Language matters! And don't you forget it.

[Ursa major]

It's kind of frustrating (which I have never pronounced with a -th-incidentally)

I'm pretty sure that thrusteighting is the activity in which the larger members of the crew in The Boat Race are involved.

And keeping to sport: those not interested in international rugby union may not know that the nickname of Billy Twelvetrees (the England centre) is 36.

 

[ratsy]

Hospital with a K? I've never heard that one!

The ones that bug me the most and I hear them all the time are..Expecially instead of especially and supposebly instead of supposedly.

I think I've screwed up the lay - lie one because when I write I just throw words down on the computer and when I go back over to edit I sometimes miss those kind of issues.

But that being said, none of these things REALLY bug me that much. Sometimes I'm just amazed that humans can speak at all

 

[Ransonwrites]

I think I've screwed up the lay - lie one because when I write I just throw words down on the computer and when I go back over to edit I sometimes miss those kind of issues.

Ah ha! And there we have another classic!

Rant Number 3.

'Issues' instead of 'problems'.

The OED defines it thus:

issue, noun, 1 an important topic for debate or resolution. 2 the act of issuing.

problem, noun, 1 an unpleasant and harmful matter needing to be dealt with and overcome.

Client: "Can you help me with this issue?"

Tech Support: "I don't know: who gave it to you?"

Client: "Er... I don't know. Is it a virus?"

Tech Support: "Oh, that kind of issue! The virus! What a fascinating topic for debate! Did you know that doctors are constantly prescribing antibacterial drugs for viral infections, but that these drugs have no effect? Do you think doctors should do this?"

Client: "Er..."

Tech Support: "The problem is that by giving the patient what they want, they're also increasing antibacterial resistance, which will potentially give rise to more super bugs. What do you think, now?"

Client: "I think I have an issue..."

Tech Support: "Indeed, let's discuss it some more..."

I do not call Technical Support to debate an important topic. I call them because I want them to get on with their jobs by dealing with and overcoming my problem!

Problem/issue has, it seems, gone the way of lie/lay and affect/effect/impact in that issue has almost completely supplanted problem in modern speech.

Here I shall recall my discourse on the origin of dumbing down by saying that I believe issue has transplanted problem because of a general reluctance to openly admit that there is "a problem". Problem as a word exemplifies the situation with the word lie: people don't want to say it because it's a bad thing. They particularly don't want to use the word problem for, in my view, two reasons:

1. a manager will hear 'problem' and think 'blame' (i.e. you, the employee).

2. product retailers would far rather you report your problems using a softer word, like issue, which they no doubt believe will have a psychological effect (sorry, a psychological impact) on the customer's perception of their situation - that is to say, an issue is not as bad as a problem.

2.a. as a result, the entire I.T. industry now calls everything an 'issue'.

This both grieves me and vexes me. I grieve because we live in an age in which everyone is so afraid of consequences that they cannot summon up the courage to openly call a thing what it is. I am vexed because the the language has, once again, been impoverished, this time by crass commercial motives seeking to manipulate the way I think.

N.B. I have now had caffeine but have observed no measurable improvement in the world.

 

[ratsy]

I think you just took ranting to a whole new level of neurotic!

 

[JonH]

1. a manager will hear 'problem' and think 'blame' (i.e. you, the employee).

2. product retailers would far rather you report your problems using a softer word, like issue, which they no doubt believe will have a psychological effect (sorry, a psychological impact) on the customer's perception of their situation - that is to say, an issue is not as bad as a problem.

2.a. as a result, the entire I.T. industry now calls everything an 'issue'.

This both grieves me and vexes me. I grieve because we live in an age in which everyone is so afraid of consequences that they cannot summon up the courage to openly call a thing what it is. I am vexed because the the language has, once again, been impoverished, this time by crass commercial motives seeking to manipulate the way I think.

Of course they don't want to admit blame first off, because they want to solve the problem independently of who is to blame. The other dividing line is between a bug and a feature. Is it not working as it was designed, or was it designed to fit needs other than your own?

It all gets too fraught, so they go mealy mouthed and rather than tell the complainer he or she is a moron who shouldn't be allowed within twenty-three miles of a computer, they call it an issue.

N.B. I have now had caffeine but have observed no measurable improvement in the world.

Try cannabis, or sex. If both these fail don't call me. I'm not a help line, and if pushed I won't tell you it's an issue.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

I might as well list some of my pet peeves. I don't know if these are limited to the United States, or if they occur in other places where the English language is used.

1. Learn the difference between "its" and "it's."

2. While we're on the subject, don't use an apostrophe to indicate a plural (with the exception of the rare cases where this is appropriate.) I'm talking about things like "Apple's for sale."

3. Don't use "share" when you just mean "tell."

4. Stop using the word "awesome" all the time. This has gotten really bad lately. I can't give someone my food order without hearing that word, used with no emotional expression at all, where a simple "OK" would enough. It has gotten so bad that I have heard people reply to a simple request with "awesome awesome," as if the Pavlovian reflex to use that word has been so strongly triggered that the person had to say it twice.

 

[Laeraneth]

Oh I mistakenly type it's in place of its (and vice versa) all the damn time. It's another one of those things that I KNOW is totally wrong, but it just happens while I'm typing away at full pelt.

It makes my editing both annoying and productive. Annoyed because I always have to clear up my mess; productive, because I know I've improved it each time!

 

[HareBrain]

product retailers would far rather you report your problems using a softer word, like issue, which they no doubt believe will have a psychological effect (sorry, a psychological impact) on the customer's perception of their situation - that is to say, an issue is not as bad as a problem.

You've made me wonder if similar thinking lies behind the use of "reach out to" for "ask", which seems to be epidemic in the States**.

"We want the client to make changes to the software, but rather than risk looking as though we're making demands on them, we'll 'reach out to' them about it and thereby give the impression that we're acting out of compassion or empathy."

And while we're ranting: waiters, please don't say "*not* a problem" in such a tone as to suggest a major act of self-sacrifice when thanked for bringing the brown sauce.

**(or one office in Seattle, anyway)

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Brings in vat of camomile tea and starts attaching drips. There, there, there...

I hate superflous descriotions. An eel has just been described as enigmatic on a show I'm watching. Honestly. Who got the eel's pov?

Takes large slurp.

 

[TheDustyZebra]

Springs, are you sure you didn't bring the tea just to go with the popcorn?

Personally, I dislike being called a Nazi just because I think language should be used properly and things should be spelled correctly.

I'll add "looking to" and "eyes/eyed/eyeing" to the list of news-created peeves. "Gov eyes lands bill", "sheriff looking to add jobs", etc. And recently, I suspect due to Twitter, TV news has started using "presser" in actual sentences as well as headline scrolls. Is it too hard to say "press conference"?

Oh, and I have to admit to being an offender on Victoria's list, because I say "awesome" all the time. And I love "awesome sauce".

 

[Dave]

I thought this was going to be about apostrophes again (I think we did that to death!) but there is a pub that has re-opened near me. It used to be called The Grace. WG Grace, the cricketer, is buried in the cemetery next to it, and he played locally, sometimes against Arthur Conan Doyle.

Anyway, it has re-opened and is now called Graces. As we were passing I said to my wife that it makes no sense. She has someone at work that is fanatical about apostrophes, and said, "Oh! No! Not apostrophes!"

I'm not fanatical about punctuation, but it doesn't make any sense. If it is a bar owned by a woman called Grace it should be Grace's. Graces are something you say after dinner! But really it should still be The Grace.

As you can see, I always have my coffee!

 

[TheDustyZebra]

That guy doesn't have any apostrophes because the stores around him used them all for their apple's and banana's.

 

[Bick]

There's nothing wrong with use of the phrase "impact on".

 

[TheDustyZebra]

I'm actually puzzled by that one, and figured it must be a UK thing. Here, it's always "impact" without the "on". "How will this impact this other thing?"

I hate those as much as all the "impact on" things are hated by others. It should be "have an impact on", or "what will the impact be", not just "it will impact".

 

[Darth Angelus]

I am not too bothered by the use of "issue" instead of "problem", because I think it softens the blow a bit, which can be appropriate when the matter is not too severe, and "problem" would sound over the top.
About "impact on", I don't really have a strong opinion, although I think it could be slightly inelegant, especially if overused.


These things annoy me...

1. When people mess up "your" and "you're" in written language, anologous with "its" and "it's". In both cases, the words sound the same in spoken language, which I would think is the reason behind the confusion, but the difference in meaning is so obvious that I struggle to see how people can miss it.

"Your" is the possessive form ("your home", "your car" etc.). It is the equivalent of "my" (or "its").

"You're" is "you are". It is the equivalent of "I'm" (or "it's").


2. When people replace "...that big a..." or "...that big of a..." with "...that bigger..." in written language, for example "It is not that bigger difference.".

Using the comparative form of the adjective here makes no sense at all.


3. Any word or expression used too repetitively is annoying, and makes the user look short on vocabulary (which may very well be the case). It can be that the word or expression is a favourite that the person use every other sentence, or simply that they stack up the same word several times for emphasis ("You are stupid stupid stupid!!!!!").

 

[Bick]

While we're on the subject of common mistakes that drive us nuts...

I can't believe how often I see people write 'loose' when they mean 'lose'. A published Chronite made this very mistake on these boards today (no I certainly wont name and shame). It makes me want to chuck the laptop out the window.

 

[Susan Boulton]

I must be the odd one out here, but I can't get worked up about mistakes. Written or spoken.

Besides, I make a lot of them. Be a bit of the, pot calling the kettle (mumbles word in J Clarkson manner, as it might be considered politically incorrect) to pull someone up for doing, what I do.

Written ones I correct when I am editing, if I notice the little b****rs. Or the editor does and I hit my head with my hand. Most likely a few in this piece.

Spoken mistakes and the misusing of words, well... It's the spice of life. Gordon Bennett, it would be a very boring country if we all spoke with the rounded vowels and syntax of 1930's BBC English.

As a writer I have found that listening to how people speak,their mistakes, regional inflection, pitch and tone all help me to create a character.

In my novel Hand of Glory, the whole thing would fall apart if I had not used both regional and class inflections of the period. i.e. remembering how my grandparents spoke. (And my hubby's grandparents, they were very middle-class of their time)

 

[Phyrebrat]

I want to beat people with sticks who order food/coffee etc by asking 'can I get' instead of 'can I/may I have'. I am incredibly sarcastic when people say this to me ('no, I can't let you do that, I have to get it for you,')

Another annoyance is when people say 'yourself' or 'myself' as some quasi polite way of saying 'you' or 'me'.

The use of 'like' in conversation drives me batty! 'I was like ....', 'So, like...', 'I'm like...' JUST STOP.

And finally, the use of 'feel' instead of 'think'. It's like an apology for having an opinion. Often feel can be an emotional thought but it's used in that context too often, and incorrectly.

I have many of these and could rant all morning. I don't drink coffee but I have made a pot of tea

I think that a lot of these are American affectations that we've picked up on this side of the pond.

pH

 

[Jo Zebedee]

While we're on the subject of common mistakes that drive us nuts...

I can't believe how often I see people write 'loose' when they mean 'lose'. A published Chronite made this very mistake on these boards today

I think you may as well have named and shamed - it took me about 40 seconds to find the post given how few active published authors we have. It's a pity that's what stuck out in such a well-thought out post.

no I certainly wont name and shame).

And yet it's so easy to make a typo in forum posts where we type directly to a screen without editing as we would a book.

 

[Dave]

And yet it's so easy to make a typo in forum posts where we type directly to a screen without editing as we would a book.

And you cannot edit after a minute either, so I trnd to give peoplw leeway on minor typo miatakes.