same 'that word looks kinda funny spelled that way' reflex as handwriting does for me. Sad excuse - I need to go and take my pills...

(There's only so much self-inflicted shame a man can take) :weep:

[Posh Tourer :P]

As I understand it, they are mostly words absorbed over the time of the Raj. The best example I can come up with at the moment is "bungalow" which interestingly has slightly divergent meanings in NZ and UK...:spudbn:

There were a lot of English speakers in a minority ruling class, surrounded by a very live language (not to mention the later effect of the army stationed there), whereas Celtic languages were crushed into a minority of speakers, by a people who at that time didn´t want to speak the language or even hear it. But also there are a few very basic words that are very similar in both Sanskrit and modern English.

[Posh Tourer :P]

And while we are at it...what's with the word 'PHONETIC"

And why is abbreviate such a long word?

[Posh Tourer :P]

typing does not seem to elicit the same 'that word looks kinda funny spelled that way' reflex as handwriting does for me.

Is that because typing is faster??

[Swoop]

Pet hate is "those ones"...
Plural and singular mixing??? -Tui moment.

[idb]

Aahh at last, I've found it, Pedant's Unanimous.
"Look at moy, look at moy, look at moy!
I've got just one word to say to you - apostrophe's!"

[Colapop]

English has its idiosyncrasies but I dispute that it's "difficult" or hard to learn. We all seem to have managed quite well on that score, mother's knee and all that.
At least it doesn't have masculine and feminine nouns and all that shit that German involves.
Ahh Hitcher your eloquence has not deserted you. Well at least it hadn't before you got to the "shit" bit!:bleh:

[Beemer]

I love this thread! :woohoo:

Did you know that the combination 'ough' can be pronounced in nine different ways? The following sentence contains them all:

"A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed."

I know that one well because as my surname is Lougher, I have heard EVERY bastardisation of its correct pronunciation!

(Two that annoy me also are putting apostrophes in its as used in the last sentence, and 'pronounciation" - agh!)

[Sniper]

Nothing rhymes with Purple.

[Lou Girardin]

Is this you Lou....he he.......remember, ly down, rest a while and don't get up in a hurry!!

I never contribute anything of value, this is just free therapy to keep my blood pressure down.

[Lou Girardin]

...and e hoa:bleh:

What do ethnic flight attendants have to do with it?

[James Deuce]

I've got just one word to say to you - apostrophe's!"

To who does it belong?

[MSTRS]

Nothing rhymes with Purple.
Eh. Wrong. I think you will find that Nothing (almost)rhymes with Sloughing.
Excellent use of the spelling module though

[MSTRS]

To who does it belong?
Who or Whom?? Never did get that one....

[Hitcher]

Time for a useless factoid
Seeing as this was written in this thread "Gahhhhhhhh!"

Death to the naff Americanism, of which "factoid" is but one offender. What's wrong with a good old "fact"?

[idb]

To who does it belong?
I get it!
It should be 'To whom doe's it belong?"

[Posh Tourer :P]

Aahh at last, I've found it, Pedant's Unanimous.
"Look at moy, look at moy, look at moy!
I've got just one word to say to you - apostrophe's!"

I take it you also meant to say those three other words??

Oh and Beemer, are you a Lupper, a loffer, a lower, or one of the others?

[Hitcher]

And while we are at it...what's with the word 'PHONETIC'
It's a small burrowing insect that lives in telephone handsets and compels its host to write words as they are heard.

[idb]

I take it you also meant to say those three other words??

Oh and Beemer, are you a Lupper, a loffer, a lower, or one of the others?
Best not to say anything and expose myself to more ridicule than I get in a normal day.

[MSTRS]

It's a small burrowing insect that lives in telephone handsets and compels its host to write words as they are heard.
Now, you are just having me on, here. Even I know that would be a Phone Tic.

[NhuanH]

So do you linguistic elitists approve of my contribution to the KiwiBiker lexicon as per my signature below?

If you don't, then I revert to my default: "so solly, no engrish!"

[Posh Tourer :P]

Now, you are just having me on, here. Even I know that would be a Phone Tic.

Horrible parasite for an english speaker to have really...

[Hitcher]

Eh. Wrong. I think you will find that Nothing (almost) rhymes with Sloughing.
Fluffing. Puffing. Huffing. Toughing. Roughing.

[MisterD]

Seeing as this was written in this thread "Gahhhhhhhh!"

Death to the naff Americanism, of which "factoid" is but one offender. What's wrong with a good old "fact"?

I didn't use "fact" because I'm not sure that it is a fact. I used "factoid" to indicate that it is received wisdom that I couldn't necessarily back up.

[Colapop]

Just to add a thought here - How do enunciation and vocal inflection affect the message as it is typed? The use of correct punctuation and capital letters could clarify a lot of the miscommunication that has occured here (although not this thread - it's too proper for that!)

[*sic]

seems the interweb is the place where people converge to bitch about spelling and become e-thugs

[idb]

seems the interweb is the place where people converge to bitch about spelling and become e-thugs
Not just spelling, you missed a small two-letter word out at the start of your sentence.
Tsk-tsk!

[Phurrball]

I didn't use "fact" because I'm not sure that it is a fact. I used "factoid" to indicate that it is received wisdom that I couldn't necessarily back up.

'Fact' (as written - with inverted commas) would have worked nicely in that instance would it not?

Anything with the suffix "-oid" puts me in a mind of 'haemorrhoid' :pinch:

[idb]

Anything with the suffix "-oid" puts me in a mind of 'haemorrhoid' :pinch:
Oidment'll fix that right up!

[mstriumph]

same as the rest of life, innit? learn the rules then 'tweak' as required in an attempt to go beyond wat was originally envisioned.

my delivery is an expression of me ... and there ARE reasons for most of my deviations [although some are just for fun :innocent: ]
f'rinstance, i almost NEVER capitalize the perpendicular pronoun - and won't until 'you' is similarly capitalized irrespective of its positioning in a sentence.:oi-grr:

"Rules are there for the guidance of wise men and the blind obedience of fools." ..... to judge people adversely for non-compliance COULD be to miss a lot of the point? :corn:

[Hitcher]

There is a considerable difference between quaint idiosynchrasies and bumbling incoherence, as Uncle Jack and his horse may no doubt testify...

[Swoop]

Not just spelling, you missed a small two-letter word out at the start of your sentence.
Tsk-tsk!
"Tsk" seems to add up to three letters in my book...

[James Deuce]

You clueless dolt Swoop. (j/k)

[Beemer]

Oh and Beemer, are you a Lupper, a loffer, a lower, or one of the others?

A Locker, actually! (As in the pronunciation of McLoughlin.)

[Wolf]

True, neither had I until I read a Spanish verb handbook.... There are some fascinating aspects to English - like the idea that we have beef from cattle and mutton from sheep because the French-speaking aristocracy ate the stuff and the Anglo-Saxon growers of the beasts
A theory propounded by Sir Walter Scott in Ivanhoe in a conversation between Cerdic the swineherd and Wampa the Fool - concerning a missing pig and the Wampa's comment that wherever it is now, the good Saxon swine will "be Norman" by the morning (having undergone the transition from living "swine" to dead "porc"). Wampa then elaborates on the words used by Saxon workers vs those used by Norman consumers.

"meinherr Calf becomes m'sieu Veau"

[boomer]

Build up .. build up.. blah de blah...
eg: - Proper capitalization is the difference between helping your Uncle Jack off a horse, and helping your uncle jack off a horse...(thanks Disco Stu)
more blah de blah... de blah... THEY ARE NOT THE SAME MEANING.

"Glass houses and stones" comes to mind MSTRS!

capitalization is infact capitalisation. Red rep coming your way :Pokey:

[James Deuce]

In your case boomer it should have been; "Capitalization". Red rep coming your way. :)

[Wolf]

Quite believable seeing as the Aryan people (including the Indians) overran the Celtic cultures as they came in. To look at language anaylsis, the group of people known as Aryans includes Asian Indians, Germanic language speakers and Romance language speakers, but not Celts.
Sorry, not quite.

The Celtic languages also have Indo-European, aka "Aryan" roots - they seem to have diverged quite a way back, as the Teutonic and Romance languages must also have to be so different. There are still pattern similarities and the only truly non-Aryan people of Europe were the Saami who were in what is now Finland. The Finnish tongue, though corrupted over the years by Aryan incursions, still has a strong Saami base and is quite alien - listen to someone counting to ten in Finnish and compare it with one two three four five six seven eight nine ten / un deux trois quatre cinq six sept huit neuf dix / eins zwei drei vier funf sechs sieben acht neun zehn and the numbers found in these (http://members.tripod.com/~rjschellen/CelticNums.htm) tables.

Finnish, influenced by Saami, by comparison:

yksi (one)
kaksi (two)
kolme (three)
neljä (four)
viisi (five)
kuusi (six)
seitsemän (seven)
kahdeksan (eight)
yhdeksän (nine)
kymmenen (ten)

[boomer]

In your case boomer it should have been; "Capitalization". Red rep coming your way. :)

hehehe, Incorrect use of the ";" :whistle:

[James Deuce]

It's not unnecessary. There was a pause in the sentence and I didn't feel that a "," did it justice. From a reliable English Lit. source at VUW I've been told that the ";" can be substituted for a comma or a colon, to provide just the right emphasis for the following phrase, word, or explanation. Three cheers for the versatile semi-colon.

[boomer]

Jim...Jim...Jim...Jim,


A semicolon would be impossible in your example, since the sequence after the semicolon is not a complete sentence.

:hitcher:

[James Deuce]

That's an archaic usage you're promoting boomer.

[Wolf]

Three cheers for the versatile semi-colon.
Yep, also takes up only half the disk space or bandwidth as that pesky colon...

[boomer]

Back to skool for me den; i fought

To join the clauses in a compound sentence
To separate the items in a list or series when there are other punctuation marks within the items themselves.


:crazy:

[Wolf]

Back to skool for me den; i fought

To join the clauses in a compound sentence
To separate the items in a list or series when there are other punctuation marks within the items themselves.


:crazy:
My understanding, too. "A curtain, all lacy and white; a latch, bold and brassy; four panes of glass, crystal-clear." The semi-colons delineate the items in the list as the descriptions, separated from the items by commas, could cause confusion. I use it in the first fashion when writing but I cannot think of an instance off the top of my head.

[Posh Tourer :P]

That's an archaic usage you're promoting boomer.

Yet perhaps "Capitalization" is the new usage and "capitalisation" is archaic, or on its way to becoming so?

Why fight progress if you believe in an evolving language?

[idb]

Why fight progress if you believe in an evolving language?
txt ne1?



8910

[Hitcher]

No TXT, no l33+, no six-toed feet.

[Wolf]

No TXT, no l33+, no six-toed feet.
bu+ d00d, l33+ r0X0r! i r a l33+ h4x0r!

pt
:killingme

[Hitcher]

bu+ d00d, l33+ r0X0r! i r a l33+ h4x0r!
Counted your toes lately?

[Wolf]

Counted your toes lately?
Not without the aid of a mirror or a periscope...

[MidnightMike]

and helping your uncle jack off a horse...(thanks Disco Stu)

Disco stu did what?! :pinch:

[Wolf]

Yet perhaps "Capitalization" is the new usage and "capitalisation" is archaic, or on its way to becoming so?

Why fight progress if you believe in an evolving language?
I wish I had my New Zealand Style Guide unpacked, I could look up what is the appropriate spelling for NZ.

The Merkins "ize" pretty much everything (including words that don't need to be) The English and the Kiwis use a mix of "ize" and "ise" - and the kicker is, we use the "ise" spelling on some words the English spell with "ize" as well as using "ize" ("American spelling") for some words the English spell with "ise".

[MidnightMike]

ize,ise,ize,ise? What? :wacko:

[idb]

Are having six toes and speaking 133+ the next step on the evolutionary ladder?
Homo Cpnz++

For that matter, is an outspoken pedant (as seen in this thread) homo correctus?

[Wolf]

For that matter, is an outspoken pedant (as seen in this thread) homo correctus?
There seem to be a few of us on that rung of the evolutionary ladder...

[Ixion]

You people have way too much time on your hands.

[MisterD]

There seem to be a few of us on that rung of the evolutionary ladder...

Who'd have thunk we'd be tuning in to KB to actually learn stuff. Cor blimey guvnor.

[SPORK]

Just wait until Mr. Hitcher does get here...... Until then, I bet there will be a few taking the piss. Aye Scoots Magoo (aka OMGWTFBBQ)
You're lucky I couldn't be bothered reading the phori yesterday much. Untill next time!

[MSTRS]

There are times when it is 'interesting' to ignore all the linguistic rules and just do stuff like....
AWAENBILEYERHEID
Who wants bling??

[Swoop]

Disco stu did what?! :pinch:

He's an Australian..... (or at least in Melbourne - that still counts)

Don't ask what they do to sheep over there... (if they have any and if they aren't on fire yet)

[Hitcher]

I wish I had my New Zealand Style Guide unpacked, I could look up what is the appropriate spelling for NZ.
Your New Zealand Style Guide would tell you to use ise (presuming we each have copies of the same document).

[TONO]

It's not unnecessary. There was a pause in the sentence and I didn't feel that a "," did it justice. From a reliable English Lit. source at VUW I've been told that the ";" can be substituted for a comma or a colon, to provide just the right emphasis for the following phrase, word, or explanation. Three cheers for the versatile semi-colon.

Jim! It is English but not as we know it, No?:stupid:
I blame it on poor teaching practises in today's schools and F--king texting.
That's my tuppence worth.:bash:

[yungatart]

You're lucky I couldn't be bothered reading the phori yesterday much. Untill next time!
Fori- or forums?
The ph is wrong.
And it is UNTIL with 1 'l'

[TwoSeven]

I think there is a difference between someone writing in vernacular or colloquial english vs someone who is writing using proper english rules. Each has a time and place.

[Hitcher]

There are legitimate exceptions to all rules. Including this one.

[idb]

Fori- or forums?

Fora I believe.

[Phurrball]

I think there is a difference between someone writing in vernacular or colloquial english vs someone who is writing using proper english rules. Each has a time and place.

An interesting, and perhaps evolving, case-in-point of chimeric language being internet fora such as KB.

Posts here seem to be a mix of English from the spoken register, and the written register...

A spoken conversation may be suggested by posting: 'LOL' (suggesting the unarticulated sounds of human laughter as I understand it...); the more onomatopoeic 'Mwahhaha'; a suggested intonation such as 'riiiigggghhhht'; and may be complete with virtual gesticulation and facial expression on occasion! :finger::doh:

Such a conversational approach may carry on, or may slip into a more formal written register as the post author tries to make a cogent point (often unlikely on KB - present company excepted of course ;))

This is the bleeding edge people - but that doesn't mean there's any need to allow articulate communication standards to slip! (*Thumps desk to drive home point*) Internet fora are still ultimately a written form of communication, in spite of nods to a form of 'cyber-spoken' language. As such, punctuation, capitalisation and the usual hallmarks of written English are required to allow for accurate reception of the idea being communicated - typed language is still the poor cousin of face-to-face conversation in relation to non-verbal meaning cues, the noble innovations of those coining 'net-speak' have a way to go before they can replicate the subtle complexities of meaning of a face-to-face conversation. Till that day, we must preserve linguistic standards...

So Wolf - there's a grammarian flame-warrior, but where's the linguist? I nominate you!

[idb]

Till that day, we must preserve linguistic standards...

OK, I'll be the first to the plate.
Shouldn't that read ".......'Til that day......." as an abbreviation of "....Until that day....."?

[Posh Tourer :P]

Are having six toes and speaking 133+ the next step on the evolutionary ladder?
Homo Cpnz++

Gaaahhhhh!!

(seeing as the pedants anonymous meeting has been opened).....

There is no ladder, evolution is leading nowhere! Or at least horizontally...... Ladder implies better and a overall purpose. If you are talking about evolution, talk about the next step in the evolutionary drunken stumble...

[Hitcher]

Fora -- Gahhhh!!! Users of pig Latin shall verily get their ba kicked.

[TwoSeven]

As such, punctuation, capitalisation and the usual hallmarks of written English are required to allow for accurate reception of the idea being communicated - typed language is still the poor cousin of face-to-face conversation in relation to non-verbal meaning cues, the noble innovations of those coining 'net-speak' have a way to go before they can replicate the subtle complexities of meaning of a face-to-face conversation. Till that day, we must preserve linguistic standards...


And alienate all of the high context cultures :headbang:

[MSTRS]

And alienate all of the high context cultures :headbang:
Absolutely. After all, *some* of them are best kept isolated in their own little petri dishes.<_<

[Jackrat]

shouldnt this thread of been moved to pointless drivel where it belongs by now

[MSTRS]

shouldnt this thread of been moved to pointless drivel where it belongs by now
Shouldn't this thread have been moved to Pointless Drivel, where it belongs, by now?
Corrected - OK?
And....probably.

[idb]

Fora -- Gahhhh!!! Users of pig Latin shall verily get their ba kicked.
Well!!!
According to no less an authority than the Merriam-Webster dictionary fora and forums are both acceptable.
This is confirmed on any number of sites purporting to be authorities on English it should be speaked.

So it would also be acceptable to kick our bums.

[Phurrball]

OK, I'll be the first to the plate.
Shouldn't that read ".......'Til that day......." as an abbreviation of "....Until that day....."?

Apparently they are acceptable variants of each other. But I agree - the version with the elissive apostrophe does seem more true to its etymological origins. Well spotted. I shall change the offending item.


Fora -- Gahhhh!!! Users of pig Latin shall verily get their ba kicked.

Hitcher - Never, ever sit in on any law lectures or tutorials. The abuse perpetrated by students and lecturers alike upon the Latin language would surely be the end of you, and your kicking leg. (The assorted abuse of English would not aid your wellbeing either.)

What should we lowly, non-classically schooled personages use as a plural of 'Forum'? Please inform us so that your sensibilities may be soothed by its appropriate usage.


Well!!!
According to no less an authority than the Merriam-Webster dictionary fora and forums are both acceptable.
This is confirmed on any number of sites purporting to be authorities on English it should be speaked.

So it would also be acceptable to kick our bums.

Same 'authority' told me 'till' and ''til' are both acceptable. Maybe Hitcher should be allowed to kick one buttock?!


Shouldn't this thread have been moved to Pointless Drivel, where it belongs, by now?
Corrected - OK?
And....probably.

Pointed drivel perhaps?

[Hitcher]

When using "foreign" words in English, I believe that English language conventions apply. Apart from many exceptions (mouse/mice, goose/geese), in English, words are often pluralised by adding an S to the end. This "convention" doesn't need to change just because the word involved may originate from Latin: forum/forums, stadium/stadiums. Similarly the nonsense of some Maori words (e.g. Maori, kiwi), when used in English, being pluralised in Maori rather than in English.

[Ixion]

Forum, stadium are English words. They have Latin roots, but when used in English they are English words. The meaning of forum in English is not the same as in Latin. Mr Hitcher is quite correct IMHO. And Mr Fowler , who brooks no argument, agrees also.

[idb]

I see the point being made but in the Latin examples, both plural forms are accepted as I understand it.
Doesn't this further enrich the English language which, by virtue of being the magpie (some would argue mongrel) that it is, has developed into the expressive language that it has.
If English can co-opt a word and adapt it to it's own rules, then why also can't it bring some of the word's original rules with it to play with?

[boomer]

I see the point being made but in the Latin examples, both plural forms are accepted as I understand it.
Doesn't this further enrich the English language which, by virtue of being the magpie (some would argue mongrel) that it is, has developed into the expressive language that it has.
If English can co-opt a word and adapt it to it's own rules, then why also can't it bring some of the word's original rules with it to play with?


cos its our ball and our rules.. don't like it? As johnny says 'Fuck off!!!"

:P

[Posh Tourer :P]

Apart from many exceptions (mouse/mice, goose/geese), in English, words are often pluralised by adding an S to the end.

Perhaps the most fascinating ones are those such as sheep/sheep...

[MisterD]

cos its our ball and our rules.. don't like it? As johnny says 'Fuck off!!!"

:P
Sometimes these high minded arguments really do need someone to cut to the nub of the gist. That was all starting to make my brain hurt, but it's better now.

[MSTRS]

Oi Boomer....Johnny is a proper noun and should have a capital:killingme

[Wolf]

Oi Boomer....Johnny is a proper noun and should have a capital :killingme
And, for clarity, perhaps a colon after "says"...

[Hitcher]

I fear something is wedged in my colon. Maybe I should take advice from the constipated mathematician who worked it out with a pencil...

[Wolf]

I agree with Phurrball, MSTRS et al. regarding the need for clarity in typed messages. For the most part I prefer to use "Good England" - "gooderer than many", anyway. Occasionally, if I'm typing in a hurry and too rushed to properly proof read (inasmuch as you can proof your own writing), I screw up. Occasionally I will use font changes, altered spelling etc to convey more meaning by approximating "English how she are spoke". Sometimes I will use deliberate malapropisms (before anyone starts casting nasturtiums at my use of the wrong words), archaisms ('tis fun, methinks), or deliberately mispelled words to convey an accent, to make a point, or to goad. I will even use txt or l33+ 5p33k for the sake of a pisstake.

In those occasions, I strive to make sure the meaning is still clear and, in some cases, conveys more information than the strictly correct English would - like letting people know my mood or how far my tongue is planted in my cheek.

Whether I succeed or not is a different matter - I haven't had too many WTF? type replies or PMs. I even limit my use of acronym to well known ones or provide a translation when asked (like the time I used "FAWOMFT" in the midst of yet another Frequently Argued Waste Of My Fucking Time.)

For all I "play" with the language and render it as though it were spoken, I still tend to obey the rules - like putting apostrophes when letters are missed out - I would not write "fucken" unless I were quoting some person I believed would spell it that way: "so this bastard leans out the window and yells "GET YA FUCKEN BIKE OUTTA THE WAY YA FUCKEN LOSER" at me" (I tend to believe people hurling abuse at me can't spel propa) or if I were putting on an accent.

I love English and all its vaguaries, for all I would like to see proper phonetic spelling introduced - complete with an extended alphabet to cope with all the different sounds and get rid of diphtongs and doubled letters (which means there would suddenly be a couple of thousand forms of written English but we'd be able to understand them because we'd "hear" the accent in our heads), even if that means using accents, tildas, umläute (deliberate use of foreign plural to piss Hitcher off) etc. I love playing with the language, but I believe you need to know the rules before breaking 'em.

And FWIW, I was brought up under with till and 'til being acceptable variants, likewise burned/burnt (and others of that ilk) and to use the original plurals of "borrowed" words - fora, octopi, genii, simulacra etc and to use the appropriate singular for others ("datum" for a unit of infomation). While I agree in some respect with Messrs Hitcher and Ixion, the rule regarding English pluralisation of foreign words is by no means universal (Data/Datum being a case where both forms are used and I've never seen Datums suggested as an acceptable word for "information"), and many dictionaries will list both as "acceptable".

I would, however, tend to use "fora" and similar for personal correspondences (because I'm "quirky" and tend to archaisms in my speech) and use "forums" for anything submitted for publishing (unless directly quoting someone and even then followed by [sic]) in accordance with the NZ Style Guide.

"Acceptable" alternatives they may be, but I do believe there is a time and place for their use. Fine for on here (sorry Hitch) but not acceptable when writing a report for the company's Prospectus.

[yungatart]

Oh! Well done , Wolf, old chap! Chin, chin!

[Wolf]

Oh! Well done , Wolf, old chap! Chin, chin!
Well, yarss, quate rate old chup. Pip pip, toodle-oo

[MSTRS]

Well, yarss, quate rate old chup. Pip pip, toodle-oo
Excellent visual use of a verbal accent, O Lupine One.
My earlier post of AWAENBILEYERHEID is in the same vein. Are there no takers for it's transalation?? Literal and intent??

[Wolf]

Excellent visual use of a verbal accent, O Lupine One.
My earlier post of AWAENBILEYERHEID is in the same vein. Are there no takers for it's transalation?? Literal and intent??
I was going to respond and tell ye tae piss off an' boil yer own head at the time but I got sidetracked in my waffling...

[MSTRS]

...well done....reward in the mail. How are th'weeuns??

[Wolf]

...well done....reward in the mail. How are th'weeuns??
:Offtopic: The 2-year-old's activity is a bit curtailed due to having his leg in a cast (spiral fracture of the tibia after attempting to balance on a ball) but the 3-year-old is overcompensating for it and takes five times the effort to keep track of - want to put his leg in a cast just for the peace and quiet. The expected arrival is down low and we're suspecting the midwife might be right in thinking this one might arrive early.

[MSTRS]

Ahem.... A moment's silence for the wolf pack....
Sounds like fun in your house-glad I'm here!

[Wolf]

If English can co-opt a word and adapt it to it's own rules, then why also can't it bring some of the word's original rules with it to play with?
From what I understand, some of the weird rules of the language are because foreign rules were adopted and applied to the existing language.

I was told the "Thou shalt not split the infinitive" rule is a hanger-on from languages in which you cannot split the infinitive because it is one word ("finir", "aller", "gehen", "essen" etc) rather than two ("to finish", "to go", "to eat").

Not sure how accurate that is, though.

As with most rules, though, the breaking of them can be used to create dramatic effects. The opening of Star Trek would be nowhere near as stirring if they were "to go boldly where no [man|one] has gone before".

It is odd that our words are genderless when the primary languages that make up English all have gender - Celtic languages must have as modern versions still do, German does so it's pretty safe to assume Saxon did, the Norman French did as does modern French now.

Question for those who have studied the language of the Bastard Imperialist Oppressors: did/does Latin have gender for nouns?

[Hitcher]

Split infinitives are not, I believe, grammatical errors. Those with a contrary view are, I believe, truly deserving of the title "Pedant".

To unsplit some infinitives (famously "to boldly go where no one has gone before") significantly changes their meaning.

Most people who get twitchy about this are suck-up teachers pets who should have been caned harder in third form English.

Up with this I shall not put!

[MSTRS]

Most people who get twitchy about this are suck-up teachers pets who should have been caned harder in third form English.


Alas, 90%+ (?) on this forum were not subject to that most feared punishment. I blame the PC Brigade for this, and all the trouble it has wrought. That, and the odd system that the 80's were lumbered with....the one where the message was the important bit, not the spelling etc. Might be behind us now, but, oh the pleasure we are deriving from it's aftereffects.

[MisterD]

Question for those who have studied the language of the Bastard Imperialist Oppressors: did/does Latin have gender for nouns?

Didn't study it, but my Dad was forced to. "Latin is a language, as dead as dead can be..etc".

I believe the answer to your question is in the affirmative.

[Hitcher]

I don't know whether caning was "feared" at my school. That largely depended on the striking power of the teacher concerned. The whole business was a bit of a game really, involving male teachers and students, some of whom had elevated the whole palaver beyond an art form with generally understood rules, rituals and an associated code of conduct that had been honed finely over past decades.

Knowing the striking power of male teachers was important, and elaborate and sophisticated measures were needed to determine this. If it turned out that a new teacher was "weak as piss", then they would probably have to cane one or two classes of boys (at about 16 to a class, as my school was co-ed) for their troubles on a reasonably regular basis -- usually until they decided to go and teach somewhere else. A high strike power teacher, on the other hand, probably only needed to cane one lad once every four years and rely on an enduring legend.

Our class had an iron-arsed lad who was our bell-wether for caning sorties. We knew, from finely calibrated relativism, that if young Brent was impressed by a teacher's technique, than that teacher was one to be respected.

I find it interesting that it was largely women who sought the banning of capital punishment -- they who never dispensed or received it. And I believe they did this because they were jealous of this most noble of male rituals.

[yungatart]

As a girl who went to a single sex school, my only association with caning was to listen to my brothers' descriptions around the tea table-(whereupon Dad would promptly mete out punishment of his own on the already tender-bottomed offender!), however I have worked with a teacher who had a reputation second to none in the caning stakes. He would line his terrified new third formers up and demonstrate the power of the mighty cane on a soft upholstered chair that he had previously liberally dosed with chalk dust! He could, on a bad year, get to the last term before having to use the cane on an errant young man!
Oh yes, young folks, in our day, school was tough! (But we did learn spelling and grammar and suchlike!)

[Ixion]

Question for those who have studied the language of the Bastard Imperialist Oppressors: did/does Latin have gender for nouns?


It did. it does. Thankfully, though, it includes a neutral gender.

[Wolf]

Didn't study it, but my Dad was forced to. "Latin is a language, as dead as dead can be..etc".

I believe the answer to your question is in the affirmative.
Thought it might have (knowing an assortment of unrelated quotes in the language is no help in determining the rules of the language, I fear) as at least French and Italian have gender and 'twould be odd indeed if the parent language had not.

So where the far kinell did the genderless nature of English come from? Brythonic ("P-Celtic") languages, Latin, Saxon, French - all with gender (which survives to this day in other related languages). Did all the English speakers at some stage decide "Fuck it, lets drop this fucking about with gender and just have one set of pronouns"? Or was it that they got so confused as to whether they had two genders or three, and whether they were "le" and "la" or "der", "die" and "das", that they just gave up in disgust, modified "un" to "a" (pronounced similarly)and "der" to "the" and let that be the end of it?

[jazbug5]

Is it at all possible that there were varying gender attributions between the different languages, and it was just easier to neuter them? Tell you what, I'll ask my Ma: she knows everything, and besides, she has this wierd fetish for Old English.

[Ixion]

Old English had genders. We lost them sometime around when Middle English became early modern English - maybe C14

[Wolf]

Old English had genders. We lost them sometime around when Middle English became early modern English - maybe C14
Must've been a bugger for you, having to adapt.

Hadn't noticed obvious gender-related words in what I've read of Canterbury Tales so far but then, I have no idea what the pronouns were and how many genders there were so I might just have failed to spot them.

[jazbug5]

Middle English, apparently.

[Wolf]

Is it at all possible that there were varying gender attributions between the different languages, and it was just easier to neuter them? Tell you what, I'll ask my Ma: she knows everything, and besides, she has this wierd fetish for Old English.
Certainly differences between French and Germanic tongues - the French only have two genders and the Germans have three and the same number of things to name. It's only natural that the genders of the words would not match between those two groups, as a lot of objects that the Germans deem "neuter" are either masculine or feminine in French. I'm sure there are objects that the French deem feminine and the Germans deem masculine, and vice versa.

Ach! Typical KB - thread starts off about one thing and quickly devolves to talk about "gender".

[jazbug5]

Here, a link (http://www.universalteacher.org.uk/lang/languagechange.htm) for the befuddled...

[Wolf]

Middle English, apparently.
Yep. For all I know I may have missed seeing gender-agreement in some of the adjectives.

[jazbug5]

Yep. For all I know I may have missed seeing gender-agreement in some of the adjectives.

Well, it's a caning for you, you wee slacker...!

BTW that link I posted is all about the evolution of English and mentions the gender thing; didn't read it all (it's really long...) but it's just bursting with pedantry goodness.

[Grahameeboy]

Here, a link (http://www.universalteacher.org.uk/lang/languagechange.htm) for the befuddled...

I am befuddled, bamboozled without any link.........enough, I am going insane!!!

[Ixion]

Well, it's a caning for you, you wee slacker...!

BTW that link I posted is all about the evolution of English and mentions the gender thing; didn't read it all (it's really long...) but it's just bursting with pedantry goodness.

Yep, here it is


Middle English Period - 1066 to 1485

Lexis - terms for law and politics from Norman French · General expansion of lexis, esp. abstract terms · Case-endings, declension and gender disappear · Inflection goes except in pronouns and related forms · Writers concerned about change · want to stabilize language · 1458 - Gutenberg invents printing (1475 - Caxton introduces it to England) · the press enables some standardizing.


Probably impossible to give an exact date, they would have held on for several centuries in the northern and remoter areas, after they were lost in the south and London.

[TwoSeven]

My understanding is that most of the european written languages came from the old greek. Otherwise we'd all be speaking and writing nebatean or syraic or something bizare like that which doesnt have vowels and diacritics.

[Wolf]

Well, it's a caning for you, you wee slacker...!

BTW that link I posted is all about the evolution of English and mentions the gender thing; didn't read it all (it's really long...) but it's just bursting with pedantry goodness.
Well, according to your link the Middle English period, 1066-1485, was when the use of gender was disappearing. It also notes differences in writing styles and word use between Chaucer (closer to Modern English) and the author of Pearl and Gawain and the Green Knight (closer to Old English) even though they were around the same time.

Edit: Argh, Mr Ixion beat me to it.

[Ixion]

Well, after all that erudition, isn't it time this thread followed the proper KB progression and got round to beer ?

Mine's a Speight's, thanks.

[Wolf]

Probably impossible to give an exact date, they would have held on for several centuries in the northern and remoter areas, after they were lost in the south and London.
Most likely right, there. Pretty much the same reason that "English" won out over Courtly French after William the Pretentious River Pirate took over. French was the language of the usurper, I mean royal, court but, although it added to the language, the further from court you were, the less French was spoken.

[jazbug5]

Can I have a G&T with ice and a slice? Bombay Sapphire, natch.

[yungatart]

Oh Ixion! One is so disappointed in one.. beer! You could at least play for a little longer before lowering the tone of the neighbourhood.

[Hitcher]

Here, a link (http://www.universalteacher.org.uk/lang/languagechange.htm) for the befuddled...
Top link. Most informative. I learned lots. Thanks.

[Hitcher]

So that's that then.

[NhuanH]

All of you vociferous faux-erudite cunts need to ride your motorcycles more frequently.

[Disco Stu]

- Proper capitalization is the difference between helping your Uncle Jack off a horse, and helping your uncle jack off a horse...(thanks Disco Stu)


Hey - glad I could have been of assistance.:spudbooge

And only 2 weeks in and I'm already mentioned in a signature... I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not yet!! :o

[Pixie]

Good ol' homophones (no they aren't what gays use to listen to music)

What about brake and break,not to mention all the "theres":brick:

[Pixie]

Ahhh yes - allegedly they do sound the same in New Zild. But let's not go down that path. Regional pseudo-homophones perhaps??

I must say, 'tis a breath of fresh air to read such a grammatically healthy thread, that is well punctuated and spelled. :banana:
Graffiti seen in Sydney.....
" For sale - five New Zealand vowels.In unused condition"

[Pixie]

I think think we should go phonetic.
But the langwij wud still make a cunnamee in frunnamee frendz

chafugga loognat?

[Pixie]

One fine day in the middle of the night
Two dead men got up to fight
Back to back they faced each other
Unsheathed their swords and shot each other.
on a recent movie, set in pre-gunpowder times, a commander was heard to order his archers to "Fire"

In reality the archers would have looked around to see where the fire was, instead of loosing their arrows.

[Pixie]

There were a lot of English speakers in a minority ruling class, surrounded by a very live language (not to mention the later effect of the army stationed there), whereas Celtic languages were crushed into a minority of speakers, by a people who at that time didn´t want to speak the language or even hear it. But also there are a few very basic words that are very similar in both Sanskrit and modern English.
All goes back to primitive indo european.
An example is all the words that came to english from different languages, refering to female things,that start with a K sound - Queen and cow to name two.

[Pixie]

A theory propounded by Sir Walter Scott in Ivanhoe in a conversation between Cerdic the swineherd and Wampa the Fool - concerning a missing pig and the Wampa's comment that wherever it is now, the good Saxon swine will "be Norman" by the morning (having undergone the transition from living "swine" to dead "porc"). Wampa then elaborates on the words used by Saxon workers vs those used by Norman consumers.

"meinherr Calf becomes m'sieu Veau"
And
Chicken poultry
deer venison

as an aside, In french butcher shops they differentiate between beef from a bull and that from a cow.

[Pixie]

Finally ,a few more things that piss me off:

More than one octopus are octopodes

An attractive but simple minded woman may be a bimba,but not a bimbo without surgery.
She could never have silicon tits,nor could she have a computer with silicone chips.

[MSTRS]

Hey - glad I could have been of assistance.:spudbooge

And only 2 weeks in and I'm already mentioned in a signature... I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not yet!! :o
You are now getting an idea of what you started??
Perhaps you could look upon it as 'Making your mark'? Or is it 'Marking your territory'?
:whistle:

[Disco Stu]

What about brake and break,not to mention all the "theres":brick:

It's almost amusing how they're so protective of their there's... :yes:

[Disco Stu]

You are now getting an idea of what you started??
Perhaps you could look upon it as 'Making your mark'? Or is it 'Marking your territory'?
:whistle:

Think of it as a defense mechanism to avoid returning home and sounding like one of these other "West Islanders". :2guns:

[Posh Tourer :P]

Oh Ixion! One is so disappointed in one.. beer! You could at least play for a little longer before lowering the tone of the neighbourhood.

I´ll try and maintain the tone then - Cerdhu for me please; un chopito.

[dawnrazor]

They say English is the hardest language to learn. No wonder I couldn't pass U.E english at three attempts!:Oops:

Actually they say Icelandic is the hardest language to learn, being almost impossible for a non scandivnavian to pick it up.

[dawnrazor]

Finally ,a few more things that piss me off:

More than one octopus are octopodes
.

The plural of "right of way" is "rights of way" - useful that

[yungatart]

And it is mothers-in-law, NOt mother-in-laws, but why you would want more than one of those is way beyond my comprehension..

[TwoSeven]

What about.

"The weather is fining up"

[Posh Tourer :P]

Fine isnt a verb... Therefore the weather can´t "fine", or be "fining up"

[boomer]

Absolutely. After all, *some* of them are best kept isolated in their own little petri dishes.<_<

For someone who started this thread your english is shocking

[Ixion]

Fine isnt a verb... Therefore the weather can´t "fine", or be "fining up"
Well, yes, it is. Though not in that sense. I have had the misfortune to be fined (past tense of the verb "to fine") , for motoring misdeameanours. And in the food industry one may fine wine (usually as "fining") , by adding eggshell or othe rthings to remove fine sediments. Pedant mode OFF.

[MSTRS]

For someone who started this thread your english is shocking
Why thank you, kind sir!! As opposed to 'Why, thank you, kind sir?'

[Posh Tourer :P]

Well, yes, it is. Though not in that sense. I have had the misfortune to be fined (past tense of the verb "to fine") , for motoring misdeameanours. And in the food industry one may fine wine (usually as "fining") , by adding eggshell or othe rthings to remove fine sediments. Pedant mode OFF.

Ooo interesting (note capital O). I was too pissed to bother remembering the former, and did not know the latter.

[MisterD]

[QUOTE=Ixion] eggshell or othe rthings to remove fine sediments.QUOTE]

Also in the brewing industry, although typically the fining agent here is an extract from fishes' swim bladders. How's that for a segue back to beer?

[Wolf]

All of you vociferous faux-erudite cunts need to ride your motorcycles more frequently.
In order: nothing false about my erudites - bought 'em genuine, like - a cunt is a beautiful and delicate thing and I am neither beautiful nor delicate and if I had a bloody bike I would be riding it. :killingme

[MSTRS]

Wolf, we have listened to your sad story and I believe it has touched our hearts. Now.....you know what to do.:spudflip:

[scumdog]

[QUOTE=Ixion] eggshell or othe rthings to remove fine sediments.QUOTE]

Also in the brewing industry, although typically the fining agent here is an extract from fishes' swim bladders. How's that for a segue back to beer?

And yea, I s'pose you could say I was a 'fining agent' too!!:laugh: :rolleyes:

[Wolf]

And it is mothers-in-law, NOt mother-in-laws, but why you would want more than one of those is way beyond my comprehension..
Clinical masochism. Other symtoms include frequent visits to dominatra (plural of "dominatrix") and spontaneous insertion of own body parts into electrical outlets or powered machinery...

[Wolf]

Wolf, we have listened to your sad story and I believe it has touched our hearts. Now.....you know what to do.:spudflip:
It's cheaper to sit on KB and whinge about it, though. :dodge:

[MisterD]

And yea, I s'pose you could say I was a 'fining agent' too!!:laugh: :rolleyes:

:slap: That's just too good for this time on a Monday...

[Grahameeboy]

Clinical masochism. Other symtoms include frequent visits to dominatra (plural of "dominatrix") and spontaneous insertion of own body parts into electrical outlets or powered machinery...

Geeze, ya'd tink the weekend would have intervened!!!:Offtopic:

[MSTRS]

[QUOTE=MisterD]

And yea, I s'pose you could say I was a 'finning agent' too!!:laugh: :rolleyes:
Always wondered why *you lot* were known as Snakes, when Sharks may be closer to the truth.:shifty:

[scumdog]

[QUOTE=scumdog]
Always wondered why *you lot* were known as Snakes, when Sharks may be closer to the truth.:shifty:

Hey! No fair, - cheap unauthorised editing!!:laugh:

[Phurrball]

I go away from the net for the weekend, and such quality pedantry is perpetrated in the absence of my perusal! Ahh, so much erudition to absorb into my mondazed mind.


All of you vociferous faux-erudite cunts need to ride your motorcycles more frequently. Some of us were. Anyhow, one needs something to muse upon when waiting at the lights, or on a long, boring straight...

IMHO: Pluralising non-English adopted words in the way intended by their originating language makes their etymological origins obvious (Is this so bad?), and often makes them easier to say - radii instead of radiuses. It just looks better. There may be counter-examples of course...C'mon - 'tis no harder than irregular verbs FFS.

As for:
The plural of "right of way" is "rights of way" - useful that


And it is mothers-in-law, NOt mother-in-laws, but why you would want more than one of those is way beyond my comprehension..

Ahh, yes. In the same genre is 'Courts-martial'. People aren't thinking about which words they are pluralising. People not thinking...curse of the modern age really :no: (That makes me sound positively old myself...oh dear...pass me the walking-stick and slippers...)

As for the fining process - I far prefer the non paper-based variety...

[idb]

[QUOTE=Ixion] eggshell or othe rthings to remove fine sediments.QUOTE]

Also in the brewing industry, although typically the fining agent here is an extract from fishes' swim bladders. How's that for a segue back to beer?
My liver is still doing a fine job there................

[scumdog]

[QUOTE=MisterD]
My liver is still doing a fine job there................

Mine is at present, however given the 28+ degree heat and the fact I don't have work today I am attempting to send it to its ruin by quaffing copious quantities of DBs finest cold beverage....

[Wolf]

[QUOTE=idb]

Mine is at present, however given the 28+ degree heat and the fact I don't have work today I am attempting to send it to its ruin by quaffing copious quantities of DBs finest cold beverage....
Don't quaff, drink - you'll spill less...

(Terry Pratchett reference)

[scumdog]

[QUOTE=scumdog]
Don't quaff, drink - you'll spill less...

(Terry Pratchett reference)

Yeah but 'drink' don't rhym none to good with 'copious' and 'quantities':no: :lol:

[idb]

Besides, quaff sounds a bit gay....................

[idb]

There, I've done it.....from the highest peaks of learned discourse to the deepest trough of .........something!
God I'm proud of myself!

[scumdog]

There, I've done it.....from the highest peaks of learned discourse to the deepest trough of .........something!
God I'm proud of mysel!

Are you drunk --- AGAIN? at this time of day???

[idb]

Are you drunk --- AGAIN? at this time of day???
No, I'm sure there's some rule somewhere that prevents me from being drunk at work.
I never get drunk really SD. It's just an act so I can fit in with the crowd.

[MisterD]

DBs finest cold beverage....

That'll be the water out of the cooler in their Head Office then.....:sherlock:

[Wolf]

Hmmm, really surprised no one has picked up on my spurious pluralisation:


...frequent visits to dominatra (plural of "dominatrix") ...

I do think the sensory overload engendered by this thread has been too much for our scholars. Either that or people just "switch off" when they see it was posted by me...

Of course, the alert would instantly know the above quote is a load of crap.

The plural of "Dominatrix" should, of course, be "Dominatrices"...

Edit: Oops, sorry, returning to topic in the midst of a highjack... :killingme

[Grahameeboy]

Hmmm, really surprised no one has picked up on my spurious pluralisation:



I do think the sensory overload engendered by this thread has been too much for our scholars. Either that or people just "switch off" when they see it was posted by me...

Of course, the alert would instantly know the above quote is a load of crap.

The plural of "Dominatrix" should, of course, be "Dominatrices"...

Edit: Oops, sorry, returning to topic in the midst of a highjack... :killingme

:zzzz: :zzzz: :zzzz: :zzzz: :zzzz:

[idb]

Hmmm, really surprised no one has picked up on my spurious pluralisation:



I do think the sensory overload engendered by this thread has been too much for our scholars. Either that or people just "switch off" when they see it was posted by me...

Of course, the alert would instantly know the above quote is a load of crap.

The plural of "Dominatrix" should, of course, be "Dominatrices"...

Edit: Oops, sorry, returning to topic in the midst of a highjack... :killingme
Having to reply to ones own posts.
Hmmm, dunno but it seems a bit lonely to me...................


That fixed your return-to-topic but good!

[idb]

The plural of "Dominatrix" should, of course, be "Dominatrices"...

No wonder they keep beating me, I've been addressing them all wrong!!!!!!!!!!!

[Wolf]

Having to reply to ones own posts.
Hmmm, dunno but it seems a bit lonely to me...................
I always reply to intelligent, well-written posts :msn-wink:

[idb]

I always reply to intelligent, well-written posts :msn-wink:
I know what you mean, that's similar to my explanation for talking to myself.
I'm also a terrific lover..............................

[Grahameeboy]

I always reply to intelligent, well-written posts :msn-wink:

.......and beauty is in the eyes of the beholder

[scumdog]

I know what you mean, that's similar to my explanation for talking to myself.
I'm also a terrific lover..............................

I suppose you say that to all yourselves.....:whistle: :motu:

[idb]

I suppose you say that to all yourselves.....:whistle: :motu:
I need constant reassurance.

[Wolf]

That fixed your return-to-topic but good!
On observation, you're quite right - all I achieved was to change it to a different hijack

[Grahameeboy]

.
I'm also a terrific lover..............................

Yeah....but I make you look good!!!!!!!

[idb]

Yeah....but I make you look good!!!!!!!
And that's not easy......

[Grahameeboy]

And that's not easy......

Well it was 'hard'!!!!!

[Hitcher]

Time to sort the highjack, or it's off to PD. This is officially Strike One.

[scumdog]

Time to sort the highjack, or it's off to PD. This is officially Strike One.

Waahoo! Hitcher's getting snotty, Hitcher's getting snotty, Hitcher's gett.,><.,Ouch, what was that for??

But notice the grammar!!


BTW Where does Hi! as a form of greeting come from? (sort of Claytons hijack)

[MSTRS]

I suppose you say that to all yourselves.....:whistle: :motu:
Technically speaking, there is only one of him - so would that make it "....all yourselfs" ??:wait:

[idb]

Technically speaking, there is only one of him - so would that make it "....all yourselfs" ??:wait:
Well done MSTRS!!!!

....or is it yours-self?

[Posh Tourer :P]

if you wanted to pluralise, it would be "you all say that to yourselves". Misplaced word to pluralise. As it is, "you say that to all yourself" could be correct if a little odd.

[idb]

if you wanted to pluralise, it would be "you all say that to yourselves".
Modern wording could be "youse say that to yourselves".
I'm not too sure on the spelling of 'youse' though.
It's shorter and modern.
It's a living language after all.

[Posh Tourer :P]

Or even "yous fullas all say dat to yorselfs"

[Wolf]

Technically speaking, there is only one of him - so would that make it "....all yourselfs" ??:wait:
I got the impression that SD was inferring he had multiple personalities.

[MD]

Man, it has taken ages to read this from start to finish. Thank you MSTRS for kicking this off. I needed somewhere to let off steam on this subject. Umm, you might want to alter the title though to English rant.
So, can we get back to the real problem of piss poor grammar and spelling which is hacking me off.
It's bloody annoying having your time wasted because you have to re-read a post to decipher what the writer was trying to say. Reading a post where some twit can't put together more than four words that make sense just kills the flow of the thread and you lose interest. Not to mention that the mental picture you form of the writer would scare the Hillbillies in Deliverance.
Some people on here really need to meet Mr Apostrophe and Mrs Comma and see how they improve their lives through better understanding.
I started to post a dig at someone on another thread today by repeating their post with corrections highlighed in red, but the effort became too much. And they would probably get all upset at the personal attack.
How can people not know the difference between your and you're, brake and break or sale and sail. What the hell is 'im' to start a sentence (I'm, by the way) The list goes on.
If you can't post on an English website in English, that people can easily follow, then piss off and see if the Japanese can make better sense of your typing.
Cheers, I feel better now but there is no solution.

[boomer]

Man, it has taken ages to read this from start to finish. Thank you MSTRS for kicking this off. I needed somewhere to let off steam on this subject. Umm, you might want to alter the title though to English rant.
So, can we get back to the real problem of piss poor grammar and spelling which is hacking me off?
It's bloody annoying having your time wasted because you have to re-read a post to decipher what the writer was trying to say. Reading a post where some twit can't put together more than four words that make sense just kills the flow of the thread and you lose interest. Not to mention that the mental picture you form of the writer would scare the Hillbillies in Deliverance.
Some people on here really need to meet Mr Apostrophe and Mrs Comma and see how they improve their lives through better understanding.
I started to post a dig at someone on another thread today by repeating their post with corrections highlighted in red, but the effort became too much. And they would probably get all upset at the personal attack.
How can people not know the difference between your and you're, brake and break or sale and sail. What the hell is 'im' to start a sentence (I'm, by the way) the list goes on.
If you can't post on an English website in English, that people can easily follow, then piss off and see if the Japanese can make better sense of your typing.
Cheers, I feel better now but there is no solution.

Japanese flag week?

[MD]

Japanese flag week?
You lost me there Boomer somewhere in the translation? Might have to tell you to 'be quite in the cheap seats'
Just read another cock up. 'hes bringing them in...' (intended message was 'He's bringing ...' Instead we get some new name for a bloke called Hes. Must be a friend of Les Mills or Des O'Connor. Get it right people

[boomer]

lol MD. You be calm and i'll be quite :D

Japanese flag week = rag week!?

[MSTRS]

Japanese flag week?
What the hell is 'im' to start a sentence (I'm, by the way) the list goes on.
What the hell is 'im' to start a sentence (I'm, by the way)? The list goes on.
:nya: corrected:msn-wink:

[MikeL]

Who would have thought that a thread on the English language (in a motorcycle forum!) could arouse such passionate debate? Or is it still the silly season, with all you people sitting bored at work?
As a linguist of long standing I had come to accept the immutable indifference of the average kiwi to all matters of language (his own and others'). Perhaps I was wrong...