talkmagic.co.uk

Marvell wrote:

abraxus wrote:Illness if this was a different typeface, if you really wanted to know..I could make a list for you? but I don't think it's warranted...

For instance, using the form "if" at the beginning of a sentence is not ambiguous because there is no word LF.

Point taken Marveii.

yeah, i took the meaning of ambiguous to mean in this instance, that you wouldn't be sure of what word you were reading, rather than confusing it with another particular word...

but that's the beauty of the word ambiguous...but, not at all axiomatic...

abraxus wrote:no need to apologise, but I've noticed you really do love yer lists!

I like to be ... complete

PS Now you're not using any capitals!

good...i also put those three annoying full stops where i would naturally pause for breath whilst talking...plus I'm asthmatic, so I'm thinking of incorporating some wheezing too...i might stick with # in indicate a slight wheeze...or maybe just this, but in blue...

At least you only use a three point ellipsis.

but never an interrobang...except the Bannon version..

Another that annoys me is when people say "math" instead of maths.
Particularly when English people say "Do the math".

It says to me that watch too much cr*ppy US films and tv....

What annoys me is that the yanks felt the need to change the spelling of a few words in the first place. Honestly, why didn't they just leave it be? Something to do with proving their independence no doubt.

As we all know, the US government still pays rent to the English crown for the use of Manhatten. Did you guys not know that?

Like our version of English has not evolved.

Marvell wrote:Like our version of English has not evolved.

Sayeth thee.

I'm OK with the natural and appropriate evolution of the language but so many changes have been enforced by advertising, hard commercialism, and the pursuit of profit. Has anyone else heard the Cadbury's radio advertisement which uses complete babble speak? Kids stand no chance of learning proper English if one of their favourite chocolates uses rubbish wording in their promotion. There are posters on my route to work which state 'If it was possible to….' Obviously no knowledge of the subjunctive 'If it were possible'. Three places on our Industrial Estate have "Good's Inwards" - good inward's what for crying out loud? One of our customers is "The Plumb Center" which would be OK in the US but not in the UK. Perversely I anglicised their name on our accounts system to Plumb Centre and they moaned because I had misspelled their name! Fortunately we don’t see many of the old cigarette adverts for "Malborough - where the flavor is". Apologies for all our US readers but this is the sort of thing which really annoys at times !

Mandrake wrote: "The Plumb Center"

And shouldn't that be The Plumbing Centre? A plumb centre would be where one would buy...plumbs. Surely?

I don't mind people in the US using their 'junior' version of English, but when Brits start saying 'movie' instead of film and all this talk to the hand nonsense it gets my goat.
It's like a gold-medal winning athlete slicing of one of his legs.
Why?

All the colourful expressions and metaphors used in the language are disappearing only to be replaced with awful quotes from films and kids programmes like the Simpsons. It's only people like Peter Kay that are keeping these colourful expressions alive.

Also, innendo has gone out of the window. The days when it was impolite to swear in public or on television people had to find interesting metaphors for things which were funny in themself. (Jimmy riddle, etc)

Now there's no need for this as you can say c*nt during CITV these days. (Or near enough)

Also when a television series has a run of episodes it's a SERIES.
A season is either Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter, hence 'Summer Season Comedy Spectacular with TV's Paul Shane.' etc......

well, the thing i love about the English language, is that we're one of the few sponge like tongues...we don't translate certain words that we absorb from other languages...

croissant for example, and i think the only word the French have not translated over is "le weekend"...the French have a small group of people to weed out slang and newer wordings and such like apparently...

good in one way, but then in another way, it makes it overly fussy and stiff (matron), and not a real living and breathing language...

its one of the many things to love about England/Britain, is we're such a hybrid creed of people, and it's reflected in our language too...

however, anyone who can't be bothered to at least attempt to spell things correctly, and just uses txt-spk should be shot at dawn...

i actually love slang, especially Scottish slang...

I love British slang, especially cockney and northern expressions but the constant use of atrocious American slang from people who spend their time watching cr*p films riles me.