After being entertained by the responses to one word in my last post - which I dare not repeat, even in quotation marks and with formal Chicago 15th B referencing, for fear of the wrath of Sean ( ;-) ) - I began thinking of the words, phrases and grammatical inaccuracies that really niggle me and wondering what does the same for other people.
Two words which really irritate me are 'methodology,' used when the intent is 'method' rather than its correct usage as 'the study of method,' and 'problematise' (or 'problematize' more often because we absolutely must use American spellings at every opportunity) which seems to be used pretty loosely to mean anything from critique to analyse to trying-to-sound-impressive-when-i-don't-quite-know-what-to-say.
I'm not keen on 'unpack' used when someone means 'could you explain that to me in more detail' and never really got to grips with using 'over against' which seems to be theological speak for 'as opposed to' or 'in contrast with.'
More generally I get annoyed with people saying 'different to' when correct English is 'different from' and 'similar to' and when people merrily interchange colons, semi-colons, commas and full stops saying "I never really know which to use." Simple. Use short sentences! Or, simple: use short sentences. Or, simply use short sentences. You get my drift!
I am told that it is now acceptable to boldly split infinitives; quite how one 'boldies' in a splitting manner, I have yet to grasp, and I continue to be irritated by said practice.
Some colloquial idiosyncracies that grate include double negatives, as in "I ain't got none" (ergo you must have some), the use of 'them' when the correct word would be 'those,' as in "them chairs" when it should be "those chairs," and adjectival poverty, such as the midlands use of 'nice' and Warrington use of 'gorgeous' for anything positive (or, worse, in the negative 'not gorgeous' - as I once heard said to a misbehaving child, "that behaviour is really not gorgeous.") .
But top of the irritants has to be the north west, and especially Warringtonian/Mancunian confusion of the words 'lend' and 'borrow' - expressions such as "can I lend your book?" or "I borrowed you my pen." The correct answer to "can I lend your book?" would, presumably, be "to whom do you wish to lend it?" As for borrowing someone my possessions, that is just plain nonsense!
Anyone want to add what annoys them?
Comments
Thank you for unpacking that for us. I now see that everybody's particular irritants are simply different to those of others. I will try in future to conscientiously not split my infinitives (sorry, conscientiously to split not my infinitives) when in communication with you. No, not never, no more - if you follow my meaning (which is, in this particular instance, so subtle it even evades me)! Or am I making too nice a distinction between colloquialism and those verbal infelicities that simply indicate the lack of grammar in modern language education? Teach 'em all Latin, I say. That'd learn 'em!
P.S. I had the humbling experience the other month of reading a transcript of myself in conversation with a museum curator - prior to becoming a temporary exhibit in their Scenes from Clerical Life display. Not only was the grammar totally up the wall, but even I couldn't tell what I meant! Is that because of the difference between written and spoken communication, or do I always speak gibberish?
Wonderful, as ever. Certainly made me chuckle a little.
Yes, I think spoken and written English differ, and I think that both vary with context. Blog English is not the same as academic Englsh is not the same as letter to gas board English.
I think those of us who had comprehensive educations in the 1970's/1980's are to be congratulated for being able to string sentences together in any coherent manner, let alone learning fancy dances we've seen on TV... Oh, you didn't mean that kind of Latin! ;-)
I'd agree re the difference between written and spoken word, and also the different written forms. I write lots of formal papers at work, and use a formal style in them. However, I am continually amazed and frustrated at how otherwise intelligent people do not seem to be able to do the same.
Today I substantially re-wrote a paper a colleague had sent me to comment on the substance, as I was unable to comment on it without turning it into readable English first. This involved getting rid of phrases such as "across the patch" (meaning across the whole of the PCT), and the ubiquitous use of "GP's" whenever more than one doctor was mentioned. (I am waging a one-woman campaign on the correct use of the apostrophe!)
I am the beneficiary of a 1978-83 comprehensive school education which included Latin, which was where I learnt all my grammar, as we weren't taught any in the English class!
As for verbal expressions, the one which drives me up the wall is the omission of the word "to" around Warrington. It is not even abbreviated to a Yorkshire-ish glottal stop "t", it is completely obliterated. This results in my children telling me they are "going school". I am compelled to correct them on every occasion.
Well, thanks for letting me get all that off my chest - I feel much better now!
Don't tell my mother that, she's absolutely convinced that Scottish education is infinitely superior to English based on her 1940's experience. She could be right, but if Scotland also stopped teaching grammar in the 70's...
I must admit I struggle with so-called greengrocers' (I assume it's plural greengrocers to whom they are attributed) apostrophes but would not claim to be perfect in my use of them (e.g. as in 70's above...).
I had forgotten about "goin' town." In Leicestershire and Northamptonshire people "go up town", when I lived I Derby they would "go darn the tarn." Only edificated folk like you and I, it seems, go to town.
Another collquial one I'd forgotten about was the Glasgwegian "this needs done" and general English "this needs doing" when it really should be "this needs to be done." Though I have to confess that these latter couple of examples amuse more than irritate.
Could go on for ages, but I'd just reveal myself as the grumpy old woman I really am.