COVID-19 RESOURCES
LIT CAMS (200 Free Tokens)ADULT TOYSVOD MOVIES

A line in the sand?

SamScribble

SamScribble

Yeah, still just a guru
Joined
Oct 23, 2009
Posts
38,861
Fellow writers, I am grumpy.

I have been writing for almost 70 years. In that time, many aspects of the English language and how we use it have changed. As a general rule, I accept these changes – although I would still prefer unique to mean ‘one of a kind’ and anticipate to mean ‘to expect something to happen and take steps to mitigate its effects’. (Anticipating an attack on the left flank and despatching an SAS squadron to deal with it makes sense; anticipating a concert by the Flying Letterboxes …I’m not so sure.)

But today, via a normally reliable news service, I was informed that a young lady had died while face-timing her sister. What!?

I think it’s time that people who care about the language drew a line in the sand.

:)
 
A long time ago I drew a line in the sand on "impact" as a verb. That's been washed out by the tide ever since.
 
There is no nice way to use exploit in a sentence. It literally means : make full use of. Today, I see the word meaning: take advantage of in an unfair way. Should I even draw a line in the sand on that, is it worth it? I’ve already given up on the word “whatever” and the shortening of Okay to OK to “K”. Seriously, the dumbing down of that word irks me, considering o & k are close on the keyboard. I refuse to dumb down my intellect because I’m too lazy to type out a four letter word, okay? Sorry, I’m venting.
🌹Kant👠👠👠
 
I was thinking to draw my line with you since we're all here on the beach...but thought I should check my dictionary first. Turns out 'texting' is a word after all :eek: I suppose language has never really been static though, and serves this day and the people who live in it.

verb [with object] send a text message to: I thought it was fantastic that he took the trouble to text me | (as noun texting) : stricter regulations against texting while driving.
 
SamScribble said:
But today, via a normally reliable news service, I was informed that a young lady had died while face-timing her sister. What!?

I think it’s time that people who care about the language drew a line in the sand.

:)
Click to expand...

I assume you're referring to the awful case that happened a couple of days ago in Melbourne: a student named Aiia Maasarwe was raped and murdered on her way home, attacked while she was on the phone via FaceTime to her sister - who apparently heard the attack without being able to do anything to stop it.

...and you heard that story, and out of all that, the thing that got you "grumpy" was the use of "face-time" as a verb?

I'm going to walk away from this keyboard now, before I say something I might regret.
 
Accurate reporting for a change(she was communicating using the Face-Time app), badly misconstrued from the other side of the world.

I believe they caught the perpetrator, some time last night, but it's a sad thing to happen in a Melbourne street.
 
yukonnights said:
I was thinking to draw my line with you since we're all here on the beach...but thought I should check my dictionary first. Turns out 'texting' is a word after all :eek: I suppose language has never really been static though, and serves this day and the people who live in it.

verb [with object] send a text message to: I thought it was fantastic that he took the trouble to text me | (as noun texting) : stricter regulations against texting while driving.
Click to expand...

electricblue66 said:
Accurate reporting for a change(she was communicating using the Face-Time app), badly misconstrued from the other side of the world.

I believe they caught the perpetrator, some time last night, but it's a sad thing to happen in a Melbourne street.
Click to expand...

It's a sad thing on ANY street.

I like the books of Terry {Pratchett; his Discworld stuff is escapism writ large.
He uses the term 'clacks' in place of 'text'. See 'Going Postal'.
 
I drew a line in the sand and along came the winds and water of change.
 
Kantarii said:
I’ve already given up on the word “whatever” and the shortening of Okay to OK to “K”.
Click to expand...

Fun note, "OK" is actually the older form of the word by over 60 years. https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/ok-okay

OK is more common in writing generally, but okay is more common specifically in fiction. As such, either side of the debate is defensible. My side is totally more right though. OK for life!
 
electricblue66 said:
I believe they caught the perpetrator, some time last night, but it's a sad thing to happen in a Melbourne street.
Click to expand...

Utterly tragic loss. I hope it will not be politicized when it emerges that she was an Israeli and her alleged killer is a 20 year aborigine from Queensland.

Just bloody awful.
 
Last edited:
ishtat said:
Utterly tragic loss. I hope it will not be politicized when the facts that she was an Israeli and her killer was a 20 year old immigrant from somewhere in the same region emerges. Just bloody awful.
Click to expand...

What is your source for this claim? It runs directly contrary to everything I've seen about the alleged attacker.

I sure as hell hope you're not posting unverified speculation as "facts", especially after saying that you don't want this politicised.

edit: I see you corrected your post before I completed my reply, but I'm going to leave this up, because posting that misinformation without checking was a fucking irresponsible thing for you to do.
 
Last edited:
Languages are living things that grow to include new behaviors that didn't exist prior. The act of engaging in a conversation on face-time or interacting with any new technology will get shorthanded. This is just the normal course of events. Text became a verb in most of our life times and has been entered into most dictionaries. We frequently find technical shorthand verbs/adverbs added prior to their entry into any dictionary.

-MM
 
SamScribble said:
Fellow writers, I am grumpy.

I have been writing for almost 70 years. In that time, many aspects of the English language and how we use it have changed. As a general rule, I accept these changes – although I would still prefer unique to mean ‘one of a kind’ and anticipate to mean ‘to expect something to happen and take steps to mitigate its effects’. (Anticipating an attack on the left flank and despatching an SAS squadron to deal with it makes sense; anticipating a concert by the Flying Letterboxes …I’m not so sure.)

But today, via a normally reliable news service, I was informed that a young lady had died while face-timing her sister. What!?

I think it’s time that people who care about the language drew a line in the sand.

:)
Click to expand...

Would you have the same complaint if she had been googling or skypeing?
 
"Face-time" as a verb seems perfectly O.K. to me, just as "fax", "email", and "text" are now perfectly acceptable verbs to express types of communication. Saying "she Face-timed me" is much more elegant than "she corresponded with me via Face-time."

Language is meant to grow and to be elastic. Vocabulary should adapt to the adoption of new technology.

I'm more likely to get my dander up when I see word uses that are obviously wrong or confusing, or where the use doesn't enhance anything. For instance, "impact" isn't necessary, because one can use "affect" instead. But I don't get too worked up about that one, either.

Where vocabulary is concerned, all lines in the sand are going to wash away, eventually.
 
NotWise said:
You gotta appreciate Chloe. It's Old English. I translate it as "Alas, that English. It never stays the same."
Click to expand...

Woo hooo, you got it. Lol. :D Now if the language doesn’t evolve..... FaceTiming is just one more new word, and English takes them from everywhere. Adaptability is the key word here.
 
ChloeTzang said:
Woo hooo, you got it. Lol. :D Now if the language doesn’t evolve..... FaceTiming is just one more new word, and English takes them from everywhere. Adaptability is the key word here.
Click to expand...
Bravo. ;)

This is King Canute and the Tide. Linguistics and the human brain are a natural element of our species, like the tide.

You have no control over how it flows. The only thing that matters is understanding. How we understand each other constantly changes.

Be humble and stand in awe of the natural disorder of language.


I also wish that story had not been the example. I hadn't heard of it until now, but had a similar first-punch fever as Bramblethorn.

Chloe's quip provided a calm spot to think.
 
KeithD said:
A long time ago I drew a line in the sand on "impact" as a verb. That's been washed out by the tide ever since.
Click to expand...



Major Winter Storm System Will Bring A Variety Of Impacts To The Central, Southern, And Eastern U.S. Through The Weekend

An impactful winter storm will track from the Plains to New England through Sunday, with bitter cold behind it. Heavy snow is likely from the Corn Belt to interior Northeast,
Click to expand...



:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:
 
ChloeTzang said:
Woo hooo, you got it. Lol. :D Now if the language doesn’t evolve..... FaceTiming is just one more new word, and English takes them from everywhere. Adaptability is the key word here.
Click to expand...

Love ya, Chloe!

The real test comes over time. I read a study that said that about 70% of the words that came into fashion in the first half of the twentieth century were no longer in use by the end of the century. If a word serves a function, it stays. Otherwise, it's 23-skidoo.

(But I feel your pain. Every time I use "contact" as a verb, I hear my old English teacher saying "Contact is not a verb! 'Make contact with' is the proper phrase!")
 
Bramblethorn said:
What is your source for this claim? It runs directly contrary to everything I've seen about the alleged attacker.

I sure as hell hope you're not posting unverified speculation as "facts", especially after saying that you don't want this politicised.

edit: I see you corrected your post before I completed my reply, but I'm going to leave this up, because posting that misinformation without checking was a fucking irresponsible thing for you to do.
Click to expand...

Noted. The incorrect information came from a radio report attributing the description to an un-named police source, which report had already been repeated, before being rectified. And as you noted, I corrected it immediately. But thank you for your opinion and judgement, it will be treated with all the respect due to it.
 
SimonDoom said:
"Face-time" as a verb seems perfectly O.K. to me,
Click to expand...

Full circle for the thread now on "fingernails on chalk board" renderings. "O.K." isn't OK or okay. Given the two actual options for rendering this (OK or okay), I still frequently see it rendered incorrectly in two ways: O.K. or Ok (which aren't either OK or okay). OK?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

F
What will AI still struggle to do for writing in the future?
2
Replies
27
Views
483
AG31
AG31
lovecraft68
What lit categories would say at a party.
Replies
11
Views
149
lovecraft68
lovecraft68
StillStunned
What I wrote and why: Life and Death of the She-Wolf
Replies
12
Views
273
Bramblethorn
Bramblethorn
Katie_Mae
Can I have Chinese characters in a story?
Replies
10
Views
248
AchtungNight
A
MrPixel
Puzzle me this... Why doesn't "Just One Line" appear in the forum index?
Replies
9
Views
224
MrPixel
MrPixel
Back
Top