Grammar Discussions

[sergeyvzn]

Maybe the writer was French

 

[Captain Halliday]

The sub-editor certainly isn't to blame. Subs were made redundant two years ago. Sadly.

 

[Captain Halliday]

No comment.

 

[JessicaTam]

None needed.

 

[anat0l]

No comment.

None needed.

They must have got a kid to do the sign.

Come to think of it, that's pretty unkind to say and blame a young kid...

 

[rogerkambah]

They must have got a kid to do the sign.

Come to think of it, that's pretty unkind to say and blame a young kid...

Just looked at their NAPLAN results for spelling. Yr 5 is on a par with 'similar' schools and with 'all' schools, so hopefully not posted by the students.

 

[get me outta here]

Quite a few people don't stand back and look at their work. Pubic instead of public is not uncommon.

 

[clazman]

I see the Mistake it is February 15, they could have got the year correct

 

[FreddyFattler]

I only went through a couple of pages, but this is one that along with lose/loose irritates me.

Hyperbole and a Half: The Alot is Better Than You at Everything

 

[whatmeworry]

English spelling?
Should we adopt American spelling?

 

[Warks]

Someone with too much time on their hands.

https://twitter.com/stealthmountain

Sneak peak indeed!

 

[medhead]

Ok here's one that has me confused. Quote from a political type, and I'm saying absolutely nothing more about who it is, as this is not about politics. But the context might help. Anyway, this person referred to "antediluvian xenophobia" with respect to purchasing something from overseas.

I'm not sure how to interpret it. The usual meaning of antediluvian is "before the flood". Xenophobia before the flood of foreigners doesn't really apply to a purchase.

Another usage is to mean of great age or outmoded.

Old school xenophobia - bad? Does that mean new school/modern xenophobia is good?
Outmoded xenophobia - maybe that works. But does it still imply there is "inmoded" xenophobia?

Anyway - thoughts?

The adjective antediluvian is sometimes used figuratively to refer to anything that is of great age or outmoded. H. P. Lovecraft was particularly fond of the term, using it frequently in his horror stories.

 

[andye]

Ok here's one that has me confused. Quote from a political type, and I'm saying absolutely nothing more about who it is, as this is not about politics. But the context might help. Anyway, this person referred to "antediluvian xenophobia" with respect to purchasing something from overseas.

I'm not sure how to interpret it. The usual meaning of antediluvian is "before the flood". Xenophobia before the flood of foreigners doesn't really apply to a purchase.

Another usage is to mean of great age or outmoded.

Old school xenophobia - bad? Does that mean new school/modern xenophobia is good?
Outmoded xenophobia - maybe that works. But does it still imply there is "inmoded" xenophobia?

Anyway - thoughts?

I think what it is trying to imply is that someone who is xenophobic necessarily has outmoded ideas.

However, there is an interpretation of the story of Noah that each of his three sons founded the 'races' of people around the world. I remember being told that some South African preachers used this to give theological support to the concept of apartheid. This would be nonsensical in the above phrase as there could de facto be no xenophobia pre-flood.

 

[Julesmac]

If anyone is looking for a good read - Bill Bryson's "Mother Tongue" is very interesting - a well researched look at how the English language has evolved. He suggests that American English (is that a contradiction in terms?) has developed in a purer form & in fact much of their spelling is actually more logical than English English. There's quite a bit of his usual humour thrown in to save it from being too dry.

 

[Spongbob]

I guess an inference with the expression "antediluvian xenophobia" is a preference for a more contemporary notion of xenophobia.

 

[medhead]

I think what it is trying to imply is that someone who is xenophobic necessarily has outmoded ideas.

However, there is an interpretation of the story of Noah that each of his three sons founded the 'races' of people around the world. I remember being told that some South African preachers used this to give theological support to the concept of apartheid. This would be nonsensical in the above phrase as there could de facto be no xenophobia pre-flood.

I guess an inference with the expression "antediluvian xenophobia" is a preference for a more contemporary notion of xenophobia.

That's probably why I find it interesting. Isn't xenophobia of any type a problem enough. The inference of a contemporary xenophobia makes me wonder if it is good or bad.

 

[get me outta here]

Yes, most English and Aussies English speakers take it for granted with no reflection, that their method of speaking and spelling is much superior to the Americans, but it ain't necessarily so. At least Americans tend to say, "may I?" whereas the other two will say 'can I?'. At the gym at the Christmas party I helped by serving about 100 people by serving the hot meat and had to ask them if they'd like sausages, or steak. Only 1 person asked "may I have ... ?'

If anyone is looking for a good read - Bill Bryson's "Mother Tongue" is very interesting - a well researched look at how the English language has evolved. He suggests that American English (is that a contradiction in terms?) has developed in a purer form & in fact much of their spelling is actually more logical than English English. There's quite a bit of his usual humour thrown in to save it from being too dry.

 

[andye]

I think what it is trying to imply is that someone who is xenophobic necessarily has outmoded ideas.

However, there is an interpretation of the story of Noah that each of his three sons founded the 'races' of people around the world. I remember being told that some South African preachers used this to give theological support to the concept of apartheid. This would be nonsensical in the above phrase as there could de facto be no xenophobia pre-flood.

Seeing as this thread is about precision, I should correct that to say that there could be no racism (rather than xenophobia) pre-flood.

Looking into the Noah story further, it appears that it was also used as a theological support for slavery in the US; Noah's son Ham and his descendants were said to be cursed for seeing his drunken father naked.

 

[Julesmac]

My (very pedantic) English Dad used to say "Can I? You mean MAY I - Rohan Kanhi was a West Indian cricketer". However - wouldn't it be correct to say 'Could I have....'?

 

[get me outta here]

For me it's a bit like art, 'I don't know much about it, but I know what I like'. I feel very polite when I say, "may I?" Even if it's only 95% correct.

My (very pedantic) English Dad used to say "Can I? You mean MAY I - Rohan Kanhi was a West Indian cricketer". However - wouldn't it be correct to say 'Could I have....'?