ratter71 Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 The word that I have the most difficulty in selplnig is 'diarrhoea' ... get's me every time, and have to look it up (not in the biblical sense). It's far easier just to say 'S**t ones self '. dash in a rush really hurry or else accident Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamf Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 I used to substitute it with "an upset tummy"...when I wrote notes for my kids! Good idea, to avoid "too much information" syndrome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alcoblog Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 dash in a rush really hurry or else accident I like that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denlin Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 What words can you see, write and speak that just look all wrong even though when you say it sounds right. My word is... Colonel - Why not just say Kernel instead as that is how you pronounce it anyway. Don't you mean why not write Kernel? because it is spoken or pronounced as kernel but written as Colonel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnvqsos Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Don't you mean why not write Kernel? because it is spoken or pronounced as kernel but written as Colonel Half the people on SF cannot articulate and another proportion cannot read-how do these threads develop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denlin Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Half the people on SF cannot articulate and another proportion cannot read-how do these threads develop? :hihi::hihi: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alcoblog Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Half the people on SF cannot articulate and another proportion cannot read-how do these threads develop? Some people put in hyphenation-when-it's-not-required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgksheff Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Don't you mean why not write Kernel? because it is spoken or pronounced as kernel but written as Colonel Some may well pronounce colonel as "kernel". That is their choice. Try pronouncing it without the "r". That would be more representative of the English usage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DT Ralge Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Not "stupid" just quirky. But for all this, it has been the one language that non-English speakers queue up to learn (however else the French would have it.) And just how do they get on with English grammar and spellings "rules" that don't really work all the time? eg. "I" before "e" except after "c" ..... Oh, and except for weird, Keith, heinous, vein, rein, feint, feign, ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliceBB Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Some people put in hyphenation-when-it's-not-required. But it was required, where gnvqsos put it. Let's celebrate the fact that at least one person on this forum knows how to use a dash effectively as a punctuation mark! I have ploughed my way through this thread from the start to here, resisting the strong compulsion to bang my head against a wall. On the one hand, we have the Insect in Amber school of language study, which holds that Standard English is a perfect thing and should be preserved unchanged forever (despite the irony that some of the scholars of this school are unable to use it themselves). On the other hand, we have the 'anything goes' brigade - textspeak is fine, English needs updating, etc. Surely the truth is that language (both written and spoken) is organic and changes (semantically and grammatically) with time and as society changes. Everyone here will use vocabulary which didn't exist in their parents' childhood, and most people would accept that some relaxation of formal Standard English spelling, punctuation and grammar is acceptable on a semi-formal chat forum such as this, although it wouldn't be in a job application, for example. If you are leaving a note for a family member, you can use whatever shorthand you want as long as they will understand it. If you are chatting to your mates, you can use whatever foreign language, slang, swear words, regional dialect, US or other non-standard English you want - assuming they understand you. If however you are in a more formal situation, then formal standard English may be more appropriate. Context is all! Language control freaks can throw themselves about as much as they like about the 'decline' or the 'corruption' of the English language, but they have simply missed the point. English is alive and kicking - and all the more fascinating for the many influences which shape its use. Deal with it! What's concerning is the unimaginative response of some users of language to its possibilities... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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