Grammar Discussions

[Julesmac]

Wasn't there one called 'Whykickamoocow' and another one I've seen on doormats 'Didyabringyerbeeralong. Spotted a frequent howler in the paper today - a sneak peak. Those pesky mountains, always hiding and being sneaky

 

[Foreigner]

Thames?

Shrewsbury?

Gloucester?

Apparently the English town Launceston is pronounced 'Lawn-ston'.

But then we've got our own shockers:

Canowindra

Wagga Wagga

Goonoo Goonoo

And they're the easy ones.

How about NZ?

Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotama-teaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu....

You've made that NZ one up haven't you?

 

[cambriamarsh]

My Queensland mate used to say it that way, but the penny dropped when I went to Ireland and heard it pronounced that way. She was of Irish extraction. Socio-linguistics?

Like one of the nuns I had in primary school

 

[MEL_Traveller]

You've made that NZ one up haven't you?

you can copy it onto google... it's all there.

 

[Foreigner]

you can copy it onto google... it's all there.

It's too long to copy.

I want to hear anyone sing the name.

 

[Foreigner]

Quite true, MEL_Traveller.

The locals have sensibly reduced the name to Taumata Hill.

 

[anat0l]

It's too long to copy.

I want to hear anyone sing the name.

On the other end of the word, there's Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. (This is actually a lengthened name from the original and official name of the same place. Depending on how you view this AFF post, the single word may not actually render properly as such.)


Luckily, this is not a point of grammar that needs to be learned, except of course as a proper noun, it should be capitalised.

 

[Deleted member]

It's too long to copy.

I want to hear anyone sing the name.

I knew someone once long ago who was from there and could sing the song about the name.

 

[Warks]

I've got photos of the sign in NZ (that's about all there is there) and also the railway station sign at Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysilio gogogoch. A German friend could pronounce that perfectly but I think there was also a song for it. Would be on Youtube I bet.

 

[phily]

As a child and young person I would occasionally hear the expression: "I'm at the end of my tether". Then as a young adult I heard someone say "I'm at the end of my rope". I almost laughed at them for being uneducated, but I then heard other people over time use the same "rope" expression. Is one better or more common than the other?

 

[tuapekastar]

As a child and young person I would occasionally hear the expression: "I'm at the end of my tether". Then as a young adult I heard someone say "I'm at the end of my rope". I almost laughed at them for being uneducated, but I then heard other people over time use the same "rope" expression. Is one better or more common than the other?

Tether, unquestionably. Never heard 'rope' used in this context. But as with anything if enough people get it wrong it'll become right.

 

[andye]

The welsh town is pronounced something like this

Clan vire pook gwinnick go gerrick kwin drow bin clanty silly o gog og ock

 

[Foreigner]

As a child and young person I would occasionally hear the expression: "I'm at the end of my tether". Then as a young adult I heard someone say "I'm at the end of my rope". I almost laughed at them for being uneducated, but I then heard other people over time use the same "rope" expression. Is one better or more common than the other?

Tether sounds archaic.

(Coming off that word is tethering which is the connecting of one device to another, as in a hotspot.)

 

[Foreigner]

Whisky or Whiskey?

Off internet:

'The difference between whiskey and whisky is simple but important: whisky usually denotes Scotch whisky and Scotch-inspired liquors, and whiskey denotes the Irish and American liquors.'

 

[Foreigner]

Here's a link to an article on grammar, with 3 quizzes:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/educatio...667436/QUIZ-How-good-is-your-punctuation.html

 

[andye]

Here's a link to an article on grammar, with 3 quizzes:

QUIZ: How good is your punctuation? - Telegraph

Only 8/10.In my defence, errors were of nomenclature (Oxford comma, splice) rather than style.

 

[JessicaTam]

9/10. Missed a comma in the first one.

 

[Foreigner]

9/10. Missed a comma in the first one.

Pretty good. Mine 60 per cent.

 

[Julesmac]

What is an Oxford splice?

 

[JessicaTam]

What is an Oxford splice?

It is actually a comma splice*. It is used to join two clauses where the word 'and' is not used:

I like chocolate, I like red wine.
vs I like chocolate and I like red wine.

Some may argue a colon is more appropriate.

Spoiler in white text below:

*The quiz question quoted above had the word Oxford in it.