Moving toward inelegant, clumsy speech

MercyL

MercyL

Member
We have all lived long enough to notice shifts in the English language, better called "Americanese" here.

Some changes are alright and others are just stupid, like:

"Certificated" - The first time I saw this word I was standing in the school where I worked. the word was in an official school board document. When I questioned the word stating that it should be "certified" a teacher defended "certificated". I wanted to just puke.

"Incentivize" - Apparently the word "motivate" won't cut it anymore. I want to absolutely scream at folk who use it instead of the wonderful "motivate". We provide motivation...we do not "incentivize".

What language mutations really work your last nerve?
 

The destruction of language has proceeded to get worse and worse. Of course, things go through changes. But, it's quite obvious how sloppy and dumbed-down people have become in their "conversating". That's one ignorant abomination that just irks me most. Conversating. Conversating???
 

I'm also extremely irritated by "corporate speech". Generally, I believe people who spout "Think out of the box" and "Going forward" do neither.
 
Down in the Big Apple, when a crowd is waiting to get into a place, they tend to say "are you waiting online? I always thought it should be are you waiting inline? Of course I could be online while waiting online......This is getting confusing.

Another word that is misused all the time is there and their and to and too. I've messed these up a few times two. :mad:
 
MercyL quote:
"Certificated" - The first time I saw this word I was standing in the school where I worked. the word was in an official school board document. When I questioned the word stating that it should be "certified" a teacher defended "certificated". I wanted to just puke.
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Merci..there is such a work as certificated. One can have earned a certificate in a certain profession, thus being deemed certificated, but not be certified by a governing board of such profession which usually requires completing examinations to obtain a certification.

For example, I am a certificated paralegal, having earned my certificate from an accredited college program, but never took an exam to become certified from any of the agencies offering certification. I was also a licensed private investigator in the state of Texas, under the license of some private investigation firms. I did not have an individual private investigator license, which requires more state certification. Sometimes these certifications and licenses can be confusing.:confused:

Prolly, instead of probably...I cringe everytime I see it written or someone says it.

If I hear someone say "Let's be clear" or "just to be clear" one more time I swear I just want to be clear, I don't want to hear it anymore!!! Obama started this, and now every news show seems to have at least one person who mimics this phrase.

"Fixin' to" is another phrase,which albeit is primarily a southern phrase is one that needs to be dropped.
 
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I get a kick out of 'Fixin' to'; another one is 'I don't care to', when meaning 'I don't mind'. Those don't bother me so much, as they are regional and just part of the local language, I guess.

What does bug me is 'loose' instead of lose, and countless other misspellings of common words we see all the time...I would think when people are corrected over and over, they would finally 'get it'.
 
Another one: Some say, so-and-so is going to 'haul me', or 'carry me' to the store, instead of 'give me a ride'. :p
 
As a north Idaho transplant to the Sunny South, it has taken me a while to get used to the expressions and unique spelling they use down here. Mostly, I just chuckle, and enjoy it, but sometimes my northern choice of words is baffling to the southern ears, too. If you ask what kind of pop they have, you just get a totally blank look most of the time, until I remember to say I want a soda ( usually pronounced "so-dey") , and then they know what I am asking for, a Co-cola, of course .

A shopping cart is a shopping cart most everywhere, but here it is called a "buggy" ; and a "Winterbagel" is a popular type of motor home. Patio furniture might be "rod iron" , and your dog or horse belongs in his "pin".
I am sure there are others that make me chuckle, but these are what comes to mind right now.
 
Funny with the "pop" reference - the same thing happened to me when I visited Michigan from New York. I asked for a soda and they gave me an ice cream soda. :confused:
 
Ahhh; I'd forgotten about the 'soda'. Yup, I find myself calling it that now, too.

This all reminds me: Did you know the three wise men were firemen?? They came from afar....... ;)
 
Since being transplanted to the south, one thing I refuse to say is "Y'all". Don't even know if I spelled it right. Y'all come back now, ya heah.

I was originally from the North, went to the South, then to the West coast, then back again to the South. All these different dialects have me confused, but I have still not allowed myself to pick up the Southern accent I once acquired and lost quickly on my move to the West coast a kid. When you're a kid you learn to fit in quickly or be teased.

That Guy and Anne have nailed it with their social media posts. I feel that is a big reason why we are so rapidly declining in our language skills. I am not an English major, but it drives me crazy to see such inadequate comprehension in spelling and grammar these days among adults.

When I see a poorly written post or blog, full of grammatical and spelling errors, even though the writer may have an interesting or valid point, I usually dismiss their opinion and move on.

What is so frustrating is how many errors you see in news stories made by journalist these days, who of all people should have an above average grasp on the English language.:rolleyes:
 
I knew you'd get that one, Ozarkgal. :D

I suppose some of the reason for the abbreviated words is to save time typing, and I notice it much more with texting from phones, etc. Since I got an ipad, I'm even guilty of that to an extent....fingers aren't as nimble as they used to be, and the flat surface makes it harder if you're used to the regular keyboard. But, I try not to do much of it, as it bugs me to shorten the words....just looks sloppy.
 
Your confusion in re "y'all" is that you might not hear the difference between the singular (y'all) and the plural (all y'all). Most newcomers don't notice a preceding "all" and treat the direct address pronouns as the same, which they aren't. I think that, as long as it's only conversation, it's not necessarily offensive.
 
Local dialects, accents and lexicon are unique and enjoyable if not always understood by a newcomer or visitor. Langauges change and evolve. New words are born and old ones fade away. But (and a huge Butt it is...) the adulteration of our speech is sad and down right disgusting. Slang is one thing. Heck, I enjoy makin' up words and sayin' stooopid stuff fer fun 'n' games. But ain't never gonna lower myself to that ignorant and lazy crap. Fo' Sho'!

As for y'all . . . When I was stationed in Texas, everywhere you went the people would say, "Ya'll come back now ya hear?!?" So, my friends and I being smartassed Californians and New Yorkers began saying that to each other constantly. We even adopted their accent for entertainment...

Speaking of accents. I was dating an Australian woman years ago who, while at a dinner party, said how she was so tired of men falling all over her because they thought her accent was sexy. She, then turned to me and said, "I love your accent . . . !"
 
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Another thing that I find is that I use the keyboard so much, my handwriting is terrible.... I mean really BAD. Sometimes I can't even read it myself. I never get letters anymore, just e-mail and while it is nice to keep in touch, I used to love getting letters. My spelling has also gone downhill. A lot of times my brain gets ahead of my typing and when I read it back, I see that I've missed words in the sentence so much so, that it doesn't make any sense.
 
That Guy said:
The destruction of language has proceeded to get worse and worse. Of course, things go through changes. But, it's quite obvious how sloppy and dumbed-down people have become in their "conversating". That's one ignorant abomination that just irks me most. Conversating. Conversating???
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OMG, I also cringe whenever I hear "conversate". It's as if the speaker has never heard the proper term, but the words "converse" and "conversation" are used more than a few times a day by the average person. What's even worse it that, often, I am the often the only adult who corrects students when they butcher the word!

I'm not sure which is worse - the way the word is mutating or being the only adult willing to correct its use!
 
SifuPhil said:
Funny with the "pop" reference - the same thing happened to me when I visited Michigan from New York. I asked for a soda and they gave me an ice cream soda. :confused:
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From a state near Michigan: when I went into a new grocery store and asked for soda, they pointed me to baking soda. :confused:

Others I've heard in recent years: "online" instead of standing "in line" or "in the line;" "prom" instead of "the prom;" "on the park" instead of "in the park;" etc.
And don't get me going on what the locals do with "barbecue," "sale papers," and "jelly doughnuts." :eek:nthego:

Oh, and one from quite a few years ago: a school teacher remarked on a report card that my kid had "stick-to-it-ive-ness." :cool: Meant the child stayed with a task until it was completed- sounded like some kind of disease.
 
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