05-19-2013, 09:17 PM | #46 |
Guru
Posts: 891
Karma: 8893661
Join Date: Feb 2012
Device: Kindle
|
|
05-20-2013, 03:49 AM | #47 |
Home for the moment
Posts: 5,127
Karma: 27718936
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: travelling
Device: various
|
Well.....I won't get any dates then.
Language is a living thing for me and can be fun, emotional and all that. It is instrumental in finding my way on my far away journeys, or laughing with the people as I intermix some Dutch words with English, some gestures and the few of their words I have picked up. I speak 5 languages but am afraid I blunder on the grammar very often. I just ramble along as using a grammar-book or dictionary cramps my style, or so I think. And I tend to like, contribute even, to the confusion that arises from it. I have a great love for languages and can enjoy seeing a well constructed sentence, thoughtful chosen words, writing poetry or unraveling a poem of others. |
05-20-2013, 04:13 AM | #48 |
Unicycle Daredevil
Posts: 13,925
Karma: 185041098
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Planet of the Pudding Brains
Device: Aura HD (R.I.P. After six years the USB socket died.) tolino shine 3
|
You lier. You did'nt making no mystaiks in hole post. You fishy four complements?
|
05-20-2013, 04:33 AM | #49 |
Home for the moment
Posts: 5,127
Karma: 27718936
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: travelling
Device: various
|
|
05-20-2013, 11:48 AM | #50 | |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 5,288
Karma: 98804578
Join Date: Apr 2011
Device: pb360
|
Quote:
----------"couldn't care less"--"could care less" -- "% of total" 1960-1969 ------- 245 ---------- 5 --------- 2..00% 1970-1979 ------- 369 --------- 42 ------- 10.22% 1980-1989 ------- 274 --------- 77 ------- 21.94% 1990-1999 ------- 248 -------- 147 ------- 37.22% 2000-2009 ------- 259 -------- 194 ------- 42.83% |
|
05-21-2013, 03:44 AM | #51 |
The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠
Posts: 71,524
Karma: 306214458
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Norfolk, England
Device: Kindle Voyage
|
Google's Ngrams viewer is interesting.
(Google "Replaced I couldn't care less with I could not care less to match how we processed the books") |
05-21-2013, 03:54 AM | #52 | |
why in?
Posts: 1,620
Karma: 28802432
Join Date: Apr 2012
Device: Sony PRS-350, Kobo Aura
|
Quote:
So, who wants to burn his fingers trying to interpret the difference? |
|
05-21-2013, 04:00 AM | #53 | |
The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠
Posts: 71,524
Karma: 306214458
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Norfolk, England
Device: Kindle Voyage
|
Quote:
(BTW, the vertical scale is the same in the two graphs. The top line is 0.000011%) Well, clearly the British are much better at grammar (& logic) than the Americans. |
|
05-21-2013, 05:22 AM | #54 |
why in?
Posts: 1,620
Karma: 28802432
Join Date: Apr 2012
Device: Sony PRS-350, Kobo Aura
|
|
05-21-2013, 12:36 PM | #55 |
Philosopher
Posts: 2,034
Karma: 18736532
Join Date: Jan 2012
Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2 gen, Kindle Fire 1st Gen, Kindle Touch
|
Language and logic have only a passing acquaintance. "I couldn't care less" and "I could care less" mean the same thing, even if we think they ought to mean the opposite. If someone used "I could care less" to mean that they had some quantity of caring, but they could in fact care at a lower level, that would be logically correct, but would only lead to confusion. People aren't confused by "I could care less", they understand that it means the same thing as "I couldn't care less".
I don't use "I could care less", but it communicates just as effectively. |
05-21-2013, 12:52 PM | #56 | |
Member Retired
Posts: 1,999
Karma: 11348924
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Limbo
Device: none
|
I don't think that this degeneracy of the English language should be allowed. The problem here is how the wrong expression came to be, only because those using it do not realize that they were using it wrongly. This is not some cultural evolution, this is just a plain wrong use of the language and if mistakes like this are allowed then the rules and syntax that make a language have no reason to be anymore and we might as well
"right wordz and ixpresionz witchever way we wants if there is no rulez and liturater wiz it's good uzes of language will hav no special meanning becose thos that cant use proper words or ixpresionz hav they're wrong wayz becoming write and mainstrim uses" I for one do not wish to see that happen even if it can be argued that it's already happening. Quote:
|
|
05-21-2013, 01:05 PM | #57 | |
Philosopher
Posts: 2,034
Karma: 18736532
Join Date: Jan 2012
Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2 gen, Kindle Fire 1st Gen, Kindle Touch
|
Quote:
|
|
05-21-2013, 01:20 PM | #58 | |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 6,111
Karma: 34000001
Join Date: Mar 2008
Device: KPW1, KA1
|
Quote:
"Are you able to pay less taxes?" - "I could pay less taxes" (if I would fill out the form correctly) - "I couldn't pay less taxes" (because I already pay none) It's a big difference. If expressions fall out of use or spelling changes, all fine by me. However, the expressions above are not interchangeable because one is affirmative, the other is not. Last edited by Katsunami; 05-21-2013 at 01:25 PM. |
|
05-21-2013, 01:28 PM | #59 |
Philosopher
Posts: 2,034
Karma: 18736532
Join Date: Jan 2012
Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2 gen, Kindle Fire 1st Gen, Kindle Touch
|
|
05-21-2013, 01:29 PM | #60 |
Unicycle Daredevil
Posts: 13,925
Karma: 185041098
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Planet of the Pudding Brains
Device: Aura HD (R.I.P. After six years the USB socket died.) tolino shine 3
|
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Is Grammar Really That Important Any More? | Justin Nemo | Writers' Corner | 234 | 05-01-2012 02:15 PM |
Seriously thoughtful English (or US) grammar | Sweetpea | Lounge | 26 | 10-21-2011 10:17 PM |
Kid's books and grammar | ApK | Reading Recommendations | 21 | 06-21-2011 05:40 PM |
Any good free eBook for English grammar please? | erictoma | Reading Recommendations | 1 | 12-04-2010 10:54 PM |
Layout for grammar examples | Man Eating Duck | ePub | 8 | 11-28-2010 05:28 AM |