DnvrFox

Really, I am losing my mind.

We lose weight, we don't loose weight. If you have loose weight, perhaps you might find it in the closet.

We have a training regimen. A regiment is something in the military! It would, however, be possible to have a regimen for a regiment.

Just sort of driving me nuts!!

Any words driving YOU nuts?

dynodonn 

There are no words that drive me nuts so to speak, but I've noticed that many on BF have difficulty with the words "then" and "than".

Wanderer

As long as I know what they mean, it's find.

Lives too short to worry about stuff that ain't worth worrying about... LOL

Old School

Dnvr,
I'll bet you had Mrs. Parker for 5th grade English too! Growing up, if we used words incorrectly at the family dinner table, my dad would send us to get the Oxford Dictionary of the English Language to look it up. I tend to be very precise with my grammar, syntax and spelling even now.

yopappamon

Certain phrases, especially used in the media:

"high rate of speed"
"for free"

stapfam

Now that has me worried. No wonder the English language is so adulterated. An American trying to speak proper English with the correct syntax and Grammar- but I do have one question- Do you have an American Dictionary for the spelling of the English Language? If not- then some of you have to go back to Mrs. Parker

With so many dialects over here and so many local words that I do not know the meaning of- I don't care how people spell it or say it- Provided I Understand the gist of what they are saying.

cranky old dude

Sometimes I always say, "Language is a tool, not an Art Form.".

The way I use it is anyway.

DnvrFox

"Sometimes you always say??"

I always say it, but just sometimes!!

NOS88

I've always been taught that language is a living thing that changes as do other living things. For example, when I was young "party" was always a noun. Today it seems to be used as a "verb" as often as not. I suspect the speed with which language changes will grow very quickly, driven by the cohort of young ones who text message with frequency. I'm OK with changes as long as they don't diminish the intellect. But this would then open the door to a discussion of the various type of intelligence, a no win debate much like, "Is Campy Record better than Dura Ace". (See how I made this whole thread cycling related so it doesn't get moved to Foo.)

Pat

Well Denver I sort of agree with the "loosing weight". I get a very strange image of what "loosing weight" looks like. Regiment does not bother me so much because I don't expect anyone to know military terms. Even better is someone talking about being rescued by the calvary. I get an image of a hill with crosses bristling on it moving along.

DnvrFox

And that's also why I put "50+r's" in the title.

DnvrFox

Wogster

As a Canadian I see both English and American English and have come to the conclusion that they are similar, similar enough to be understood generally by a speaker of the other, but different enough that like German and Austrian or Spanish and Portuguese they should be classed as separate languages. Some words are spelled differently, other words have the same spelling and pronunciation, but different meanings.

Then again some would argue that English isn't a language at all, but rather a history of ancient England in spoken form, a creole if you will. The base of the language is Old German (the Angles being sacked by the Saxons, who brought their language with them), the Angles own language closely related to Gaelic, added a few words to it, the Danes and later Normans also added some words. which is why the spelling and pronunciation of some words doesn't make sense, they were essentially bolted on from their home language, rather then modified to fit the language they were being added to.

About the only thing I find bothers me is when the wrong form of a word is used, for example:

I road my bicycle, down the rode.

cranky old dude

You're worried about spelling lose /loose? Ha! Read on.......
(These showed up in my e-mail just today....good timing I think)

Why is the third hand on the watch called the second hand?

Why do we say something is out of whack? What is a whack?

Why does "slow down" and "slow up" mean the same thing?

Why does "fat chance" and "slim chance" mean the same thing?

Why do "tug" boats push their barges?

Why do we sing "Take me out to the ball game" when we are already there?

Why are they called " stands" when they are made for sitting?

Why is it called "after dark" when it really is "after light"?

Doesn't "expecting the unexpected" make the unexpected expected?

Why are a "wise man" and a "wise guy" opposites?

Why do "overlook" and "oversee" mean opposite things?

Why is "phonics" not spelled the way it sounds?

Why is bra singular and panties plural?

Why do we put suits in garment bags and garments in a suitcase?

Why do they call it a TV set when you only have one?

Why do we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway ?


How do any of us know what's going on with a crazy language like the one we use?

unterhausen

I don't usually come in here, but I saw the thread title and was going to change it. Loose instead of lose is unpleasant to observe, but doesn't have the same effect as using they're instead of their. That raises my blood pressure. Apostrophes that don't belong drive me crazy. I really don't understand that.

BillK

My rant is the often repeated phrase, "you've got"...

doctor j

I can take an aspirin, and I take take a bus, ouch!

BluesDawg

...to change your evil ways, baby.

Here is mine:

The past tense of ride is rode, not road.

JanMM

I road on the rode would be rong, then.

No one has mentioned the strange case of the malfunctioning breaks.

Louis

Yup, that one always makes my eye twitch.

I'm not too bad with words but when it comes to punctuation, I'm usually wingin' it.

I still cannot understand why bicyclists refer to their bike's fork as "forks". It's a "fork", why does everyone pluralize it? Can someone clue me in. Perhaps I'm missing something.

Oh well, fork it, I don't care.

Road Fan

Just the old favorites; brake/break, pedal/peddle, et cetera.

Seems to me that loosing your mind, which could also be a mispelling of loosening, is for many people a good thing!

Road Fan

Perhaps it is organic, but in life, not all mutations are good ones.

ddez

Spelling was something i was good at when in school. Never had to write much in life until i got this blasted computer. I cant believe the number of words i can no longer remember how to spell. Often i have to change entire sentences so as to avoid a word i wanted to use but cant spell anymore. So not only am i losing my mind but lazy too. Or maybe my mind has become loose.

yopappamon

Oh, and commercials that say " you deserve..."

NOS88

Those that survive have some functional value or they wouldn't survive.