# English language



## cabby (May 14, 2005)

Why is it that so many people on here when posting a thread lose the ability to spell properly, or use incorrect grammar.Is it to do with biased views from the various regions do you think.We can excuse the Welsh and Scots of course, but those northerners I think are just plain lazy.>>>

cabby

This thread has been posted to enable someone to have a good oldfashioned rant.


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## HurricaneSmith (Jul 13, 2007)

Nah......... You're barking!

It's the automatic spoll chocker at fault.


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

cabby said:


> Why is it that so many people on here when posting a thread lose the ability to spell properly, or use incorrect grammar.


There is nothing wrong with my ability to use incorrect grammar.


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## camallison (Jul 15, 2009)

cabby said:


> Why is it that so many people on here when posting a thread lose the ability to spell properly, or use incorrect grammar.Is it to do with biased views from the various regions do you think.We can excuse the Welsh and Scots of course, but those northerners I think are just plain lazy.>>>
> 
> cabby
> 
> This thread has been posted to enable someone to have a good oldfashioned rant.


Ey up! The pendants are back! :wink2:

Colin

PS - spelling wrong, I know!


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## Brock (Jun 14, 2005)

I can spell. I just cannot type very well and I am awful at proof reading. And worst of all, I have the Apple spell check that changes words when I'm not looking.


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## 747 (Oct 2, 2009)

Haddawayanshyteman.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Oh Cabby, Cabby>>

don't get us Northerners started :smile2::smile2:

Sandra


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

English is an evolving language.

I like to think that sometimes I help it to evolve just that little bit faster.

( I note that Aldra's avatar invites us to " Bury Lancashire". As a Yorkshirewoman I think that is an excellent idea.)

G


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## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

Grizzly said:


> ( I note that Aldra's avatar invites us to " Bury Lancashire". As a Yorkshirewoman I think that is an excellent idea.)
> G


...and a small 'b' for Bury :grin2::grin2:

Peter


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## spykal (May 9, 2005)

If yer can rabbit and pork wiv crowds and keep yor virtue, right, 

Or ball of chalk wiv Kings—nor lose the common touch, 

If neever foes nor lovin' muckers can 'urt yer, 

If all men count wiv yer, but none too much; 

If yer can fill the bleedin' unforgivin' minute 

Wiv sixty seconds’ worff of distance run, right, 

Yors is the Earff and evryfink that’s in it, right, 

And—wich is more—yer’ll be a Man, my son!

( with respect to Rudyard )


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

listerdiesel said:


> ...and a small 'b' for Bury :grin2::grin2:
> 
> Peter


Nearly as good as the addition to the "Harwich for the Continent" sign alongside the railway line out of Liverpool Street.

Some wag had added........." and Frinton for the incontinent"


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## xgx (Oct 14, 2005)

...come to think of it, haven't seen an _*ect*_ in a while ...is the species at risk of exstinktion?

Then there's the US TV pollution... they bring when they should take and went when they should have gone ... instead of knocking it off they knock it _off of _ [source: Gor Delphus, Stockholm]

Classic: There's one for everyone including Jane and I.
(It's called the Rastafari inflection).

your, yaw, yore, you're all right of course :slicksmile:


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## HurricaneSmith (Jul 13, 2007)

What drove my father ballistic was when anyone said "different to."

Whoever it was, he just couldn't stop himself correcting them with "different from." There was generally three seconds of shocked silence after that.


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

Fed up of. Hence why.


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

The amount of people who can't write English ....shocking ! 

:crying:

G


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

Amount vs. number.

http://grammarist.com/usage/amount-number/


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## Zozzer (Aug 13, 2006)

In order to be able to advise on correct spelling and correct grammar, may I suggest you look at you own posts first.

When using a comma, there is one space after it.
When using a full stop, there are two spaces before the start of the next sentence. :nerd:


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

Zozzer said:


> , may I suggest you look at*you* own posts first.


What you saying here ?

G


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## Zozzer (Aug 13, 2006)

Grizzly said:


> What you saying here ?
> 
> G


Now did I say I was perfect ? I just a thick northerner. :laugh:


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

Zozzer said:


> I just a thick northerner.


A what ? Surely there is no such thing ? All Northerners are perfect; it goes with the territory.

G


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

No Grizzly

We Northerners are not perfect

Just warm friendly people, as you as a Northerner should know:smile2:

Aldra with a capital A from Bury with a little b, in Lancashire

Just over the border from Yorkshire

Ain't it Lass?????


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

aldra said:


> Just over the border from Yorkshire


I'm prepared to make an exception of Bury ( or even of bury) and make it an honorary part of Yorkshire. We really enjoyed Burrs Country Park, the market, the steam trains, the industrial history, the lovely little villages around and the good bus service to Manchester.

You're lucky to live there Aldra.:smile2:

G


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## GMJ (Jun 24, 2014)

cabby said:


> ...We can excuse the Welsh...


OY!!...Chwarae teg now mun!...dun blutty get rarecyst now.

Dun forget we were yer, yers before you lot!

Bang tidy irris too!

Graham:smile2:


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

And next time you are at Burrs Grizzly 

You are five minutes, ok 10 minutes away from me by car

We will collect you and you are invited to share a meal with us

Look forward to meeting you

Yes Bury is a lovely town

Suits us, so close to yorkshire, Wales, the lakes, the Peak District and even Scotland

A bit of a shlep though to the Channel

aldra:smile2:


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

Aw shucks...I'm honoured. Thank you.

( I know what you mean about the schlep to the channel though but think of a couple we met in Spain, just departing to go home overland. They live just north of Inverness. 650 miles from Dover is a real schlepp and I'm not sure I'd bother for a month away.)

G


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

It's not really so bad
We are not constrained by a holiday period

So we take two days

For the hound from hell
He rests , runs ,eats 
It's how it is
When you own a hound from hell

Sorry he has just fixed me with his stare

When you are owned by a hound from hell:smile2:
He is content now

All 8 stone of him is relaxed

Huh, we will run off a stone on holiday

He will return slimmer

And still a fitter pain in the neck

Aldra


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

The plan has failed. nobody has had a rant, have we all gone ga ga because of spring.

cabby

This blooming apple spell checker is the pits, I am forever changing a word back to what I typed in the first place. M'thinks it maybe an American influence.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

No it hasn't failed

The southerners are the pits (except the ones who are not)
The Welsh are, well they are the Welsh
The Scottish don't go there

Yorkshire???
So that just leaves lancashire
I always knew that Lancasire was the best

It's how it is

Sandra


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

Grizzly said:


> ...... They live just north of Inverness. 650 miles from Dover is a real schlepp and I'm not sure I'd bother for a month away.)
> 
> G


Ah well, here's the thing. If you lived there you probably would bother. In fact it would probably be all the more important because that 650 miles (or even half of it) makes quite a considerable difference to the weather you would get.

I lived in Belfast, was educated in Guildford and could not believe the difference in the weather. Belfast mostly wet and cold, Guildford much drier, warmer and sunnier. 300 miles South, not even quite that, and what seemed to me to be a world of difference, Alan.


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## ChrisandJohn (Feb 3, 2008)

xgx said:


> ...come to think of it, haven't seen an _*ect*_ in a while ...is the species at risk of exstinktion?
> 
> Then there's the US TV pollution... they bring when they should take and went when they should have gone ... instead of knocking it off they knock it _off of _ [source: Gor Delphus, Stockholm]
> 
> ...


I didn't know 'off of' is supposedly from US. I'm from London (though have lived in Yorkshire for half my life now) and I always used to 'get off of the bus'. Don't think I use it now since John, (partner from Oldham) pointed out the 'of' is superfluous, and it now seems strange to me. Can't promise not to revert though when I get together with my cockney cousins.

Chris


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

ChrisandJohn said:


> I didn't know 'off of' is supposedly from US. I'm from London (though have lived in Yorkshire for half my life now) and I always used to 'get off of the bus'. Don't think I use it now since John, (partner from Oldham) pointed out the 'of' is superfluous, and it now seems strange to me. Can't promise not to revert though when I get together with my cockney cousins.
> 
> Chris


Mrs S is from 'ackney and I didn't think anyone got "off" anyfing in Landan, you get orf the bus.


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

Innit.


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

To win it.>>


cabby


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## ChrisandJohn (Feb 3, 2008)

Stanner said:


> Mrs S is from 'ackney and I didn't think anyone got "off" anyfing in Landan, you get orf the bus.


Blimey! I might not know how to talk, but I do know how to spell.

Everyone knows that the word pronounced 'ORF' is spelled 'OFF'. It's just one of those strange things about the English language. :wink2:

I was educated, you know! :grin2:

Chris


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

I was typing phonetically.


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## HarryTheHymer (May 1, 2005)

My pet hate is the inappropriate use of "those" and "them".

Them things rather than those things. 

Even a lot of older (intelligent) people seem to have latched onto this incorrect usage, following seemingly acceptable usage by the younger generation. 

Call me a pedant, if you wish, but it still really grates with me.

PS. I struggled as a child with spelling, grammar and stuttering but eventually overcame my disabilities to gain a reasonable command of the English language. Not perfect, I accept !!!!


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## GEMMY (Jun 19, 2006)

Great, and not a hound from hell anywhere :wink2:


tony


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## ChrisandJohn (Feb 3, 2008)

Stanner said:


> I was typing phonetically.


Oooh, I'd like one of those keyboards. :grin2:

Chris


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## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

aldra said:


> No it hasn't failed
> 
> The southerners are the pits (except the ones who are not)
> The Welsh are, well they are the Welsh
> ...


Well, with a mother from Rotherham and a father from Wales, that leaves me sort of 'alright' does it, Sandra? 

Peter


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## Wizzo (Dec 3, 2007)

Zozzer said:


> When using a full stop, there are two spaces before the start of the next sentence.


Wrong. Typists were taught this for some reason but it is wrong. You will never find this in a professionally produced piece of literature.

My father used to correct me for saying "ruler" when I should have been asking for a "rule" (you know - one of them things what measures things.)

JohnW


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## KeithChesterfield (Mar 12, 2010)

With a Welsh father, a mother from Folkestone, me born and living in Derbyshire for seven decades then it's surprising I can spell English at all – although my knuckles still drag along the floor when I walk!


>>>


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

I'm fed up of people saying could of.........


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## ChrisandJohn (Feb 3, 2008)

bognormike said:


> I'm fed up of people saying could of.........


I don't mind people _saying_ 'could of', because it sounds like 'could've', which is probably how the mistake of _writing_ 'could of' is made.

Its the written version that is so glaringly wrong.

By the way, shouldn't it be 'fed up with'?  :smile2:

Chris


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

I'm just finishing this book:

_Lingo: A language spotter's guide to Europe_ by Gaston Dorren

It was a Kindle Daily Deal at 99 p a few days ago but is worth the price it is today.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lingo-Language-Spotters-Guide-Europe-ebook/dp/B00L1GEUGW

Fascinating read.

G


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

ChrisandJohn said:


> I don't mind people _saying_ 'could of', because it sounds like 'could've', which is probably how the mistake of _writing_ 'could of' is made.
> 
> Its the written version that is so glaringly wrong.
> 
> ...


Quite right

It's a derivative of could've

A Northern derivative

Really we should not be fed up with anything in the rich tapestry of language

Each area has its own peculiarities 
And as language is there for the purpose of communication
It seems it works

Well it does luv, doesn't it??

I want to buy my veg from a trader that calls me luv
I have no problem in an exchange with a stranger that I address as luv
I'm sure different regions have their own " intimacies" 
It's part of the delight of a language

Although I still remember in my youth
Asking a group of Americans

Should I knock them up in the morning??
I tried to explain, in Lancashire, a mill area, knockers up were employed to wake the workers by tapping on windows
Hence the expression

Hey in my youth I was a bit of alright
I'm sure they were disappointed >>

Aldra 0


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

ChrisandJohn said:


> I don't mind people _saying_ 'could of', because it sounds like 'could've', which is probably how the mistake of _writing_ 'could of' is made.
> 
> Its the written version that is so glaringly wrong.
> 
> ...


it was actually a reference to the use of that earlier in the thread Chris!

I think it's gone too far away from "could've", which is of course the abbreviation,
by people saying it with a definite gap and making it sound like "could of", instead of saying "could have"; and of course as you say it's now used in all sorts of written contexts. Horrible.:frown2:


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

Wizzo said:


> My father used to correct me for saying "ruler" when I should have been asking for a "rule" (you know - one of them things what measures things.)
> 
> JohnW


there's a smutty joke in there somewhere, but I don't use it as a rule:surprise:


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Mike

Get a life luv

My lovely:smile2:

Sandra


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

"Get a life" there's another.

And of course telling people that they need to get out more too.

Frankly both are lazy, insulting comments, Alan.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Just where are you coming from Alan

It depends on relationships

With Mike, I know him

And I'm just teasing
If he doesn't realise that

I'd expect a comeback

FROM HIM
Aldra


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## StephandJohn (Sep 3, 2007)

Congrats Cabby. A good way to start a rant. Enjoyed all the other comments too - but not a true rant among them. Everyone is being very reasonable - and very funny.
TO MY MIND A TRUE RANT IS IN CAPITALS WITH A LOT OF EXCLAMATION MARKS!!!!!!
This is what I like about mhf - you can get help when you need it and have a good laugh along the way.
Thanks
Steph


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

aldra said:


> Just where are you coming from Alan


I'm sure your intent was humorous Sandra but that doesn't make me like the expression. I merely said so.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

erneboy said:


> I'm sure your intent was humorous Sandra but that doesn't make me like the expression. I merely said so.


I'm chastised

And unhappy:crying::crying:

Aldra


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

aldra said:


> I'm chastised
> 
> And unhappy:crying::crying:
> 
> Aldra


No need to be Sandra, Alan.


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

hey, I'm not bothered. ok? :laugh:


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

Put my foot in it. Shouldn't have commented on the expressions. Sorry Sandra.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

bognormike said:


> hey, I'm not bothered. ok? :laugh:


What do you mean

You are not bothered?.

I'm wasting my time trying to insult you lot:laugh:

Aldra


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## Brock (Jun 14, 2005)

When I was a boy I insulted my sister by calling her a pig. My mother boxed my ears and said, "Never call anyone a pig. Call them a swine." 

To my mother, born of the land and working in farms, a pig was a dirty, domesticated low life with its nose in any trough in a sty whereas a swine was a clean creature of noble birth which lived in the fields. So "pig" was derogatory, "swine" was not.

So I went back to my sister and called her a swine and didn't get my ears boxed but my sister burst into tears because I had sworn at her. 

So is there a difference now between pig and swine?


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

And there again you have the story of a pig and a drunk man in the gutter

You can tell a man who boozes

By the company he chooses

And the pig got up

And quickly walked away

Aldra


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## Brock (Jun 14, 2005)

After a particularly heavy night in a Manchester Bier Keller in the mid 70's, we dropped my friend off just outside his parent's house. He fell into the gutter; we drove off and left him.

Does that make me a pig? He did call us swine the next day and his mother, wife of an ex-farmer, was more strident in her damnation of us because he didn't wake up until just after 6am when he was found by the milkman. Of course, the story went around the village of her drunken son found in the gutter with no mention of his two friends who'd dumped him there.

I blamed the driver of the car we were in. He was sober.


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