The grammarian your mother warned you about

I wonder if it's possible to conduct a serious discussion here. That's what this thread is intended to be: a discussion about grammar, punctuation, spelling and usage - those things that make English what it is. There are actually some of us who still care about such things, so please spare us your snarky, semi-literate, uneducated comments like "who cares, so long as I'm understood," and "what difference does it make?" It makes a great deal of difference, actually, whether you realize it or not.

Let's begin with a few questions. When, for example, did the noun "loan" become a verb? We now "loan" things. What was wrong with lending them?

Another: when did "persons" replace "people" in usage? Does "persons" mean something different?

Speaking of replacements, it seems we're no longer allowed to have problems, only "issues." When did that happen? And why?

And when did "dollars" take the place of "money"? Apparently, we no longer attempt to accumulate money, we save dollars. Is the meaning different?

I recall about 15 years or so ago, reading one of Lord Kilpatrick's columns (James Kilpatrick, presidential speechwriter and essayist) in which he said that it is now acceptable to split infinitives. Sorry, but I don't buy that. It may be common, but splitting infinitives is still wrong in my book. (Of course, I recognize that I may not have the only book on the subject, which, really, is the reason for this thread.)

I look forward to your thoughts.


I'm not a real grammar snob, but I do wonder about these things from time to time. I normally write in the way I would talk, so sentence structure goes down the tubes quickly.
(cue Carlin: What tubes? You ever seen any tubes? And why is there always more than one tube? And where do they go?)

As for lending and loaning, I've always felt that loaning has more to do with objects (a book on loan), while lending has more to do with money (can you lend me five?). Somebody mentioned nuances, there's my take on that one.

Persons and people, there's another. IMO, not that it amounts to much, persons has more to do with the physical manifestation of a body (there were no illegal substances to be found on his person), and people is just the idea of a body (imagine all the people :) ). No hard rules about those I guess. Someone else said that 'persons' is outdated. I suppose I agree.

I don't really agree about problems vs. issues. Most people I know say "what the (insert expletive) is your problem?" Not, "what's your issue?"

Hmmm... Money and dollars... I only use 'dollars' when referring to a specific amount. Money is money. I save money, I don't save dollars. I might 'save a few dollars', but like I said, that's an amount.

I have never given thought to splitting infinitives, but looking it up, there's some merit. You can't have Star Trek going boldly without splitting...

Sooo... there's my two cents (I can spare them, since I'm apparently saving dollars :D).
 
<snip>

There's a book that Jehoram recommended to me whose name escapes me. It was about how the English language has evolved and changed despite all the machinations of the authors, lexicographers, editors, and pendants who sought to preserve it in what they considered its pristine purity. I hope he reads this thread and can furnish the name of that book. It was a good read. (Yes, "read" is a noun.)
Was it "Mother Tongue" by Bill Bryson?
Wonderful read. :)
 
I wonder if it's possible to conduct a serious discussion here. That's what this thread is intended to be: a discussion about grammar, punctuation, spelling and usage - those things that make English what it is. There are actually some of us who still care about such things, so please spare us your snarky, semi-literate, uneducated comments like "who cares, so long as I'm understood," and "what difference does it make?" It makes a great deal of difference, actually, whether you realize it or not.

Let's begin with a few questions. When, for example, did the noun "loan" become a verb? We now "loan" things. What was wrong with lending them?

Another: when did "persons" replace "people" in usage? Does "persons" mean something different?

Speaking of replacements, it seems we're no longer allowed to have problems, only "issues." When did that happen? And why?

And when did "dollars" take the place of "money"? Apparently, we no longer attempt to accumulate money, we save dollars. Is the meaning different?

I recall about 15 years or so ago, reading one of Lord Kilpatrick's columns (James Kilpatrick, presidential speechwriter and essayist) in which he said that it is now acceptable to split infinitives. Sorry, but I don't buy that. It may be common, but splitting infinitives is still wrong in my book. (Of course, I recognize that I may not have the only book on the subject, which, really, is the reason for this thread.)

I look forward to your thoughts.

According to this, "loan" has been a noun for about 800 years. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/loan?s=t

"Persons" is the correct word when one is referring to individuals, such as: "There were two persons ahead of me." "People means a group, such as: "There were a lot of people ahead of me."

Ending a sentence with a preposition is alright when the alternative sounds silly, such as "...up with which I will not put." Modifiers can sometimes look like prepositions. "I will see this through." is proper because the last word is an adverb modifying the verb.

I split infinitives when I want to add emphasis. "To go boldly" is not as strong as "to boldly go." "I don't want to go." is not as emphatic as "I want to NOT go."

ETA: I don't know if you noticed or not, but the thread title ends in a preposition. Should it say "I am the grammarian about whom you mother warned you?" That actually sounds rather prissy. :eek:
 
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Yeah, but I've never been able to find the 'Input' button. My keyboard has an 'Enter' key, but no 'Input' button. :) Also I've noticed that some instructions call for you hit any key but I can't find the 'any' key either. :D

Actually, some of the old punch card machines had an "Input" key. So did the consoles on the old IBM 360.

And your keyboard does have an "Any" key. You just have to look for it.

Keyboard-anykey.jpg
 
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Why can't the English Learn How to Speak?

Oh, and it's 'garahge'. Lavatory not toilet (a toilet is something you make). Napkin not serviette. Scone is pronounce "s'gone", NOT ""scoan". 'How do you do?', not 'pleased to meet you' (because, as my wonderful grandmother explained to me, 'one never knows if one will be pleased to meet someone until long after one has met them'. Mind you, she also loathed Princess Diana because she 'spoke like a shop-girl'. I never asked her what sort of shops she frequented where the staff spoke like the daughter of an Earl...). Wireless not radio, glass or looking glass not mirror. "Phone" and "bus" are acceptable as abbreviations provided one remembers to denote them as such by an apostrophe...

Yes, it's absurd snobbery and not to be taken seriously. It's also fun.

Some pronunciations, of course, go full circle. If you need someone to speak up, saying "What" is rather common. Lower middle class English people, recently arrived from the working class and wishing to distinguish themselves, will insist on saying, "I beg your pardon?" This, in turn, infuriates members of the middle middle classes, who see this as frightfully below the salt, and will say, "Excuse me?" Those in the rarified echelons of the upper middle classes look down on this expression too, and will simply say, "Sorry?" And, at the very top of the social system, the aristocracy, assured of their place and not needing to prove anything to anyone, will in turn simply say, "What?" (They also traditionally drop the 'g' in 'hunting, shooting and fishing', though this is rarer nowadays.)

Ah me, O tempora o mores, eheu fugaces, etc, etc. Fings ain't what they used to be.
 
It can be said ga-rah-ge, or garridge. Both are right in context, but the use of the wrong one to the wrong people can diminish your apparent social status.

That may depend upon whether you put your car away in the Garridge as you went into the house, or left it in the G'rahge for a repair or service.

Bramblethorn, so well said. Really. I'm swooning a bit.

Agreed, but I'm still dizzy from an English lesson given by an Antipodean.

Actually, some of the old punch card machines had an "Input" key. So did the consoles on the old IBM 360.

And you keyboard does have an "Any" key. You just have to look for it.

Keyboard-anykey.jpg

Oh, magic.
I used to use: "Type your name, then press the ENTER key"
:)
 
Oh, magic.
I used to use: "Type your name, then press the ENTER key"
:)

Actually as programming languages evolved the ENTER key was replaced by the TAB key so you could tab around the form you were entering data. A tab order was defined on the form and whether you pressed ENTER or TAB that is where the cursor went.

When you were finished you pressed the SAVE button on the screen with you mouse pointer. Or as it evolved again, the SUBMIT button.
 
Actually as programming languages evolved the ENTER key was replaced by the TAB key so you could tab around the form you were entering data. A tab order was defined on the form and whether you pressed ENTER or TAB that is where the cursor went.

When you were finished you pressed the SAVE button on the screen with you mouse pointer. Or as it evolved again, the SUBMIT button.

This reminded me of the following from the wonderful Douglas Adams:

'Ford flipped the switch which he saw was now marked ``Mode Execute Ready'' instead of the now old-fashioned ``Access Standby'' which had so long ago replaced the appallingly stone-aged ``Off''.'
 
There's a book that Jehoram recommended to me whose name escapes me. It was about how the English language has evolved and changed despite all the machinations of the authors, lexicographers, editors, and pendants who sought to preserve it in what they considered its pristine purity. I hope he reads this thread and can furnish the name of that book. It was a good read. (Yes, "read" is a noun.)

Your wish is my command.

The book is Our Marvelous Native Tongue: The Life and Times of the English Language by Robert Claiborne. I don't know if it's still in print. Better than Bryson's books, better than The Story of English. It has several reviews on the Amazon web site, all glowing, and for good reason. I wish I still had my copy. I loaned it to somebody years ago and never got it back. Time to log on to Bibliofind...
 
Actually, some of the old punch card machines had an "Input" key. So did the consoles on the old IBM 360.

And your keyboard does have an "Any" key. You just have to look for it.

Keyboard-anykey.jpg

Ah yes, I had forgotten about the keypunch machine and console. :eek:

And the keyboard with an 'any' key? Priceless! :D
 
Bibliofind here I come!

Why can't the English Learn How to Speak?

Oh, and it's 'garahge'. Lavatory not toilet (a toilet is something you make). Napkin not serviette. Scone is pronounce "s'gone", NOT ""scoan". 'How do you do?', not 'pleased to meet you' (because, as my wonderful grandmother explained to me, 'one never knows if one will be pleased to meet someone until long after one has met them'. Mind you, she also loathed Princess Diana because she 'spoke like a shop-girl'. I never asked her what sort of shops she frequented where the staff spoke like the daughter of an Earl...). Wireless not radio, glass or looking glass not mirror. "Phone" and "bus" are acceptable as abbreviations provided one remembers to denote them as such by an apostrophe...

Yes, it's absurd snobbery and not to be taken seriously. It's also fun.

Some pronunciations, of course, go full circle. If you need someone to speak up, saying "What" is rather common. Lower middle class English people, recently arrived from the working class and wishing to distinguish themselves, will insist on saying, "I beg your pardon?" This, in turn, infuriates members of the middle middle classes, who see this as frightfully below the salt, and will say, "Excuse me?" Those in the rarified echelons of the upper middle classes look down on this expression too, and will simply say, "Sorry?" And, at the very top of the social system, the aristocracy, assured of their place and not needing to prove anything to anyone, will in turn simply say, "What?" (They also traditionally drop the 'g' in 'hunting, shooting and fishing', though this is rarer nowadays.)

Ah me, O tempora o mores, eheu fugaces, etc, etc. Fings ain't what they used to be.
Delightful comment! :rose: How does one pronounce it-- "lavat-ree" or "Lava-tory?" :D


I love the "f" for "th." That must be a cockney holdover, am I right? The late and lamented Ian Drury made it impossible to miss, and he WAS the East End... lately Damon Albam of the Gorillaz-- and he was born in Whitechapel. And that soft 'r'.

"Wheh's Nohf, from Heah?"
 
Bibliofind here I come!


Delightful comment! :rose: How does one pronounce it-- "lavat-ree" or "Lava-tory?" :D


I love the "f" for "th." That must be a cockney holdover, am I right? The late and lamented Ian Drury made it impossible to miss, and he WAS the East End... lately Damon Albam of the Gorillaz-- and he was born in Whitechapel. And that soft 'r'.

"Wheh's Nohf, from Heah?"

Today's The Times has an article about people going to speech coaches to lose their Received Pronunciation (= Upper Class) accents. Cut glass 1940s and 50s BBC accents are passé.

Received Pronunciation (RP) was the standard for radio announcers and the BBC insisted that every serious news bulletin was in RP. Now it is only used ironically.
 
Actually as programming languages evolved the ENTER key was replaced by the TAB key so you could tab around the form you were entering data. A tab order was defined on the form and whether you pressed ENTER or TAB that is where the cursor went.

When you were finished you pressed the SAVE button on the screen with you mouse pointer. Or as it evolved again, the SUBMIT button.

The TAB key has been around for a very long time. When I first learned to type, on a Royal manual, I used the TAB key to indent for paragraphs and for preparing tables. My laptop has a TAB key too, and it's used in completing forms.
 
The TAB key has been around for a very long time. When I first learned to type, on a Royal manual, I used the TAB key to indent for paragraphs and for preparing tables. My laptop has a TAB key too, and it's used in completing forms.

Yes it has. But its true use didn't come into being until windows or windows like programming came into being. Prior to windows the data collection was done by printing on the screen what was expected to be collected followed by a colon. The cursor sat there until you typed something. To go to the next data item you pressed the enter or return key. If you pressed the tab key nothing happened. It was a character that was not processed by the program.

Box, we're talking computer programming, not typing on an antiquated typewriter, which I too typed on. I learned to type on an old Royal in high school.
 
In his younger days, my father (who only died a few weeks ago) could usually tell where a person had grown up by the way they pronounced certain words. This didn't mean that one group of people pronounced the word correctly and every other group pronounced it incorrectly, it just meant that every group, every region, had their own usage. In the north of England, a room tends to be a 'room'; in the south it is often a 'r'mm'. Neither is incorrect.

Oh, and a preposition is something we are quite happy to end a sentence with. :)

I saw a book a few years back that had maps of different usages across England: "hedgehog" vs "hedge-pig" vs "urchin" is my favourite.

Australia has far less regional variation per se. There are a few clues, like "port" vs "suitcase", but usually I'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between Perth and Sydney. Most of the dialect variation is about rural vs urban, social class, and education level. It's something I struggle with when writing in US settings - does my New Englander sound like a Californian?

Bramblethorn, so well said. Really. I'm swooning a bit.

Aw, shucks :) Tho' I'd be so much duller without Google...
 
Delightful comment! :rose: How does one pronounce it-- "lavat-ree" or "Lava-tory?" :D

The first, certainly. The second sounds too much as if one were loving a Tory (informal name for a member of the Conservative Party), which would never do.

Thank you for your kind words. And the f/th elision is very common London and elsewhere, as you suggest.
 
Received Pronunciation (RP) was the standard for radio announcers and the BBC insisted that every serious news bulletin was in RP. Now it is only used ironically.

Those outside Britain - and even some inside - may not have seen these amusing sketches, based on the conceit of current London teen slang delivered in impeccable cut-glass RP accents.
 
Bibliofind here I come!


Delightful comment! :rose: How does one pronounce it-- "lavat-ree" or "Lava-tory?" :D


I think it depends upon the person you're speaking to and how carefully you do it.

'Lavatree' is fine as a throw-away word in a busy sentence.
Lava_tory for more formal speech, or to foreigners.

These day, it's more likely to be "the Bog" or possibly "the Crapper".
[this latter from a sanitary engineer of that name].
 
It's something I struggle with when writing in US settings - does my New Englander sound like a Californian?

Wikipedia - Regional Vocabularies of USA English helps a bit, but isn't all-inclusive. For instance, in the USA South, 'coke' refers to any soda drink -- but unmentioned is that, in some areas, 'dope' refers to any cola drink.

Are also very localized usages. A large state hospital for the retarded is located in the Spadra district east of Los Angeles, and within just a few miles of there, 'spad' was preferred to moron, idiot, or imbecile when name-calling. "You fucking spad!" (Spad easily morphs into spaz, of course.) In that space-time nexus, youths pronounced 'choice' as 'choss' (rhymes with loss), as in, "Hey man, dig that choss Chevy!"

Another regionalism, from the eastern MidWest I think, is pronouncing 'wash' as 'worsh', so the first USA president was George Worshington. Sort of the opposite of turning Worchester into Wooster.
 
Wikipedia - Regional Vocabularies of USA English helps a bit, but isn't all-inclusive. For instance, in the USA South, 'coke' refers to any soda drink -- but unmentioned is that, in some areas, 'dope' refers to any cola drink.

Are also very localized usages. A large state hospital for the retarded is located in the Spadra district east of Los Angeles, and within just a few miles of there, 'spad' was preferred to moron, idiot, or imbecile when name-calling. "You fucking spad!" (Spad easily morphs into spaz, of course.) In that space-time nexus, youths pronounced 'choice' as 'choss' (rhymes with loss), as in, "Hey man, dig that choss Chevy!"

Another regionalism, from the eastern MidWest I think, is pronouncing 'wash' as 'worsh', so the first USA president was George Worshington. Sort of the opposite of turning Worchester into Wooster.

I never even knew that a Spadra district even existed anywhere near East LA where I was raised and live now. But sure enough. learn something new...

"spaz" however derives from "spastic" as in "Don't have a spaz attack, man, what a bummer."
 
I never even knew that a Spadra district even existed anywhere near East LA where I was raised and live now. But sure enough. learn something new...
I said Spadra was east of LA. I didn't say how FAR east. It's between Pomona and Walnut, near Cal Poly. Yeah, home of the mental retreads...
 
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