Why do Americans say they 'could care less'

[mjh215]

Originally Posted by mogui

Ha! Americans, specifically those from the United States, say, "could care less" for the same reason they, and their TV announcers refer to "events" as "incidences". I have lived there so I have fluency in that variant of English. Businesses are often promising "free gifts" for listening to a sales pitch. Maybe they wish to sell you some jew-ler-ee (jewelry), or maybe it is a re-leh-tor (realtor) hoping to interest you in some property. If you can tolerate the former president making nuke-you-lar (nuclear) policy, maybe you can also prolly (probably) accommodate a per-fession-al (one who has years and years of schooling) far-tog-ra-fur (one who makes fartographs). I actually got comf-ter-bull (comfortable) with those neologisms, though not to the point of using them in my own speech.

Languages change because usage changes. Remember that half the American population has an IQ of less than 100. Some linguistic shifts come from the shallow end of the gene pool too!

Up until the last sentence I was going along with this in good humour, but I really do have to wonder at your intent with this post.

-MJ

[mogui]

Originally Posted by mjh215

Up until the last sentence I was going along with this in good humour, but I really do have to wonder at your intent with this post.

-MJ

I must confess, I assumed an even number of Americans. Bobble makes me intermittently wrong. As for the gene pool, no matter how hard we try to teach grammar, it remains a function of brain-wired fluency rather than cognition. So those with a less refined instinct for grammatical construction will produce less mellifluous speech. If some of it takes on the character of a meme, well, I'm up with that.

This explanation has been a free gift

[mogui]

Originally Posted by RWood

Welcome back, I haven't seen you in the forums for months.

Thanks. I am back in Canada now with more time to kill.

Originally Posted by RWood

Every country has their own unique statements and way of saying things. I am sure that you could (and I wish you would) share some from your experiences in China -- either from the translators of from the ex-pat community there.

Chinese people commonly paste English words into their own Chinese grammar. We call it Chinglish. It's quite charming. Your dinner companion will say, "I will go first." She is not challenging you in any way. She means, "I will go now". There are hundreds of such odd phrases. When you live there you not only get used to them, but you use them too as a way of better communicating. I very like it

[Stitchawl]

Most languages are not static constructions. With the exception of certain languages that are governed by national law, languages evolved over time, growing with the culture.

When my son was born some 30-odd years ago 'google' was a spelled with a lower case 'g' and was part of his first vocabulary. Today we spell it with a capital 'G,' use it as a verb, and everyone knows what that means. To verify this, check with your 'network' and 'interface' with some other people. Don't 'dis' them if they don't agree with you. They might just 'tweak!'

My parent's had difficulty understanding my language when I was a teenager. I'd use words such as 'hip' while my mother was still using 'hep.' A 'head' was a person rather than something that sits upon one's shoulders. 'Where it's at' had no meaning for Mom, but very important for me, as was 'can you dig it?'

I'll bet it made her teeth ache to hear us talk, just as when today I hear someone say 'it's so fun!'

These days I listen to Japanglish. (Very similar to Chinglish but slightly different grammar.) When a young lady asks about my 'privates' I know she is asking about my cell phone number. (Bummer, dood!) When she tells me that she spent the entire weekend 'playing with herself' I no longer get amazed at her libido realizing that she was saying she played 'by' herself. Even the Japanese language is changing and evolving. These days there are lots of new words being added from English, French, and German, but all with a definite Japanese twist. A stapling machine is a 'Hotchkiss,' cheese is 'cheezu,' and an apartment is 'apato!'

Evolution of language and culture.

Hey, can you dig it?

Stitchawl

[Andybaby]

"My Bad" is closer to I have done something wrong, when you do something wrong you are bad.

It makes more sense than some British euphemisms

though. living in the streets of NYC I hear some colorful language, not colorful but new euphemism you might not of heard yet.

"It's Brick"

If you can figure out what that means just by hearing It. you gain 3 points in game of life. if you are like me and everyone else and go looks for it or has to ask, you loose 3 points in being "hood"

[mogui]

Originally Posted by Andybaby

"My Bad" is closer to I have done something wrong, when you do something wrong you are bad.

I like "my bad" because it suggests ownership of the act in question. It is a very healthy attitude to portray about personal responsibility. Too often we try to distance ourselves from our mistakes.

I wonder how many of these neologisms reflect a shift in the way we view events, people, ourselves.

[catsittingstill]

Originally Posted by mogui

A net without holes is like a fish without a bicycle

Actually a net without holes is more like a tarp. :-)

[Gameboy70]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

When my son was born some 30-odd years ago 'google' was a spelled with a lower case 'g' and was part of his first vocabulary. Today we spell it with a capital 'G,' use it as a verb, and everyone knows what that means.

I assume you're talking about googol, the number denoted by 1 followed by 100 zeroes. Google is "mispelled" for trademark protection.

Returning to "I could care less," I suspect it has less to do with irony or ignorance and more to do with meter. "I could care less" rolls off the tongue more fluidly than "I couldn't care less," especially when uttered impatiently.

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by Gameboy70

I assume you're talking about googol, the number denoted by 1 followed by 100 zeroes. Google is "mispelled" for trademark protection.

No. Actually I was talking about an infant's language. He was a smart baby but not smart enough to deal with such large numbers. Come to think of it, he still can't!


Stitchawl

[krisk]

Originally Posted by Andybaby

"My Bad" is closer to I have done something wrong, when you do something wrong you are bad.

It makes more sense than some British euphemisms

though. living in the streets of NYC I hear some colorful language, not colorful but new euphemism you might not of heard yet.

"It's Brick"

If you can figure out what that means just by hearing It. you gain 3 points in game of life. if you are like me and everyone else and go looks for it or has to ask, you loose 3 points in being "hood"

I'll go for defecation descriptions for 500 please.

[m42]

Everybody knows "it's brick" means very cold. Especially on those wind chill days. It comes from cold as a brick. Not to be confused with "it's bleeding" meaning ridiculous cold.
"it's bleeding" is reserved for those days that require you to blow on your hands, stomp your feet, and wipe your nose all within 30 seconds of leaving the comfort of home.

[Andybaby]

M42 is a Winner.

And not once in my life did i ever hear anyone say. its as cold as a brick. which makes Brick Stupid.

[Elfwreck]

"Intensive purposes"

Originally Posted by nekokami

That one drives me nuts. There are some other phrases like that -- phrases that sound vaguely like another over-used phrase, but make no sense -- but I am mercifully unable to recall any of them right now.

The people at the Eggcorn Database maintain collections of those words & phrases.

Some eggcorns

• Car links: “If they can’t see your license plate from 3 and 1/2 car links behind, they should get glasses.”
• Front In Center: “Women’s rights in Afghanistan are (finally) front in center in light of the country’s new “rape” law.”
• Antidotal Evidence: "Interestingly, though, during the past two or three years there is antidotal evidence that some individuals are moving to rural communities."
• Locust of Control:: "Business education programs that offer an innovative and interesting opportunity for students to pursue their personal interests and place the locust of control with the student will see a resurgence of student enrollment."

It's enough to give you a mindgrain.

[Bilbo1967]

My biggest bugbear is the 'specific' / 'pacific' thing. So many seemingly intelligent people at work say things like; "Can you give us a pacific example of that?"

And don't even get me started on the 'complement' / 'compliment' mix ups....

[CathalMagus]

Sigh... I've got past the point of shouting at the BBC when they misuse "begs the question" (a hint - every time they use it... it's in the wrong context). I think the phrase will be lost to legitimate usage before long. The problem with language evolving in these arbitrary ways is that if I should ever say "Well, yes, but your argument begs the question!" people will ask "What question?". It's not a zero-sum game.