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Post by Verbivore on Oct 9, 2021 22:15:39 GMT
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Post by Little Jack Horner on Oct 10, 2021 22:42:09 GMT
Zed, zee, etc.
Aside from the use of “more unique”, I’m not quite sure whether the speaker refers to a zedbra in speech as well as in typing. I have heard this occasionally but only from Little children (and I have no idea why the voice recognition software gives “little” a capital letter).
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Post by Verbivore on Oct 11, 2021 0:08:12 GMT
Random comments found online:
Jail and prison are synonyms but jailer and prisoner are not.
I before E except when you run a feisty heist on a weird beige foreign neighbour.
Why is it that writers write, but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce, and hammers don't ham?
You can drink a drink but you can't food a food.
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Post by Verbivore on Oct 12, 2021 0:13:23 GMT
My new word of the day: Odonymy – the study of road names.
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Post by Verbivore on Oct 13, 2021 22:35:56 GMT
You.NB: For some reason beyond my ken, that linked video wants to start some way in, so viewers (I avoided using you!) will need to rewind it to the beginning.
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Post by Little Jack Horner on Oct 14, 2021 17:26:58 GMT
Thanks, Vv. I had heard this “YOU” video before and it was obviously straightforward to go back to the beginning. I thought originally that it was interesting and still think so. The problem with these things is that one is easily seduced into reading the comments of other viewers. So many of these are complete rubbish and have either misunderstood what was said or are peddling errors.
On a different subject, I have been noticing the number of new phrases which have become current in the last 18 months:
Without more ado… You need to unmute yourself… I’ll just try to share my screen… Can everyone see that..? It’s not in presentation mode… Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you are in the world…
Cheers LJH
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Post by Verbivore on Oct 14, 2021 22:15:53 GMT
Breakfast news gripesWilliam, Duke of Cambridge, quoted in the news: "For me, it would be an absolute disaster if [my son] George is sat here in 30 years' time …".Sat by whom? I'd write/say "if George were sitting here in 30 years' time". But who am I to 'correct' a royal? This usage style of sat appears to be solely a British thing; it's not a usage I hear from Aussies or other non-British speakers of English. * * *Which or that? From ABC News: "Rear Admiral Hammond said both HMAS Brisbane and HMAS Warramunga are continuing to search the area for any debris from the lost helicopter, which could help determine the cause of the incident."Surely it's the debris that could help determine the cause of the incident, not the chopper, in which case I'd write/say "… any debris from the lost helicopter [omit comma] that could help determine the cause of the incident".
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Post by Little Jack Horner on Oct 14, 2021 23:56:01 GMT
I think you are correct, Vv, in regard to the use of “sat” rather than “sitting” in British usage. Indeed, I think I would not notice the error in speech. But this was in a future context. I think it is more likely that one would say, for example, “I was sat in the sunshine” rather than, “I was sitting in the sunshine”.
And I also think you are correct in regards to the choice of “that” or “which” but I am forced to admit that it is something about which I have to think carefully before I write either.
But I think you really should be prepared to cut people some slack when they are being interviewed. Even those most accustomed to the situation are likely to be a little stressed and are probably more concerned about being misinterpreted than being accused of grammatical solecisms. All too many people are prepared to criticise other people and to accuse them of all manner of unacceptable attitudes whether of racism, homophobia, or sexism. Sometime it is justified but, I fear, mostly not.
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Post by Verbivore on Oct 15, 2021 21:02:54 GMT
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Post by Verbivore on Oct 15, 2021 21:24:10 GMT
The lectures at the UK’s National Army Museum are often very good. Next week there is to be a talk about the development of slang during the First World War. It may be of interest. It doesn’t operate through Zoom. Here is the link: I was looking forward to that, but the video resolution was that of an ancient analog TV, 360–480p; the sound was fuzzy and barely listenable. After about 15 minutes I gave up, but shall try again later today. (No, it wasn't the quality of my broadband connection: I had earlier watched, and did later watch movies in high definition on my UHD 5K – 2880p – monitor.)
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Post by Little Jack Horner on Oct 15, 2021 23:56:50 GMT
>And as there are Essex, Wessex, and Sussex, why is there no Nussex? (Are the British still coy about discussing any kind of sex?<
But I’m sure you will have noticed that there is an Eastwood Road North mentioned in the news report. Of course, we also used to have a Middlesex but that disappeared with local government organisation some years ago. The name, however, continues to exist in many local institutions.
But, of course, the “sex” in the names it’s got nothing to do with sex but is a derivative of SAX as in the Saxons who migrated to what is now England after the departure of the Romans.
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Post by Verbivore on Oct 16, 2021 11:15:16 GMT
Thanks, LJH. International geopoliticals aren't among my strong points. * * *That comma!Here's a justifiable NON-use of the serial / Harvard / Holy Oxford Comma, from the thumbnail synopsis of The Hunt For A Killer, a Nordic Noir episode currently offered online in AU: a worthy example of how one might critically use or omit a potential serial comma for better or for worse(r)! As published:To find a raped and strangled body is a tragic story. Far too common. As amended by overenthusiastic fan of the HOC without the necessary pre-print scrutiny or proofreading for nuance:To learn that a body had been, postmortem, raped and strangled is even more troubling. Erotic asphyxiation and necrophilia enter the mix. I remain a supporter and habitual user of the HOC, but I acknowledge the times when it's just not appropriate. That tiny glyph can be the difference between someone's innocent discovery and a long stint in prison.
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Post by Verbivore on Oct 18, 2021 6:42:08 GMT
I had to give up on the seminar from the UK National Army Museum. I don't know what the quality was like for other overseas participants, but the twice I've attempted to view – after the initial try – gave even worse video and sound, and the stream kept stalling. From the marginal comments it seems I'm not the only one who found the sound terrible. Ah well …
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Post by Little Jack Horner on Oct 18, 2021 11:47:02 GMT
I am sorry you have had difficulties with the National Army Museum. I agree that the sound quality was not great but for me it wasn’t so difficult as you have experienced. I think part of the difficulty was that it was broadcast from a lecture hall rather than from a desk and so there was background noise. Pity.
The talks from the NAM or not, as you might expect, about language but here is a list of the forthcoming lectures: www.nam.ac.uk/whats-on?from=&until=&subject=All&type=36
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Post by Verbivore on Oct 19, 2021 21:28:57 GMT
Another misplaced modifier"Built from salvaged metal, the shipyard worker had hoped to use his craft […]" He must be one tough shipyard worker!
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