Language and etymology

JAS_OH1 said:
You forgot to mention how the Americans bastardized it even more.
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I think we're all guilty there. Usage and abusage. A sandwich has become a sarnie, spaghetti bolognaise has become spag bol, "fine"has become "good", and the past conditional tense has been utterly destroyed.:laugh:
 
JAS_OH1 said:
Unless you are talking to a petulant teenager or an angry woman .
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It's pretty standard now.
"How are you? "
"I'm good"
"Good at what?"
45 years ago, when I was teaching EFL in London, that was the answer. Good is an adjective; fine is an adverb. An adverb qualifies a verb; an adjective qualifies a noun.
These days, I don't care.
 
karadekoolaid said:
It's pretty standard now.
"How are you? "
"I'm good"
"Good at what?"
45 years ago, when I was teaching EFL in London, that was the answer. Good is an adjective; fine is an adverb. An adverb qualifies a verb; an adjective qualifies a noun.
These days, I don't care.
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Oh right, yes. Also this, "Oh dude, sorry. My bad. You good?"

I think one of the most annoying things in overheard conversation between some younger people is: "like, you know, she like didn't even tell me until like, two days or something like after it happened, you know?"
 
JAS_OH1 said:
like, you know, she like didn't even tell me until like, two days or something like after it happened, you know?"
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I don't know how those particular words are qualified these days, but we used to call them "linguistic crutches".
Something to hold you up while you struggle for the next word. :D
 
karadekoolaid said:
I don't know how those particular words are qualified these days, but we used to call them "linguistic crutches".
Something to hold you up while you struggle for the next word.:D
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Well said, using those words means you're running your mouth but don't know what to say. I've heard that called a fools folly??? 😃
 
Barriehie said:
Well said, using those words means you're running your mouth but don't know what to say.
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One of the basic principles of speaking in public, or on radio, TV, whatever, is that you take a deep breath before you start speaking. You then speak more slowly than you would normally do. That gives you time to think, instead of, as you so perfectly put it, running your mouth!
It also (especially in my case) helps to avoid using bad words... :laugh:
 
So you got English English, American English, Australian English and don't forget us in our little corner...
Our English has taken up a lot of local words and slang.
I may have told this story before..
I just got to Zimbabwe and I overheard this conversation. One guy to the other
So there was me and this other oak, his China and his lighty. So we get in the car and we hit this mombie. Now we had to go get some muti*
At which point I taught that I had lost my capacity to speak English

* There was I, this other guy, his best friend and his kid. We got in the car annd we hit a cow. Now we had to go get some medication
 
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