What are your pet peeves re English usage?

I would personally opine that it is an example of imprecision in speech, and creeping Americanism in Merry Old . . . but it certainly constitutes a peeve, to which you are entitled by law . . .

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Steve (as 41oo) wrote:

Is this me being pedantic or is it a frightening example of Orwellian Newspeak?

The former, Steve, the former. Smile

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Setanta wrote:

I would personally opine that it is an example of imprecision in speech, and creeping Americanism in Merry Old . . . but it certainly constitutes a peeve, to which you are entitled by law . . .

Somone alert the Guinness folk. I think Set's goin' for the world record for uniformed opinions in a single day. And he sure as hell ain't gonna let any research slow him up! Laughing

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I heard a locution in North Carolina which i have preferred ever since--who don't care is me . . .

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So my example is a peeve, and I'm entitled to be peeved but its also an example of pedantry, and one must not be a pedant.

Thanks you guys I think things are getting clearer Smile

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JTT

If, in your opinion it is ok for "I could care less" to mean the same as "I could not care less", what if I could care less about your opinion?

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JTT wrote:

Somone alert the Guinness folk. I think Set's goin' for the world record for uniformed opinions in a single day. And he sure as hell ain't gonna let any research slow him up!

was that supposed to read 'uninformed', Joyless Johnny Thing?

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Ah, Pen, you're fitting in well. Smile

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Steve (as 41oo) wrote:

JTT

If, in your opinion it is ok for "I could care less" to mean the same as "I could not care less", what if I could care less about your opinion?

Then you still have to deal with the findings of language science and the considerable weight of millions upon millions of users of just such a collocation.

As to its meaning, Steve, it's not simply my opinion. It's what is. There's no denying it at all. There is no other meaning for this collocation. It's a done deal, there's no going back and all the opinions of all the naysayers can't change the facts.

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The Pen is wrote:

JTT wrote:

Somone alert the Guinness folk. I think Set's goin' for the world record for uniformed opinions in a single day. And he sure as hell ain't gonna let any research slow him up!

was that supposed to read 'uninformed', Joyless Johnny Thing?

Thank you, TPi. You're going to be one busy little individual as the resident proofreader.

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I've just seen that words programme on TV

Which word has the longest entry in the OED (Oxford English Dictionary)?

It is the word 'set'.

Surprising i'n't it.

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JTT wrote:

Steve (as 41oo) wrote:
JTT

If, in your opinion it is ok for "I could care less" to mean the same as "I could not care less", what if I could care less about your opinion?

Then you still have to deal with the findings of language science and the considerable weight of millions upon millions of users of just such a collocation.

As to its meaning, Steve, it's not simply my opinion. It's what is. There's no denying it at all. There is no other meaning for this collocation. It's a done deal, there's no going back and all the opinions of all the naysayers can't change the facts.

Well how does it square with simple logic? I could care less = I could not care less. I could fly = I could not fly. I can pay = I cannot pay...etc?

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Steve (as 41oo) wrote:

Well how does it square with simple logic? I could care less = I could not care less. I could fly = I could not fly. I can pay = I cannot pay...etc?

It squares perfectly, Steve, with the logic that is contained within language. There isn't an ENL on the planet that doesn't know what the meaning is.

This is the same type of fallacy that prescriptive grammar erred on for so long, wrt double negatives. A double negative, they said/say equals a positive, errantly equating the logic of language with a completely different discipline, mathematics.

And what followed; centuries of some ENLs, prone to believing anything that their grade school teachers told them, mouthing this canard, when, when, not a one of them ever interpreted a double negative as a positive. Their internal grammars simply would not stand such nonsense.

It's the same thing with this collocation. "I could care less" is an idiomatic expression that expresses basically the same thing as "I couldn't care less".

BrE is full of idiomatic expressions [as is AuE, CdE, AmE, ...] that don't make sense to users of other languages, sometimes even among users of different dialects of English. Language only has to make sense to the people who use it and this collocation makes perfect sense to everyone's internal grammar.

It's only when people try to think about language, without expending the gray matter necessary to reach logical conclusions, that they get into trouble.

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JTT wrote:

It's only when people try to think about language, without expending the gray matter necessary to reach logical conclusions, that they get into trouble.

Firstly I am unfamiliar with term ENL..

Second you talk about expending grey matter to reach logical conclusions, but its thinking about the phrase "I could care less" that has led me to the conclusion that its basically wrong. It certainly sounds wrong to a Brit. I can assure you that anyone here who used that expression to mean "I couldn't care less" would be met with quizzical looks.

I care .............is a statement
I could care ....is a conditional statement
I could not care .....is the negation of a conditional statement
I could not care less......is a qualification of that negated conditional statement.

Does any of the above make any sense to you?

Accepting that English is used differently in America and England, in the US presumably people used to say "I couldnt care less" ....or have they always said "I could care less"...??

If the latter has replaced the former, are people who still hang on to the old "I couldn't care less" format deemed to be speaking sloppily or even (dare I say) incorrectly?

I am not being pedantic for the sake of it. I genuinely do not understand how language can change so that a statement can evolve into its own negation without a corresponding change in meaning.

Moreover if you airly suggest that people dont bat an eyelid at double negatives anymore, and this is a similar thing, then I'm sorry but I will continue to try and avoid them.

I ain't never used 'em in the past and I wont stop not usin' 'em in the future neither.

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That's nicely put, Steve.

But since one don't need to differentiate between, say, India and the West Indies - not speaking about knowing the difference between a zeugma and a hendiadys - those, who learnt and/or were taught proper English will stay quasi-mythical creatures for the others :wink:

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Why quasi, Walter? Let's say, you are mythical...

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ENL means English as a Native Language . . . similar to ESL, English as a Second Language, which leads to TOEFL, Test of English as a Foreign Language, and other absurdities with which the pompous may embellish their posts . . . jargon is a wunnerful thang, ain't it?

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This thread is very long and I have not read everything, but one of my pet peeves is seeing "alot" written or printed when they really mean "a lot". I even checked the dictionary again, just to make sure it hadn't been grandfathered in because it was so overused/misspelled. It's not there.

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This thread is very long and I have not read everything, but one of my pet peeves is seeing "alot" written or printed when they really mean "a lot". I even checked the dictionary again, just to make sure it hadn't been grandfathered in because it was so overused/misspelled. It's not there.

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glitterbag wrote:

This thread is very long and I have not read everything, but one of my pet peeves is seeing "alot" written or printed when they really mean "a lot". I even checked the dictionary again, just to make sure it hadn't been grandfathered in because it was so overused/misspelled. It's not there.

Good one, glitterbag.
Similarly with "alright". I don't like it- it seems to be getting into the mainstream, but I would always write "all right".

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What are your pet peeves re English usage?

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