fuzzyreactor
Banned
i say it just to annoy people that could care less
-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
Can we please address this "then/than" issue?
- Thread starter IHaveCandy
- Start date
- Status
i say it just to annoy people that could care less
Second Circle Pad
Banned
The funniest thing is that only native speakers make all those spelling mistakes.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=451057
I keep thinking this thread is some kind of joke. How could anyone have troubles with spelling "necessary" or "definitely"?
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=451057
I keep thinking this thread is some kind of joke. How could anyone have troubles with spelling "necessary" or "definitely"?
What if they want to give a fuck but nobody is willing to receive that fuck? What then?
Necromanti
Member
ATM machine.
The origin of the phrase is sarcastic, just like "tell me about it" and many other expressions that mean the opposite of what they mean.
"I could give a damn" also has the same meaning as "I couldn't give a damn" etc.
Why is the OP's annoyance at poor grammar any less significant than conversations of Justin Beiber hate or pointlessly arguing about supporting Sports teams, for example? At least grammar and language are factual; I despise Beiber as much as the next person and I'll happily state so but it's a completely subjective comment.
I don't understand why people get so annoyed at people who notice grammatical and linguistic inaccuracies. It's not like I walk around with placards campaigning and decrying illiterates. But if I see a somone using 'you're'/'your' incorrectly, that's a much more valid topic of debate than which is the better game console or who should win an Oscar.
I'm not suggesting this about you bjb, but it's very revealing that those guilty or poor grammar get so, so angry when it's pointed out. It's like somehow facts are irritating to them. Point out someone has a shoelace untied, you probably get a thank you. Point out someone said 'their' instead of 'there', you are a disgusting human being.
And "head over heels" is the natural position of those body parts, not really being upside down.
ZOMG NOT ALL IDIOMS ARE LITERAL TRANSLATION IF THEIR INDIVUAL WORDS' MEANING!
The worst issue is that people have forgotten how to use "who" and "whom"
Caps lock jammed or shouting at me through a computer screen?
Almost no non-native speakers who I come across have this problem. It's mostly native speakers who make these mistakes, since native speakers aren't really thinking about the language when they write/speak. If people actually took a minute to think when they write this wouldn't be a problem.
AlexMeloche
Member
English is my second language and even I know the differences between the two.
EDIT:
^^^^ ...what he said.
EDIT:
^^^^ ...what he said.
Angelus Errare
Banned
My pet peeve, people who say/type "For all intensive purposes"....
I always say "couldn't give a fuck"
/shrug.
I always say "couldn't give a fuck"
/shrug.
fuzzyreactor
Banned
While we're discussing idioms: "the proof of the pudding is in the eating" sounds stupid, I will continue saying it wrong.
Whom is fucking pointless, I wouldn't shed a tear if it die away (and it will).
fuzzyreactor
Banned
Language is not always literal, it's been a part of the language for a long time, and more common than the literal phrasing.
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/001209.html
Damnit Goat, I love you.
There's nothing "factual" about grammar.
Linguistic purism can go to hell, the only form of prescriptive grammar I accept is the one that deal clarity and practicality (i.e. how a use of a certain language is going to be perceived).
There is no right way to talk.
You killed my mind just now, salute.
There's nothing factual about 'you're' meaning 'you are', and not the possessive 'your'? Those are facts. They are different words, not synonyms. They can't be used in the same instance as the user deems fit.
Your final sentence is a good point, and the reason I merely observe these annoying mistakes and move along; if we all used language the same way it would be boring. I don't understand when people don't know whether to use there/they're/their, but the world would be a boring place if everyone was the same.
Since you want to be very literal with everything... "A fuck" isn't nothing, because you can often hear people say things like "I used to give a fuck," "he really gives a fuck," "don't act like you don't give a fuck," etc.
The most literal translation would be saying it is analogous to the energy you put in sex.
We're venturing into a completely different topic, but these scenarios always make me smile.
I recently heard 'Nintendo SNES' and didn't have the heart to explain my thoughts.
Spring-Loaded
Member
This is just my experience, but when I type, it's as if I'm verbally dictating to myself what to write. I "hear" what I want written and then I write it down.
If I'm writing "They're going to the store," what I "hear" sounds the same as "there," or "their." I don't think "they are," in that instance and then consciously use the contraction in its place. I just write what I hear. It's similar with "then," and "than," I'd imagine, though those have distinct differences in pronunciation.
If I re-read what I wrote, then I'll immediately notice the error. Most of the time though, I just hit "enter," or "submit reply," because I don't give a fuck about anal-retentive grammar freaks who feel as if the English language inherently deserves my respect.
If I'm writing "They're going to the store," what I "hear" sounds the same as "there," or "their." I don't think "they are," in that instance and then consciously use the contraction in its place. I just write what I hear. It's similar with "then," and "than," I'd imagine, though those have distinct differences in pronunciation.
If I re-read what I wrote, then I'll immediately notice the error. Most of the time though, I just hit "enter," or "submit reply," because I don't give a fuck about anal-retentive grammar freaks who feel as if the English language inherently deserves my respect.
lets just fix everything thats confusing about the english language.
http://www.fictionfactor.com/articles/hhhh.html
http://www.fictionfactor.com/articles/hhhh.html
It's not the language that deserves respect, but the people reading what you wrote.
Proper English is pretty much "talk like rich dead white people", there's nothing wrong with regional dialects, it's just that as society we tend to look down on people who speak like the poor.
Many of the rules you were taught in school like not ending a sentence with preposition or starting it with conjunction are random bullshit some English language purists who wanted English to be more prescriptive like Latin made up.
Those rules are rejected by most linguists and as far as I can tell are being taught mostly because it's an easy way to grade papers.
Moreover, language is always evolving, picking an arbitrary point in time and refusing to move from it is stupid.
Not really.
Did you know that at one point contractions were consider a vulgar mistake, something like purist treat "ain't" these days?
Only when they realized that there's no way they'll make Americans speak like Data they yielded.
And let me tell you a secret, if enough people start using 'your' "the wrong way", it will be standardized, much like American English did, and the language will not be worse by any measure I can think of.
There is nothing wrong with homonyms. Every language has them. Context is a hugely important part of all languages, and homonyms are almost never an obstacle because of that.
If you think English is bad, then you should check out Chinese.
shanshan310
Member
Its almost as bad as people unnecessarily saying "just"!
Like when people unnecessarily say 'wait' before 'what'
Mine is "Well"
PeakPointMatrix
Member
'Hark' need to make a comeback.
sony?
It's due.
Wickerbasket
Member
That happens more than I care for. People overhear the original saying and get it wrong, then more people repeat it and get it wrong thus becoming an acceptable version of the saying. Once enough people start saying it wrong it will overtake the original saying despite the new saying making zero sense.
It's annoying in this instance though, since it literally means the exact opposite of what the person is trying to convey.
Scott32020
Member
For some reason, I didn't learn this until later in high school.
Grinchy
Banned
Well put.
When someone types some shitty post and than tehy never go bak to see if it contains a ton of errers, than it just shows that that person has no respect for anyone else.
Agreed. When I was a teenager I used to enjoy belittle people for spelling or grammar mistakes. Now that I'm older I just can't be bothered to care, especially on the internet where there are not any formal rules for discourse. Honestly I don't know why people get worked up about this.
It's a cheap and easy way to look smarter than the person you're arguing with.
Spring-Loaded
Member
What someone's actually saying trumps the formatting, every time. If I wrote a message to you telling you to fuck off, and it had perfect formatting and punctuation, it would still be shitty.
Having an error or two in a casual setting like a message board is nothing that truly deserves getting up in arms about. A cover letter or thesis? Sure. Some backwoods message board? Get out of here.
If someone wants to feel insulted by typos, fine. It's still a waste of effort to get worked up over.
That happens more than I care for. People overhear the original saying and get it wrong, then more people repeat it and get it wrong thus becoming an acceptable version of the saying. Once enough people start saying it wrong it will overtake the original saying despite the new saying making zero sense.
It's annoying in this instance though, since it literally means the exact opposite of what the person is trying to convey.
It doesn't make zero sense. Do you correct every instance of sarcasm, which, often by definition, literally means the exact opposite of what the person is trying to convey?
When someone says "I could give a damn" it can have the exact meaning as "I don't give a damn," etc.
Do you correct people when they say "head over heels" instead of "heels over head"?
There are many grades between indifference and anger. Mistakes make reading more difficult. Thus theoretically proper spelling should be beneficial for the writer. At the very least it is a bit impolite towards your readers and I don't feel the quantity or even the quality of the message you are trying to deliver should matter in defining whether a quick spell check is worth it.
It's even deeper than that, "I couldn't care less" is a form of double negative, and some language purists reject double negative (and they tend to argue that you should say "I don't care at all").
Also, double negative didn't always resolve to positive, in many regional dialects it was a form of emphasis, but most of those were poor people's dialect, so fuck that, that's not proper English!
I've never heard anyone say anything this.
It's always, "I don't give a..." or "I couldn't give a...."
Unless it's, "I could care less."
- Status