What are your pet peeves re English usage?

Take a look at this, you English buffs, if you've got time.

http://www.able2know.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=3004193#3004193

please

McTag--

He's on my conscience, but I'm just too weary for the line-to-line editing he needs. I ache for him--English and Chinese are two different languages--but practical help would take time and energy I'm short on this week.

What are your pet peeves re English usage?
That 'Ph' sounds like 'F'. It doesn't. It's the Greek lovers amongst our Prophessors that think it does. That we have to learn greek words for 'Fear of Hights' and then translate back into English instead of using English in the first place. And English teachers ,pedants to a man/woman.

Re: What are your pet peeves re English usage?


Fear of Heights - Acrophobia

Thank you phor that, Phrancis.

Note that "heights" has a letter 'e'.

I noted that, in bold, Contrex...

Unless, of course, it's the very common fear of being named, being called, or being name-called ...

Definition of Hight:

adj. Archaic.
Named or called.

[Middle English, past participle of highten, hihten, to call, be called, from hehte, hight, past tense of hoten, from Old English hātan.]

Akin to 'yclept' although the etymology is obviously different.

MA - which do you use in ordinary discussions?

What are your pet peeves re English usage?
As for the serial coma in example, "The red, white and blue..."

When I was learning English in the early '80's, we were required to put a comma between , "The red, white, and blue...", but the requirement changed toward the end of the 80's that said we no longer needed a comma to differentiate between the list of items. I still to this day can't write it without a comma in between the list of items and and/or.

Ex. I'm mailing my christmas cards, a gift to my mother, and a box of chocolates to me. (Old way)

Ex. I'm mailing my christmas cards, a gift to my mother and a box of chocolates to me. (New way)

I have no idea why they changed it. I guess we're always looking for a faster way of writing and speaking.

Speaking of which, I hate it when people call me "Hon" either in person or on the phone. I'm not that sweet...

I grew up with that, too, and mainly because it can be confusing sometimes without one, for example:

Elaine made the following sandwiches: roast beef, egg, cheese, and peanut butter and jam.

Now, was that peanut butter sandwiches and jam sandwiches, or peanut butter and jam sandwiches?

It is all about the placement, Mame. Nip it in the bud.

Oh, and, Aimus....how are you, Hon?

Hmpf - you've never called ME "hon".

What are your pet peeves re English usage?
Gusta,
I'm doing well thank you. I guess I can be sweet some of the time. Depends on who's askin'. Hope you're enjoying the holiday's (or at least have some time off).
I have a BIG pet peeve of the English language, but I'm not typing it here. It's a word I wish no one would use anymore here in America. The only way to eliminate the word from our language is for everyone to stop using it. Unfortunately, it's a part of our slang that only certain people can use. I say if you don't want to hear it at all, stop using it.
And Gusta, I hope you have a year of discovery in 2008. How about trying sky diving or parasailing? You'd be amazed at how quiet it is up there when you parasail.

The thing about serial commas --

The thinking of the language mavens is that in short lists the conjunction 'and' takes the place of the comma. Thus: red, white and blue. There's no confusion here. It can get confusing, however, in a more complex list, such as the one Mame used as an example. Are the peanut butter sandwiches separate from the jelly sandwiches, or is it a peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich? (Notice how sneakily I stuck in those hyphens?) My rule of thumb is that where the meaning would be perfectly clear, there's no need for a comma to precede a conjunction. If in doubt, though, I'll stick in the comma. The whole secret of writing a good sentence is to make sure the reader will understand what you meant to say.

The main reason, I think, that the rules regarding serial commas were changed is that the little critter was getting overworked. Read Charles Dickens very carefully some time. He separates every preposition in a sentence with commas. It's grammatically quite correct but also quite unnecessary. We wouldn't write it that way today. Sometimes Dickens even separates adverbs from the main sentence as in "Suddenly, the doorbell rang." Why on earth is there a comma there? Because the old rules used to say you needed one. You don't.

You know, MA, my father was/is a writer and he schooled us on the UK old way, so that's the way I write... you know, you take a breath, you insert a comma...(and he was against ...s and ---s, by the way...which I use profusely and indiscriminately).

Language usage, grammar, everything's changing, as it always has and willk, but when I read something without that last comma, I have to redo it in my head to make sure I have it right.

I learned to never start a sentence with a conjunction, but it's done all the time by all sorts of people. I do it, myself, but I still think it's "wrong"

Mame, it's "wrong" only because some people with way too much time on their hands say that it's wrong. If the sentence is clear, lucid and understandable, there's no reason on earth why it shouldn't begin with a preposition, conjunction or any other kind of word. (Okay, okay, I can see where a pedant might argue against the conjunction. A conjunction, by definition, joins things. At the begining of a sentence, there's nothing to join. My personal rule of thumb still stands: if it's undertsandable, it's okay.)

What are your pet peeves re English usage?
First of, I want to respond to how I would read Mame's example.

Elaine made the following sandwiches: roast beef, egg, cheese, and peanut butter and jam.

I see a colon as a stop sign. Therefore, I would see a roast beef sandwich, an egg sandwich, a cheese sandwich, and a peanut butter and jam sandwich.

Secondly, Charles Dickens quote...""Suddenly, the doorbell rang." I'd like to read the sentence before, but I think the comma is there to give you a sense of foreboding or just to make you jump while you're reading it at first. The word "suddenly" will make you apprehensive at first, but give you time to get over it.