Comments on: The apostrophical catastrophe of being punctuationarily illiterate

By: Natasha Siniscalchi

Natasha Siniscalchi — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 12:25:16 +0000

@Mundundu – Does it seeem right to you that you attempt to correct anyone’s grammar when you yourself have committed a million errors in the Italian note you wrote for Judith…?

By: Brave New Language: South Efrican « Wordwhisperer’s Weblog

Brave New Language: South Efrican « Wordwhisperer’s Weblog — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:27:21 +0000

[...] That got me thinking that I might have to tighten up my grammar a bit. Just a bit. It won’t hurt, right? So that’s what I have been doing these past seven months. I’ve been reading Grammar Girl, Copyblogger, Words to the Wise and many other language related blogs. Yes, I’ve also been reading Conjugate Visits and even made the faux pas of calling it Conjugal Visits… [...]

By: jay

jay — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 04:34:48 +0000

@joy-Mari ….. “Conjugal Visits, nogal. *She blushes* So sorry, I meant Conjugate Visits…..”

Damnnnn – and here was poor hot blooded me thinking I was almost onto a steamy and seamy night of ……

It would never have worked out anyway …. A long hike across Oz, then a bit of a swim over to Durban (maybe?) and then?

Bloody Hell – I’d be too buggered to do anything except sleep – so much for my staying power – but if you put on a decent spread, then I would probably wake up for dinner perhaps?

By: Joy-Mari

Joy-Mari — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:47:55 +0000

Conjugal Visits, nogal. *She blushes* So sorry, I meant Conjugate Visits.

I no longer fancy myself to be a Grammar Nazi; I am now a Grammar Democrat. LOL

I’ve been using googling for yonks. And fashionista. And recently I even used kitchenista. Ha ha ha

By: jay

jay — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 11:30:46 +0000

@ Bob …..
“He summitted Everest.”; “he podiumed at the Grand Prix.” I feel most uncomfortable with these – as I have always done with “He wrote me,” although the latter is long established in the US.

Bob – you among many are making the massive mistake that Americans actually read, write and speak English, a long held fallacy.

In actuality, they are only fluent in American … but then again, I suppose I could stand corrected on that one might suppose …. perhaps?

However, as for “He wrote me ….. a letter (or note)” that is typical of how most “yanks” think – they are, in the main in the appalling habit of cutting off a lot of things, like the ending of words and even sentences, much to the detriment of those who can not think down to their levels.

@Joy-Mari
After googling (sorry about that) “Conjugal Visits” and led into the world of those who had been caught, rather than into several hours of browsing through some interesting, but somewhat pedantic, and in my opinion some archaic thinking, after all language is an ever evolving thought process and a way of expression.

As a Courts appointed interpreter/translator I made a short trip back to the country where the language was gained and was amazed at the change, and the introduction of many introduced words so, like English, every language moves along.

However, I really liked one quote from one of the links ….

“Do you get grief from grammar snobs?” she responds, “…the more rude someone is, the more likely they are to be wrong”

How true, how true that comment and that sentiment – and not only in this little blog!

By: Joy-Mari

Joy-Mari — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:48:54 +0000

@Bob: I like American English’ grammar. British English’ grammar is vague. Yes,some Americans do use ‘managarese’, but you wouldn’t find it in respected publications such as The New York Times.

What do you think of South Efrican, though (this is a deliberate misspelling)? Are we still influenced by British English, or have we become too influenced by American English? Should we not write ‘at the weekend’, and not ‘on the weekend’? Are we creating our own grammar here?

I have a fondness for vogue words. Shoot me. That’s how language evolves. Shakespeare didn’t even know how to write his own name, so why should he be the only person allowed to create new words?

By: Bob

Bob — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 18:18:51 +0000

@Jon
I stand corrected – only noticed it when I sobered up.
Anyway, seems this blog’s got legs – I had no idea S’effricans cared so much for grammar.
So, what do we think of the vogue of (unknown people – not Shakespeare) coining new words & changing parts of speech, e.g.:
“impacting” as a transitive verb “it impacted my way forward (ugh)”
Making nouns into verbs:
“He summitted Everest.”; “he podiumed at the Grand Prix.” I feel most uncomfortable with these – as I have always done with “He wrote me,” although the latter is long established in the US.
Thing is, who are these people, otherwise mostly communications illiterate, who think they are entitled to add new grammar to the lexicon of centuries of application & wisdom?
And there’s the ugly 18C “gotten” that has survived in the US vernacular but which is sadly achieving a new vogue amongst the trendily ignorant/ esp. DJs.) Who would ever want to pick up the Americans’ appalling habits?

By: Joy-Mari

Joy-Mari — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:53:07 +0000

It’s a pleasure, Jay.

By: jay

jay — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:25:30 +0000

@ joy-mari

Thank you my friend for the advice – looks like I will really need to check that blog out.

Who knows I might be educated a bit more?

By: Jon

Jon — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:55:03 +0000

No, Bob, the biscuit isn’t the SUBJECT in the old metaphor but the object viz. : “XYZ takes the biscuit.”

(And, by the way, Moon Unit was lucky. Her elder brother was named Dweezil.)