Pedants United

A section to discuss matters not related to Chess in particular.
Kevin Thurlow
Posts: 5821
Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2008 12:28 pm

Re: Pedants United

Post by Kevin Thurlow » Sun Sep 27, 2020 10:04 am

Yes, "z" is preferred by OED in -ize/ization words.

In general, OED reflects common usage, which is why they add current slang and also misuses of existing words. It is not their job, for example, to insist that "homophobia" literally means "fear of the same".

"I suppose you could say there are less dialects to deal with"

I would say there are fewer dialects.

User avatar
MJMcCready
Posts: 3178
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2013 2:30 pm

Re: Pedants United

Post by MJMcCready » Sun Sep 27, 2020 10:05 am

The AmE and BrE distinction suffers mostly from the following two; its over-simplified enormously given that in both cases the accepted model (The queen's English in BrE) is in a vast minority, and the multitude of variations in both is often overlooked completely; regional and historical developments are usually bypassed, amd as it stands, no one on the planet is daft enough to attempt to account for both Ame and Bre definitely. You could argue that the distinction between the two does help with spelling but little beyond that. oh btw, according to David Crystal, the accepted norm is that the accent in present day American English is exactly what cockney English was spoken with in the 17th and 18th centuries.

User avatar
MJMcCready
Posts: 3178
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2013 2:30 pm

Re: Pedants United

Post by MJMcCready » Sun Sep 27, 2020 10:07 am

Kevin Thurlow wrote:
Sun Sep 27, 2020 10:04 am
Yes, "z" is preferred by OED in -ize/ization words.

In general, OED reflects common usage, which is why they add current slang and also misuses of existing words. It is not their job, for example, to insist that "homophobia" literally means "fear of the same".

"I suppose you could say there are less dialects to deal with"

I would say there are fewer dialects.
ha ha, yes fair point. And ENglish isn't inflectional anymore although, courtesy of Shakespeare mostly, we do have an annoyingly large amount of prefixs and suffixs, but that's much easier to manage.

NickFaulks
Posts: 8453
Joined: Sat Jan 02, 2010 1:28 pm

Re: Pedants United

Post by NickFaulks » Sun Sep 27, 2020 10:20 am

Kevin Thurlow wrote:
Sun Sep 27, 2020 10:04 am
It is not their job, for example, to insist that "homophobia" literally means "fear of the same".
I think it is their job to point out that a phobia is a fear of something, not a hatred of it. Unless, of course, they believe that the traditional meaning has been extinguished, in which case they would be wrong.
If you want a picture of the future, imagine a QR code stamped on a human face — forever.

User avatar
John Clarke
Posts: 710
Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2011 1:07 pm

Re: Pedants United

Post by John Clarke » Sun Sep 27, 2020 11:00 am

Another of my pet peeves. From a recent on-line Guardian story:

"Should Trump refuse to leave office, America could be plunged into a constitutional crisis and find itself in unchartered territory."

Territory they wouldn't have actually hired, eh? Given the choice, I wouldn't hire it myself.
"The chess-board is the world ..... the player on the other side is hidden from us ..... he never overlooks a mistake, or makes the smallest allowance for ignorance."
(He doesn't let you resign and start again, either.)

Tim Spanton
Posts: 1205
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 11:35 am
Contact:

Re: Pedants United

Post by Tim Spanton » Sun Sep 27, 2020 11:20 am

BBC News has a habit of stating that someone has been charged with or accused of alleged fraud. No - the person has been charged with or accused of fraud; alternatively, fraud has been alleged.

Kevin Thurlow
Posts: 5821
Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2008 12:28 pm

Re: Pedants United

Post by Kevin Thurlow » Sun Sep 27, 2020 11:43 am

"I think it is their job to point out that a phobia is a fear of something, not a hatred of it."

Yes - I should have said that...

NickFaulks
Posts: 8453
Joined: Sat Jan 02, 2010 1:28 pm

Re: Pedants United

Post by NickFaulks » Sun Sep 27, 2020 11:44 am

John Clarke wrote:
Sun Sep 27, 2020 11:00 am
Another of my pet peeves. From a recent on-line Guardian story:

"Should Trump refuse to leave office, America could be plunged into a constitutional crisis and find itself in unchartered territory."

Territory they wouldn't have actually hired, eh? Given the choice, I wouldn't hire it myself.
I don't consider it pedantic to be intolerant of utter illiteracy.
If you want a picture of the future, imagine a QR code stamped on a human face — forever.

Nick Ivell
Posts: 1138
Joined: Wed Aug 31, 2011 6:33 pm

Re: Pedants United

Post by Nick Ivell » Sun Sep 27, 2020 5:16 pm

Can I point out my pet hate. Like. All these students being interviewed. Fresher's week is not how it was in my day. But all this 'like' being used, as a meaningless filler.

Just showing my age probably.

Kevin Thurlow
Posts: 5821
Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2008 12:28 pm

Re: Pedants United

Post by Kevin Thurlow » Sun Sep 27, 2020 5:53 pm

Another one is people saying, "Yes no". A cricket commentator was doing that recently. "Do you think X are well-placed here?" "Yeah no."

Nick Ivell
Posts: 1138
Joined: Wed Aug 31, 2011 6:33 pm

Re: Pedants United

Post by Nick Ivell » Sun Sep 27, 2020 6:11 pm

It kind of gets of gets on my nerves, like. And it gets on my nerves like, because it makes me feel very old like, because there is NO WAY I am ever going to speak like that, like never.

Kevin Thurlow
Posts: 5821
Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2008 12:28 pm

Re: Pedants United

Post by Kevin Thurlow » Sun Sep 27, 2020 7:17 pm

"It kind of gets of gets on my nerves, like. And it gets on my nerves like, because it makes me feel very old like, because there is NO WAY I am ever going to speak like that, like never."

You omitted frequent interjections of "know what I mean?"

Paul Habershon
Posts: 550
Joined: Sat Aug 07, 2010 5:51 pm

Re: Pedants United

Post by Paul Habershon » Sun Oct 04, 2020 8:39 am

Kevin Thurlow wrote:
Sun Sep 27, 2020 7:17 pm
"It kind of gets of gets on my nerves, like. And it gets on my nerves like, because it makes me feel very old like, because there is NO WAY I am ever going to speak like that, like never."

You omitted frequent interjections of "know what I mean?"
Also, just heard it twice on Radio 5 Live, 'Do you know what...?'

Can't be bothered to check, but I expect we have already had reference to 'Let me be clear...' and starting answers with 'So....'

User avatar
John Clarke
Posts: 710
Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2011 1:07 pm

Re: Pedants United

Post by John Clarke » Sun Oct 04, 2020 11:11 am

There's also "Look .... " as a preface to any statement, or answer to an unwelcome question. When Todd Muller was briefly leader of the opposition in NZ, we once counted 12 "looks" in a single three-minute TV interview with him.
"The chess-board is the world ..... the player on the other side is hidden from us ..... he never overlooks a mistake, or makes the smallest allowance for ignorance."
(He doesn't let you resign and start again, either.)

Nick Grey
Posts: 1838
Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2011 12:16 am

Re: Pedants United

Post by Nick Grey » Sun Oct 04, 2020 3:42 pm

know what I mean Harry - been a while but Harry died and Frank has damage from boxing.

" x must score " gets on my wick - too many Radio 5 Live commentators.

Post Reply