Linguistic pet peeves

**~~Aemma~~** · 12-06-2010, 04:27 PM

I'm posting this in the England section since English does belong to England in the end, eh?

Treffie brought up an interesting point elsewhere about other -isms slipping into the English language. For some it's not a biggie; for others it has some meaning, significantly so too.

Are you tolerant of such changes generally? Or do you find yourself shaking your head and cursing at the newspaper (or whatever other conveyance of language) whenever you see some other word veering from the (what used to be) norm?

Personally, I have mixed feelings and these stem mostly from one whose first language was NOT English. Now I make no bones about it, I've always been an Anglophile. And there's a big part of me that is always a tad put out let's say when a word has appropriated some other form of usage. My biggest pet peeve is how I was taught that the word "presently" always, without exception, indicated some future event. Yet these days it is used so very deliberately as an indication of present activity.

When did this occur? More importantly why did this shift occur? And why didn't I get the blessed memo?

Anyway, I'm ranting but you know...where does the line get drawn or should it?

**Grumpy Cat** · 12-06-2010, 05:48 PM

It's really just bad spelling that gets me.

**~~Beorn~~** · 12-06-2010, 05:53 PM

Originally Posted by Aemma

I'm posting this in the England section since English does belong to England in the end, eh?

Too bloody right it does!

My own pet peeve is txt talk being used in other mediums away from the mobile phone/messenger.

**~~Eldritch~~** · 12-06-2010, 06:05 PM

Well my approach to communication is descriptive; if people are succesful in getting whatever point they are trying to make across, then they're using the language correctly.

(This of course also applies to situations where a very specific type of language is required, where a part of the point one is trying to make is "I am capable of using language in a normative way when required to do so")

**SaxonCeorl** · 12-06-2010, 06:44 PM

People often say "irregardless," which is a defective portmanteau of "irrespective" and "regardless." Usually when people say "irregardless" they should be saying "regardless." Irregardless is a double-negative.