Odd use of the word 'there'

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#1409556 20-Oct-2015 06:15

rhy7s:
jonathan18: ...

And then there's 'youse' as in 'youse guys' - that literally makes my blood boil.

It is easy to understand the requirement for a second-person plural personal pronoun, as ye has gone by the wayside. There are a number of forms in related languages that are pretty close to 'youse'.

Enlighten me, how is it easy to understand why the second person plural ye has gone by the wayside?
I find the equivalent words in Spanish and Maori used daily.

Kiwifruta

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#1409558 20-Oct-2015 06:23

Jaxson: Lol reminds me of geographically challenged people referring to "over there", whilst pointing in the direction they have in their minds, which often beers no resemblance to the direction it's actually in from their present location.

Examples are "outside the shop and turn left" to which you require more information to complete the task, such as "standing outside the shop, facing the road, turn left and head up..."

Not being gender specific here...

A common navigational instruction I hear from one gender but not the other is "turn here", where there are side roads to both the left and the right.

Kiwifruta

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#1409559 20-Oct-2015 06:33

eracode:
Grating use of the word 'amount' as in "A large amount of people ...". Surely it should be "number of people". Amount just sounds wrong in the context of people. Amount is for things or money. Maybe I'm wrong on this one but it irks me nonetheless.

I'm getting too old and grumpy, eh bro?

Similarily, those signs at supermarket express lanes, 12 items or less.

eracode

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#1409560 20-Oct-2015 07:20

Kiwifruta:
eracode:
Grating use of the word 'amount' as in "A large amount of people ...". Surely it should be "number of people". Amount just sounds wrong in the context of people. Amount is for things or money. Maybe I'm wrong on this one but it irks me nonetheless.

I'm getting too old and grumpy, eh bro?

Similarily, those signs at supermarket express lanes, 12 items or less.

Saves on signwriting costs compared to the correct version. Misleading anyway because when I go to our local Countdown and want to use one of those checkouts, they're often all closed. Another source of my life full of irritations.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

andrew027

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#1409586 20-Oct-2015 08:38

eracode:
Kiwifruta:
eracode:
Grating use of the word 'amount' as in "A large amount of people ...". Surely it should be "number of people". Amount just sounds wrong in the context of people. Amount is for things or money. Maybe I'm wrong on this one but it irks me nonetheless.

I'm getting too old and grumpy, eh bro?

Similarily, those signs at supermarket express lanes, 12 items or less.

Saves on signwriting costs compared to the correct version. Misleading anyway because when I go to our local Countdown and want to use one of those checkouts, they're often all closed. Another source of my life full of irritations.

They would save more signwriting costs by representing it mathematically as ≤12 items but then ≤ is "less than or equal to" not "fewer than or equal to", so still grammatically incorrect.

As someone who writes for a living, I know language evolves and we can't stand in the way of its progress. English will change with exposure to cultural and international influences whether we want it to or not, so we may as well accept it. For example, I don't mind txt abbreviations in a text message, or even an email, if it is between friends and they are trying to convey a simple message quickly and concisely. I will txt my teenage daughter with things like c u @ home l8r, txt when u r on bus but I don't want to read an email from a supplier written that way - I certainly wouldn't write one - and a front page Dominion Post article written that way would make my blood boil. Words that were originally introduced as slang have been added to dictionaries and are now a part of mainstream language. I have three rules: (1) Spelling is important - pronounciation less so as accents, regional dialects, socio-economic (therefore education) levels, can all play a part. (2) Grammar is important, and incorrect grammar often really annoys me - but I'm flexible when the meaning is still clear without it. (3) The medium and style should suit the intended audience.

mdooher

Hmm, what to write...
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#1409589 20-Oct-2015 08:43

Kiwifruta:
eracode:
Grating use of the word 'amount' as in "A large amount of people ...". Surely it should be "number of people". Amount just sounds wrong in the context of people. Amount is for things or money. Maybe I'm wrong on this one but it irks me nonetheless.

I'm getting too old and grumpy, eh bro?

Similarily, those signs at supermarket express lanes, 12 items or less.

I have noticed that almost all Australian TV advertisements use the word "less" when they mean "fewer" and I am wondering if this is reason we have seen the "12 items or less" signage proliferate in our supermarkets

Is it an Aussie thing? Don't they know the difference?

Matthew

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#1409635 20-Oct-2015 09:31

andrew027:
eracode:
Kiwifruta:
eracode:
Grating use of the word 'amount' as in "A large amount of people ...". Surely it should be "number of people". Amount just sounds wrong in the context of people. Amount is for things or money. Maybe I'm wrong on this one but it irks me nonetheless.

I'm getting too old and grumpy, eh bro?

Similarily, those signs at supermarket express lanes, 12 items or less.

Saves on signwriting costs compared to the correct version. Misleading anyway because when I go to our local Countdown and want to use one of those checkouts, they're often all closed. Another source of my life full of irritations.

They would save more signwriting costs by representing it mathematically as ≤12 items but then ≤ is "less than or equal to" not "fewer than or equal to", so still grammatically incorrect.

I don't think using maths will help when most people seem to struggle with the limits written in english.

Maybe just a picture of a crocodile going to eat the 12...

Rikkitic

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#1409661 20-Oct-2015 09:46

mdooher:
Kiwifruta:
eracode:
Grating use of the word 'amount' as in "A large amount of people ...". Surely it should be "number of people". Amount just sounds wrong in the context of people. Amount is for things or money. Maybe I'm wrong on this one but it irks me nonetheless.

I'm getting too old and grumpy, eh bro?

Similarily, those signs at supermarket express lanes, 12 items or less.

I have noticed that almost all Australian TV advertisements use the word "less" when they mean "fewer" and I am wondering if this is reason we have seen the "12 items or less" signage proliferate in our supermarkets

Is it an Aussie thing? Don't they know the difference?

Have you never seen the Monty Python Woolamaloo University skit? They thought they were exaggerating but actually they were spot-on.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

Kiwifruta

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#1409669 20-Oct-2015 10:02

I have three rules: (1) Spelling is important - pronounciation less so

Pronunciation. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/pronunciation

gzt

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#1409798 20-Oct-2015 13:35

mdooher:
Kiwifruta:
eracode:
Grating use of the word 'amount' as in "A large amount of people ...". Surely it should be "number of people". Amount just sounds wrong in the context of people. Amount is for things or money. Maybe I'm wrong on this one but it irks me nonetheless.

I'm getting too old and grumpy, eh bro?

Similarily, those signs at supermarket express lanes, 12 items or less.

I have noticed that almost all Australian TV advertisements use the word "less" when they mean "fewer" and I am wondering if this is reason we have seen the "12 items or less" signage proliferate in our supermarkets

Is it an Aussie thing? Don't they know the difference?

Seems logical to me. Same as the expression <= 12.

Gordy7

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#1409800 20-Oct-2015 13:38

A few more:
To be honest....
You guys out there....
Cheap price...

Gordy

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#1409877 20-Oct-2015 15:16

Interesting how the perception of bro has changed.

I grew up in low socio-economic are in the Bay or Plenty. Lot's of the Maori kids at my school called each other bro or cuz. As a European if I called a Maori classmate bro or cuz, it was seen as racial taunt.

As to police officers: I find whether c_nstable should be spelled (or pronounced) with an o or u is very much a case by case determination.

Mike

andrew027

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#1410325 21-Oct-2015 09:05

Kiwifruta:
I have three rules: (1) Spelling is important - pronounciation less so

Pronunciation. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/pronunciation

Ouch! That should teach me to be more careful when editing something I had already typed. I started off with a longer version of that sentence then changed how it was written for brevity - unfortunately I didn't change it enough!

Rikkitic

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#1410327 21-Oct-2015 09:09

There are three kinds of people, those who can count and those who cannot.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

andrew027

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#1410332 21-Oct-2015 09:21

Rikkitic: There are three kinds of people, those who can count and those who cannot.

Off topic, but I have to tell this story: I once used this joke/quote in a conversation with a number of people, after making a basic maths error when trying to convert US dollars to NZ dollars in my head. I got as far as "There are three kinds of people..." when my daughter (then 10) said loudly "D!cks, pu$$ies and a$$holes!". Whoops. Somebody had been watching the Team America: World Police DVD without my knowledge!

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