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Showing posts with the label language

Say it with me now...

Over an Al cohol - influenced Thanksgiving conversation, I led to explain to The Katie and the rest of the family why it is I clock out, then come back to my desk to eat lunch instead of venturing out to the break room. "Because, I can't stand to hear those ignant motherfuckers babbling on about nothing and fucking up the language!" was my major peeve, always has and will be. "Well, what in particular?" was the question aimed back at me, and I ran down my short list, all of which to be included below. "Irregardless" No, people, that is not it... See, the prefix '-irr' renders the word that follows it a negative, thus making the meaning of this word "not regardless,' which is unnecessary because if something is not regardless it matters not to be mentioned. In such, people fuck this up worse, as their intentions are usually just to say 'regardless' in the first place, but need to make a 4-syllable word out of the presentation.

Maybe I am different or something?

The number of people I contact on the daily from different regions of the country/world is enormous. What kills me, though, is the rules to this language we speak that seem to be lost even on people who have grown up speaking/typing/writing it. It really is sad. Say it with me, people. "Conversate" is NOT a word... ANY time you feel so inclined as to use it when speaking, STOP without including that "-ate" suffix and no one in the room worth their salt will look at you like a retard. "Irregardless ," is ALSO not a word... Omit the "-ir" prefix and you've successfully avoided the use or a word that renders itself a double negative. "Then " - this word is to indicate that something took place at a particular place in time, either to describe something that has happened ("back then") or immediately/soon following ("she swung on me, and then I punched her ass out"). "Than" - "as opposed to," or

Breaking them down

Sometimes in fits of boredom, The Katie and I just ride around and talk, or just go to a park -- usually Center City Park downtown on the (usually very "on") chance that one of us might want something to eat or drink given the close proximity of good food and drank to the park... Yesterday, after we went to the zoo and then to lunch, we went to the park and observed the little brown children playing in the fountains like they're not supposed to be, as well as all the people just wandering about the park as we talked. This really is enjoyable, I have always people-watched in order to get ideas for characters in my stories. It seems sometimes to have struck her as a bit odd, but she will now realize what I am doing when she reads this tonight. Anyway, the only thing any of that has to do with this blog is the fact that we were riding around talking when this idea hit us... "What in the hell are people talking about when they use certain colloquial phrases?" We fou

March 4 -- National Grammar Day

No, I am not making this up. In fact, here is a link: National Grammar Day: Brought to you by the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar Let us not pluralize words using apostrophes. Let us capitalize the first word in sentences and offer proper punctuation at the end of them. Let us PLEASE separate thoughts into coherent paragraphs and least try to properly spell words we use. Avoid rap music. For me, I would like to take this a little further, perhaps off into our spoken lives as well. For instance, last month was February, and the r in that word is not silent. The budget deficit is "huge," and the h in that word is NOT silent. "Salmon" is good fucking fish, and the l in that word IS silent. Did you guys know that people HONESTLY look at you different and more positively when you properly punctuate and spell, properly enunciate spoken language and you abandon the whole "it's just the iNtaRWebz, who karez?" aesthetic? Think of it, look at this sent