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Author Topic: Correct use of the English Language  (Read 66702 times)

BFSMP

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Correct use of the English Language
« on: December 10, 2015, 08:19:23 am »

I despair of those who write narration for television programmes at times.

I was watching a programme this morning on channel 37 about producing high tensile steel cables for suspension bridges when the narrator told us all that each cable has to be perfection at a uniform 5.2mm thick.

"Thick" I ask. Should not this be diameter, seeing as the cable is obviously round in section.

How will our children learn from these programmes when the script is at fault and the narrator hasn't the intelligence to see this and say "Wooah, I'm not reading this, it should read diameter and not thick"

Sadly we will only get worse, and whilst I am on this subject, have a listen to the Yorkshire tea advert. It is full of grammatical mistakes. I despair!

Jim.
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Re: Correct use of the English Language
« Reply #1 on: December 10, 2015, 08:32:30 am »

Drives me nuts too.

Worse is when they are forced to use metric equivalents from US shows and they get the numbers wrong in conversion - but no-one on the production team notices (or cares?).

The ones about food factories are the worst - "We use 1000lbs of xxx per day" becomes "We use 20,000kgs per year". WRONG.  <*<
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malcolmfrary

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Re: Correct use of the English Language
« Reply #2 on: December 10, 2015, 08:48:31 am »

OK - just what does "Up to half price" actually mean?  My English and maths teachers would probably say that the new price should actually be less than half the original price but advertiserspeak translates it as "somewhere between half and full price".
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Colin Bishop

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Re: Correct use of the English Language
« Reply #3 on: December 10, 2015, 08:54:38 am »

'Tiny bit off' doesn't really cut it though.
Colin
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GAZOU

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Re: Correct use of the English Language
« Reply #4 on: December 10, 2015, 08:59:39 am »

The problem it is because now people know how to use a computer, an IPAD, an I-Pod, a tablet and a heap of electronic mess but they know nothing of the grammatical rules and have no vocabulary. The journalists have no more general knowledge.

Look at money titles at the television, it is full of faults.

We do not write BIRMINGHAM but B' gham etc.
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inertia

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Re: Correct use of the English Language
« Reply #5 on: December 10, 2015, 09:08:28 am »

"Nucular" for "nuclear" - we can blame Jimmy Carter for that one;
Starting a sentence with "so" (e.g. most Radio 4 interviews)
Inserting "like" or, worse, "obviously" in places where nothing is being compared and even less is obvious (See above)
"Of" instead of "have" - "I should of known better"
The use of a long "A" sound instead of a totally different vowel - marled (mild); arlands (islands), marls (miles) arrs (hours); I even heard "varlant" (violent) the other day!
"Fewer" instead of "less", and vice versa
Poor syntax which leads to confusion e.g. "He bought the car on Wednesday which was faulty" (in what way was Wednesday faulty?)
No, know; there, their, they're; to, too, two

(and, just for Malcolm,  if you turn a radio up to make it louder, why do you turn a fridge down to make it colder?)

Could be worse......could be Hungarian (apparently the most difficult language in the world to learn).

DM
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essex2visuvesi

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Re: Correct use of the English Language
« Reply #6 on: December 10, 2015, 09:28:38 am »


Could be worse......could be Hungarian (apparently the most difficult language in the world to learn).

DM


Alongside Finnish
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dougal99

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Re: Correct use of the English Language
« Reply #7 on: December 10, 2015, 09:31:10 am »

Read 'Eat shoots and leaves' or should that be 'Eats, shoots and leaves' by Lynn Truss. Language changes and evolves. What was correct yesteryear is incorrect today. When did you last use Thee or Thou?  Like a lot  of things today the speed of change appears to be quickening. I find it irritating in the extreme, especially qualifying superlatives. 'Nearly or quite unique' has me shouting at the TV, but I'm just labelled a pedant.


I'm trying to learn German. Before I started I'd never heard of the Nominative, Accusative, Dative and Genitive cases. What was Grammar school for?  {:-{
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GAZOU

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Re: Correct use of the English Language
« Reply #8 on: December 10, 2015, 09:31:55 am »

Why, when we wanted to arrest the computer needed he to rest on starting   %)
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inertia

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Re: Correct use of the English Language
« Reply #9 on: December 10, 2015, 09:40:47 am »

What was Grammar school for?  {:-{
Is it where she met your Grampa?
(Hozok kabátom...)

DM
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dougal99

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Re: Correct use of the English Language
« Reply #10 on: December 10, 2015, 09:43:13 am »

Just remembered this. Seen in the USA earlier this year
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Bob K

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Re: Correct use of the English Language
« Reply #11 on: December 10, 2015, 09:49:21 am »

Has anyone counted the number of times the phrase "For sure" is used, usually without context, in the average F1 broadcast?
Or the percentage of answers to an interviewer's opening question that is almost always "Absolutely".
What really upsets me is the constant misuse of the word "decimate" for anything from slightly damaged to a few injured. 
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mrlownotes

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Re: Correct use of the English Language
« Reply #12 on: December 10, 2015, 09:55:10 am »

D'o'n't' f'o'r'g'e't' a'b'o'u't' o'u'r' n'a't'i'o'n's' 'i'n'c'o'm'p'e't'e'n'c'e ' 'w'i't'h' t'h'e' h'u'm'b'l'e' a'p'o's't'r'o'p'h'e'
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inertia

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Re: Correct use of the English Language
« Reply #13 on: December 10, 2015, 10:13:06 am »

Has anyone counted the number of times the phrase "For sure" is used, usually without context, in the average F1 broadcast?
Or the percentage of answers to an interviewer's opening question that is almost always "Absolutely".
What really upsets me is the constant misuse of the word "decimate" for anything from slightly damaged to a few injured.
For sure, Bobster - obviously you're like absolutely soooo correct there, my friend...... but I'm afraid the 'decimate' thingy is a bit more complicated than that; at least as far as the Oxford English Dictionary is concerned.  If you're short of sleep one night then have a look at this. http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2012/09/does-decimate-mean-destroy-one-tenth/   Your understanding of the word is an etymological fallacy - so there  :P ! It seems that decimate actually means 'to tithe' or tax at one tenth. Its use as a replacement for "completely destroy" is annoying but nevertheless not strictly incorrect, whereas the use of the word 'devastated' (instead of, for example, distraught or distressed) really gets up my nose!

10% tax? How things have changed...
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mrlownotes

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Re: Correct use of the English Language
« Reply #14 on: December 10, 2015, 10:19:10 am »

Your understanding of the word is an etymological fallacy

I used to collect moths as a boy but never caught a Fallacy !

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Brian60

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Re: Correct use of the English Language
« Reply #15 on: December 10, 2015, 10:25:06 am »

Hmmmm...............


I despair of those who write narration for television programmes at times.

I was watching a programme this morning on channel 37 about producing high tensile steel cables for suspension bridges, when the narrator told us all that each cable has to be perfection at a uniform 5.2mm thick.

"Thick" I ask. Should not this be diameter, seeing as the cable is obviously round in section.

How will our children learn from these programmes when the script is at fault and the narrator hasn't the intelligence to see this and say "Wooah, I'm not reading this, it should read diameter and not thick"

Sadly we will only get worse, and whilst I am on this subject, have a listen to the Yorkshire tea advert. It is full of grammatical mistakes. I despair!

Jim.

I was taught that a sentence should have a comma when you need to take a breath. So I added one to your sentence. I was also taught that 'and' should not follow a comma so I highlighted that as well. Lastly although it is used very frequently 'wooah' is one of those slang words that should not be used in correct grammatical pronunciation, 'excuse me' would be more appropriate :-) :-)

Bob K

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Re: Correct use of the English Language
« Reply #16 on: December 10, 2015, 10:26:15 am »

I had read that Dave, but still hold to the Latin military origin, from long before the OED.
Agreed words do change meaning over time, like "Gay" used to mean happy with no overt sexual innuendo. 
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Re: Correct use of the English Language
« Reply #17 on: December 10, 2015, 10:30:05 am »

I had read that Dave, but still hold to the Latin military origin, from long before the OED.
Agreed words do change meaning over time, like "Gay" used to mean happy with no overt sexual innuendo.

Currently, 'gay' means 'rubbish' or not meeting standards.

"Your car is sooo gay"
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inertia

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Re: Correct use of the English Language
« Reply #18 on: December 10, 2015, 10:32:42 am »

I used to collect moths as a boy but never caught a Fallacy !

.............I'll get my coat............
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Jerry C

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Re: Correct use of the English Language
« Reply #19 on: December 10, 2015, 10:34:15 am »

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone?
Jerry.

inertia

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Re: Correct use of the English Language
« Reply #20 on: December 10, 2015, 10:37:52 am »

 8)
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Arrow5

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Re: Correct use of the English Language
« Reply #21 on: December 10, 2015, 10:46:16 am »

The Americanism  "excuse me" meaning "I didn't hear" or "I don't understand" is one of my pet hates. I reply "You are excused" or "Why, what did you do ?"   There usually follows a blank look :((   Worst of all is Lock instead of Loch when referring to a Scottish lake. No problem when referring to an Irish Lough , must be a visual thing "ck" is close to "ch" but "gh" has a lot of sounds in Englich... how do you like that then ? ;D  Sorry that would be  Englick . {-)
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Martin [Admin]

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Re: Correct use of the English Language
« Reply #22 on: December 10, 2015, 11:12:30 am »


My pet hate is the 'rising terminator'  or   'upward inflection'!   >:-o

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-28708526
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Re: Correct use of the English Language
« Reply #23 on: December 10, 2015, 11:17:32 am »

Bear with me, I know where you're coming from.   <*< <*< <*< <*< <*<


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richald

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Re: Correct use and pronunciation of the English Language
« Reply #24 on: December 10, 2015, 11:33:07 am »

The word 'gifted' used to apply to say 'a gifted violinist' or 'a gifted artist'.

I read recently about something being 'gifted to the nation' or 'gifted to charity'.

We have at least two perfectly good words in given or donated without mangling our language.
 
I suspect that this misuse has arrived from the good ol' US of A -  :-)) flak expected!
 
I will not say anything about burglarised, solder, aluminium, chair/chairman, buoy
mispronounced 'boo-i' and one or two other words that I can't just bring to mind now.

Richard
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