DanTheFoxBhoy Posted 13 June 2006 Posted 13 June 2006 i hate it when people use anthropomorphic fallacies such as the fox played with its toy foxes don't have toys Yes they do... Rams.
Phube Posted 13 June 2006 Posted 13 June 2006 Seeing as previous posters posts are being scrutinised. b) That re. is a shortend version of the word regarding, therefore must have a full stop after it, shortened. My turn to be picked on I do believe. Do the French opr Spanish have this trouble? Las negras vacas=the black cows. La negros vacas would mean a single black cows. Hey up. Just realised I have an automatic translator. I moved my mouse over vaca and cows=vaca appeared. It's on the Google toolbar under options. I have a spellchecker but I sometimes like to see if others notice mistakes in my text. Keeps the old ones memories refreshed and active and also gives the young 'uns some practice. More words are being added to the OUD every year but sometimes misuse of words or phases can cause trouble. Take 'I didn't win nothing' which is heard in bookies throughout Britain. (and told to wives) So if this person did not win nothing it must mean they won something. Now if the wives were astute they would realise this and grill the poor hubby as to the whereabouts of her shopping money. The black ink situation is quite understandable. When I had my SIA application signed by 'a professional person' they had to do it in black ink. The reason being certain information is scanned and ink colours such as blue and green don't show up and therefore makes the form and the information contained in it unusable when the applicants credentials are checked out.. Go on folks check my text for mistakes. In your second written line!!! Ha ha.
Rincewind Posted 13 June 2006 Posted 13 June 2006 In football terms how about 'We could loan him' Wrong! The giver is the one that loans. The correct term would be 'borrow' if a club were to bring in a player. It does not help when sports commentators get it wrong. There must be plenty of things said by them that are incorrect English or to be more precise nonsensical. 'he has only one foot' 'he picked the ball up on the halfway line and ran into the box' (cheat) How can young people be expected to get it right when the media and their elders set such a bad example? A lot of the bad usage of English is accepted so readily because it would take time and effort to think about it in today's hectic society. To a lot of people this does not concern them but those that study or have an interest in linguistics are always certain to notice. I knew somebody who used to watch TV and note down (usually MP's) any errors. Double negatives, misuse of words in sentences etc. then write to newspapers about it. I thought it a bit OTT but he had once taught linguistics at Liverpool University. I'm not perfect with my English usage as some have pointed out at times, but I like to get the basics right. IE. sentences broken up by commas, the use of paragraphs and capital letter at the beginning of sentences and for real names. If I shorten words like 'is not' I put 'isn't' and not 'isnt'. The missing letter is between the 'n' and the 't' so the ' replaces it. Most people know that though even when not using it. BTW paragraphs are supposed to be indented but it is not easy to do on messageboards. Cannot have a space at the beginning of the line. The admins. on here will have to be spoken to about this. Astute Foxestalk members will notice the outlined bold sentence is bad English but why? (can't be bothered to change it.)
Daggers Posted 13 June 2006 Author Posted 13 June 2006 Do the French opr Spanish have this trouble? Las negras vacas=the black cows. La negros vacas would mean a single black cows The Spanish do, they have a body [like the Inquisition] set up to run the rule over the language. They adjudicate what words are acceptable and whether certain constructions are permissable. This doesn't stop your renegades from messing with it ~ Colombians invented a whole new way of speaking VOS which has spread across the continent, but is not officially recognised as an acceptable form of address. As for your poor cows, the object has to preceed: Las vacas negras or la vaca negra ...the ends have to marry up as well. Although if we are discussing English cows then it would have to be la vaca loca!
Rincewind Posted 13 June 2006 Posted 13 June 2006 I should have known that about the Spanish cow after going night school to learn it. Every exercise had something to translate that would never be used in everyday conversation with Spaniards. Unless you dp happen to see a red dog eating a green bike. There are several different types of Spanish. Basque, South American etc. I wonder if The Madrid Spaniard would face the same problem when encountering a Mexican local as somebody from Leicester speaking to a genuine Yorkshieman or Scot? Language is pretty universal. Countries all over Europe have foreign words intergrated into their language. The Spanish for sugar 'azar' (?) is I believe Arabic The word for 'night' is similar in a few countries. Nicht I think is one. If you don't speak the language in the Ountry you are visiting guesswork can be used. Ie. Saying 'uno bier' is useful when on holiday. Unless you are in Benidorm when the correct phrase would be 'Gizza nuvva pint willya mate' I like to learn a few words for any country that I visit, if it is only 'please' and 'thank-you' or to order a meal and then ask for the bill after. The effort is normally appreciated. Another question. What is wrong with this famous pharase from a well known TV series. 'To boldly go where no man has gone before.'
The People's Hero Posted 13 June 2006 Posted 13 June 2006 I think that those who live in the Basque region and have made the effort to learn Catalan might be a bit upset that you just labelled it as a sub-division of Spanish.
Daggers Posted 13 June 2006 Author Posted 13 June 2006 I should have known that about the Spanish cow after going night school to learn it. Every exercise had something to translate that would never be used in everyday conversation with Spaniards. Unless you dp happen to see a red dog eating a green bike. There are several different types of Spanish. Basque, South American etc. I wonder if The Madrid Spaniard would face the same problem when encountering a Mexican local as somebody from Leicester speaking to a genuine Yorkshieman or Scot? My first course was all about complaining: the lift doesn't work, the meal is crap, the view is wonky. Just my cup of tea Carribean coastal is meant to be the Spanish equivalent of Geordie or drunk Glaswegian whereas that spoken in Bogota is meant to be akin to HRH's tongue itself. I found that using everyday phrases was quite dangerous; upon telling a taxi driver that I questioned his parentage he produced a machete. I think that those who live in the Basque region and have made the effort to learn Catalan might be a bit upset that you just labelled it as a sub-division of Spanish. I reckon you'd find yourself on the end of a damn fine punching for telling a Basque that he's Spanish.
MC Prussian Posted 13 June 2006 Posted 13 June 2006 My first course was all about complaining: the lift doesn't work, the meal is crap, the view is wonky. Just my cup of tea Carribean coastal is meant to be the Spanish equivalent of Geordie or drunk Glaswegian whereas that spoken in Bogota is meant to be akin to HRH's tongue itself. I found that using everyday phrases was quite dangerous; upon telling a taxi driver that I questioned his parentage he produced a machete. I reckon you'd find yourself on the end of a damn fine punching for telling a Basque that he's Spanish. Or maybe even a gang war with explosives involved. Ooops!!
Daggers Posted 14 June 2006 Author Posted 14 June 2006 Or maybe even a gang war with explosives involved. Ooops!! Nah! That kind of nonsense seems to be confined to Birmingahm at the moment
macbeth Posted 15 June 2006 Posted 15 June 2006 gateway and alderman newtons were awful grammar schools
Katy Posted 15 June 2006 Posted 15 June 2006 gateway and alderman newtons were awful grammar schools My Uncle went there and emergrated to Australia when he was 17 - coincidence?
macbeth Posted 15 June 2006 Posted 15 June 2006 My Uncle went there and emergrated to Australia when he was 17 - coincidence? yes it was a penal colony stil in those days
macbeth Posted 15 June 2006 Posted 15 June 2006 My Uncle went there and emergrated to Australia when he was 17 - coincidence? seriously how old would he be now and his name /i might remember him?
Head Honcho Posted 15 June 2006 Posted 15 June 2006 Is anyone else as peeved as I am with phrases like: end of! simple as! ? In my days sentances had it all ~ subjects, objects AND verbs. Sometimes we would throw in a couple of subjunctives and a superlative for a giggle. Oh it was mad back then, I can tell you. Do me a favour
macbeth Posted 15 June 2006 Posted 15 June 2006 I should have known that about the Spanish cow after going night school to learn it. Every exercise had something to translate that would never be used in everyday conversation with Spaniards. Unless you dp happen to see a red dog eating a green bike. There are several different types of Spanish. Basque, South American etc. I wonder if The Madrid Spaniard would face the same problem when encountering a Mexican local as somebody from Leicester speaking to a genuine Yorkshieman or Scot? Language is pretty universal. Countries all over Europe have foreign words intergrated into their language. The Spanish for sugar 'azar' (?) is I believe Arabic The word for 'night' is similar in a few countries. Nicht I think is one. If you don't speak the language in the Ountry you are visiting guesswork can be used. Ie. Saying 'uno bier' is useful when on holiday. Unless you are in Benidorm when the correct phrase would be 'Gizza nuvva pint willya mate' I like to learn a few words for any country that I visit, if it is only 'please' and 'thank-you' or to order a meal and then ask for the bill after. The effort is normally appreciated. Another question. What is wrong with this famous pharase from a well known TV series. 'To boldly go where no man has gone before.' split infinitive
macbeth Posted 15 June 2006 Posted 15 June 2006 alderman newton has a statue on the clock tower with simon de montfort who are the other two cavalier looking blades?
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