Words

[GforGraham]

I really am curious about where certain words come from. Little things can annoy if they go against your upbringing, experience and education. Obviously countries and even parts of countries have different cultures and thus different speech mannerisms and spellings. Don't all get your collars all hot and bothered, not saying they are wrong, just different and I am curious about where they come.


One example is:-

Drug - used as past tense of drag. E.g. he drug the sled through the snow. From my education this word is dragged.


I will ask about others as they appear.

 

[HandsInTheDark]

I really am curious about where certain words come from.

There's this thing called the internet, and it knows everything. (Some of what it knows is false, but still.) Online dictionaries can help you here.

 

[sr71plt]

"drug" as past tense of "drag," is listed in Webster's as dialect only--it's not given as an acceptable past tense of "drag," which would be "dragged." Dialect-only words tend to drag themselves into acceptable usage over time, though.

 

[GforGraham]

"drug" as past tense of "drag," is listed in Webster's as dialect only--it's not given as an acceptable past tense of "drag," which would be "dragged." Dialect-only words tend to drag themselves into acceptable usage over time, though.

This is one of the first words that came to mind as it appears in many, many stories here on lit. So unless everyone is totally illiterate and just copies someone else, it must have actually originated somewhere. Yes I have looked it up on line, without real success, just local idiom, but what local?


Try this, I happened to hear a bit of sports rdio broadcast, aussie rules football in Melbourne Australia, and the aussie calling the play said a saying, "At the minute". Now my upbringing thiswas always "At the moment". Had never heard the minute part ever before, so thought maybe it was just illiterate Melbournites LOL
Recently watched old episodes of english tv show Timeteam, and the "at the minute" was said ina show from the 1990's. Obviously some quanit thing from the motherland.

 

[sr71plt]

This is fiction. You can go on the low down in dialogue, if it suits the character. Even the narrator can be a down-low character. It's all relative and contextual.

 

[GforGraham]

This is fiction. You can go on the low down in dialogue, if it suits the character. Even the narrator can be a down-low character. It's all relative and contextual.

The 'drug' word is not ever in dialogue, but in general descriptive story. Fiction does not mean general script is hard to understand, but yes dialog can be full of whatever you want, especially when she has mouth full of cock and talks or isscreaming during orgasm. LOL.

 

[sr71plt]

The 'drug' word is not ever in dialogue, but in general descriptive story. Fiction does not mean general script is hard to understand, but yes dialog can be full of whatever you want, especially when she has mouth full of cock and talks or isscreaming during orgasm. LOL.

OK, then I'll ask you "so what?" Are you concerned with your writing and what you can best do or the stories of others? If the latter, I'm not interested in the discussion. I'm responding on how/where words like these can be used, not ragging of one author on the writings of other authors.

 

[GforGraham]

This has nothing to do with words, just me having a farewell rant.

I think I am too naive and unwordly for visiting forums.

My use of english cannot be understood and I end up having to explain what I thought was a simple thing.

I realise this is probably incomprehensible as well, but sometimes I just need to rant.

Now I may just return to my former writing of urban paranormal genre, even though the idea of consensual equality (no doms etc) harems intrigues me. Perhaps the were pack can set one up for me.

 

[Handley_Page]

'Drug'
It sounds to me like the sort of word used (invented) by a child who's vocabulary is as yet incomplete.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

My 3rd great grandmother's autobiography claims Dr.Samuel Johnson as a kinsman of the same small Staffordshire town my Johnsons lived in. Sam put together the first English lexicon. So blame him.

 

[sr71plt]

'Drug'
It sounds to me like the sort of word used (invented) by a child who's vocabulary is as yet incomplete.

It's the same as hung/hanged. Shortcuts creep into the language. They spend time as dialect before they eventually get accepted (or not). And they get accepted in fiction ("character talk") before nonfiction.

 

[SamScribble]

It's the same as hung/hanged. Shortcuts creep into the language. They spend time as dialect before they eventually get accepted (or not). And they get accepted in fiction ("character talk") before nonfiction.

As a student (not recently, you understand), I recall being taken to task for using speeded (rather than sped) as the past participle of speed. Today, I'm pretty sure that you could use either without causing a single eyebrow to twitch - well, in the UK and most Commonwealth countries anyway .

 

[Handley_Page]

As a student (not recently, you understand), I recall being taken to task for using speeded (rather than sped) as the past participle of speed. Today, I'm pretty sure that you could use either without causing a single eyebrow to twitch - well, in the UK and most Commonwealth countries anyway .

Interesting, that one.

'A machine sped past' and 'he speeded up' going down the hill.

Not quite the same I think ?

 

[Hypoxia]

drink, drank, drunk
think, thank, thunk
stink, stank, stunk
spink, spank, spunk
sink, sank, sunk
fink, fank, funk
rink, rank, runk

Makes sense to me. At least they're not peak / peek / pique.

 

[SamScribble]

Interesting, that one.

'A machine sped past' and 'he speeded up' going down the hill.

Not quite the same I think ?

While I can’t remember the exact sentence, HP (it was a long time ago), it was something like ‘The green car speeded up and reached the corner first.’

Consulting Fowler (revised third edition, 1998), it seems that this is/was in fact the preferred option. ‘Sped’ would have been preferred if I had been trying to say ‘travelled quickly’ – as in: ‘The green car sped to the corner.’

But these days … I suspect either would pass muster.

 

[GforGraham]

Every week I attempt a 9 letter word puzzle from our newspaper. They list scores good, very good and excellent. As far as I can see good is the common words, very good contains words not in everyday use, but quite normal once shown. This means you say "Why didn't I see that one, it's so obvious." Excellent needs words that unless you are an English professor specialising in esoterics, ancient but still listed, and new-listed words that seem to be an arbitrary grouping of the letters, and about localised idioms from everywhere in the same country. You also need to know which slang and abbreviated words have become official language. An examplr of this is the word rego, pronounced rejjo. It was always the slang short for registration, relating to car registration, or where I live now car licence.

So my original statement regarding the use of words that I had never been tought means just that. In the past mists of time when we learnt by repetition and canes across the knuckles or backside, there were most likely words in use somewhere, or not even thought up yet, that are now official language somewhere.

Why am I saying all of this...no flipping idea, but I figure if what I write is misunderstood anyway I may as well ramble on about nothing.

And speaking of sex found this on my tablet keyboard

 

[Quiet_Cool]

It's the same as hung/hanged. Shortcuts creep into the language. They spend time as dialect before they eventually get accepted (or not). And they get accepted in fiction ("character talk") before nonfiction.

That one still bugs me though. Hung is clearly a non-action reference while hanged is action in the past tense.

General acceptance of terms is often bad, even if it's for the purpose of language adapting to mass usage.

And yes... Ain't still bothers me.

It really, really bothers me.

Q_C

 

[Handley_Page]

. . . .
You also need to know which slang and abbreviated words have become official language. An example of this is the word rego, pronounced rejjo. It was always the slang short for registration, relating to car registration, or where I live now car licence.

I understand that to be almost exclusively an 'Oz' use of words; this concept of putting an 'o' at the end of a truncated word. Another example I've read is a 'Smoko' for a cigarette break.

 

[GforGraham]

And now I get closer to the question of where drug is used for dragged. I was watching a 'real' show based in West Virginia and the word drug was used. Apart from written on lit stories this is the first time I have noted this word used.

I was not pointing that it is wrong, just that I had never come across it anywhere and wondered who or where it was used. Just saying local idiom means nothing without knowing what local it is.

I am happy now that this is actually answered for me. Crikies, us aussies are atrocious for local idioms, like every other country. We have so many different locals you could go on a pub crawl across the country and never reach the end with your liver intact. Look them up on google for local idiom meanings... haha.

Now I go happy, to hopefully get my writing drug up to speed.

 

[HBergeron]

Drug is to dragged a bit like hung is to hanged (if the context is an execution). They are both actual words, but used poorly. Even if popular dialect says it has its place, saying or writing 'drug' as a past tense of 'drag' still makes one appear to be an ill-educated boob (at least to an educated person).

 

[Emirus]

Drug is a noun not a verb. I was asked, by a writer much much better than I will ever be, to proof read their stories for spelling and other errors. One of the first ones I mentioned was their use of the word “drug” instead of “dragged.” They were surprised and said it was in common use in the US but they now appreciated that grammatically it was wrong. They now use “dragged.” Although in 44 years of visiting the US I’ve never heard the word “drug” used as a verb and I’ve visited twenty states.

I hate sports commentators who say “he run well” or “he run a good race” or “he run the length of the field.” The word is ran.

“Two time or three time Olympic/World/Wimbledon champion instead of double or triple is another one.

I think that one of the reasons why the language has degenerated is because the standard of education is much worse than when I was at school back in mediaeval times. As schoolchildren are taught badly and they then grow up to be teachers it gets worse with each generation. Errors aren’t picked up because the teacher doesn’t realise they are wrong.

It particularly grates when you see stupid and illiterate mistakes in newspapers. The people there are supposed to be educated and often have degrees in English and yet they can’t get, often simple, things correct.

 

[Handley_Page]

Drug is a noun not a verb.

I hate sports commentators who say “he run well” or “he run a good race” or “he run the length of the field.” The word is ran.

“Two time or three time Olympic/World/Wimbledon champion instead of double or triple is another one.

I think that one of the reasons why the language has degenerated is because the standard of education is much worse than when I was at school back in mediaeval times. As schoolchildren are taught badly and they then grow up to be teachers it gets worse with each generation. Errors aren’t picked up because the teacher doesn’t realise they are wrong.

It particularly grates when you see stupid and illiterate mistakes in newspapers. The people there are supposed to be educated and often have degrees in English and yet they can’t get, often simple, things correct.

Erm. . "he has run a good race"?

Back in the day, education was rather more strictly controlled and the 'right' stuff was beaten into us (sometimes with a cane or slipper). The impact of a fairly small, close, community led to little by way of variation. Come the TV era (especially ITV from about 1955) and any changes were now voiced over a much wider area; thus 'mistakes' got wide spread.

Add to this films (aka movies) with a vastly different range of language (especially different parts of America) some of which gets taken up by a few viewers (sometimes in protest) and the language takes another lurch.
And the teachers have already been 'infected'. . .

To add to this bloody chaos is the faster, more efficient (?) information transmission and then the Internet, spreading stupidity were 'er it goes.

I wonder if my great-great grandchildren will still speak English [particularly as I understand it] ?.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Drug is to dragged a bit like hung is to hanged (if the context is an execution). They are both actual words, but used poorly. Even if popular dialect says it has its place, saying or writing 'drug' as a past tense of 'drag' still makes one appear to be an ill-educated boob (at least to an educated person).

Obligatory "that fellow ought to be jolly well hung" joke goes here...

Drug is a noun not a verb. I was asked, by a writer much much better than I will ever be, to proof read their stories for spelling and other errors. One of the first ones I mentioned was their use of the word “drug” instead of “dragged.” They were surprised and said it was in common use in the US but they now appreciated that grammatically it was wrong. They now use “dragged.” Although in 44 years of visiting the US I’ve never heard the word “drug” used as a verb and I’ve visited twenty states.

It is a verb, just not as the past tense of "dragged":

"We had to drug him to keep him quiet."

 

[oggbashan]

Dictionaries, even urban dictionaries, are always behind the times for the latest usage of words.

But English is infinitely variable. Apart from the different usages in countries that are nominally English-speaking, there are local variations by small areas within a country. Boston, Mass doesn't use all the same words as New Orleans, and even within those places the words teenagers use and the words older generations use are different.

What is 'right'? It depends on the context. Most of us vary our speech patterns and word usage according to the audience. What might be appropriate in a bar would not be suitable when addressing a conference. The words we use with our friends might not be appropriate when talking to a minister.

As authors, we should recognise that our characters words should reflect the impression we want the reader to get.

The only tools we have are - Words.

 

[Handley_Page]

Obligatory "that fellow ought to be jolly well hung" joke goes here...

It is a verb, just not as the past tense of "dragged":

"We had to drug him to keep him quiet."

I doubt it's the only confusion.