Problematic words

[Never Surrender]

Current usage for the word "awesome" really annoys me. 

 

The Grand Canyon is awesome....

 

getting 7 Chicken McNuggets in your 6-piece order is not awesome. 

 

The mundane rarely inspires reverence, admiration or fear so isn't likely to ever be awesome.

 

to be fair, i do find getting free nuggets pretty awesome mainly because id use words like 'amazing' for the other things you describe, instead of awesome, since awesome is now seen as a way of saying 'pretty cool' or 'really good' where im from, and id describe the Grand Canyon as more than 'pretty cool'!

 

Like rain on your wedding day.

 

One usage that interests me is the metaphor about placing pressure on someone to do something.  Americans shorten to "pressure," I think reaching for the older, and still perfectly usable, "press." British people go for "pressurize" which I think is just nuts.

 

incorrect the British have a dislike of the letter 'z', so its nearly always an 's' so it would be pressurise just to split some hairs haha

Edited July 12, 2014 by Never Surrender

[Irritable1]

Yeah so it's crazy AND misspelt!

 

Speaking of which, whatever happened to "brilliant"? Seems like a contradiction of Graeme's hypothesis that new usage gets held into later years.

[Thorn Wilde]

Speaking of the Grand Canyon... I couldn't find a decent quality video, so I'll paraphrase a bit here, but the Irish comedian Ed Byrne talks about going to the Grand Canyon. He says that in Ireland, when you're feeling a bit hungover and you've had a crap day and someone comes and asks, 'How are ya?' You say, 'Ah, grand.' 'So, honestly, I was expecting the Grand Canyon to be a little bit shit. They should have called it the Fucking Brilliant Canyon.'

[Bumblebee]

I have A LOT of problematic words, some that I can pronounce but can't spell, some that I can spell but not pronounce, others I just try and explain the word because I can't pronounce or spell them.

Some words I have an extreme hatred for because I really don't like them and they piss me off.

 

For example: I hate sliver. Don't mention around me, it's making me cringe just typing it.

I can't pronounce ambulance, comes out as am-bl-nc.

I can't spell resterante (restaurant) I always have to google it, even if I've just written it somewhere I just can't spell it correctly.

 

I don't understand a lot of the English language because it does not make sense. I normally spell sense 'sence' but autocorrect on my phone fixes it, if spell check didn't exist I would be able to write half the words I want to.

The Australian language can be confusing when it comes to words where the English spell it with a 'z' and the Americans spell it with an 's'.. why not just agree on one or the other?!?!

 

Language is annoying and I don't like it but you can't really function without it.

[MikeL]

... the English spell it with a 'z' and the Americans spell it with an 's'.. why not just agree on one or the other?!?!

 

 

We've never agreed on much.  Why agree on spelling?  We are, after all. "two nations divided by a common language".

[Graeme]

Speaking of which, whatever happened to "brilliant"? Seems like a contradiction of Graeme's hypothesis that new usage gets held into later years.

I still hear 'brilliant' at times, but it's largely been replaced with later terms. In defence of my hypothesis (furiously rationalising after the event), the main replacements have come through sporting channels, so the impact of professional sports commentators is outweighing the generational bias.

 

That's my argument and I'm sticking with it (until someone points out the flaws)

 

I can't pronounce ambulance, comes out as am-bl-nc.

Don't worry. It took me years to learn to say 'ethnicity' -- a word I needed for my job (it's used in healthcare, though happily in Australia it's now largely replaced with Indigenous Status)

 

The Australian language can be confusing when it comes to words where the English spell it with a 'z' and the Americans spell it with an 's'.. why not just agree on one or the other?!?!

Actually, I believe most schools will accept either spelling (American or British), so students get the best of both worlds here in Australia. It's only when you go into business that you need to pick one and stick with it. Nothing annoys some customers more than finding a document that's half American spelling and half British.

[wildone]

Yeah so it's crazy AND misspelt!

 

 

Sorry, I laughed at this one. I guess Irritable1 was translating for NS . I remember in high school and university that there is no word spelt. it is spelled. Just did a quick search and spelt is used in the UK but, in the US and Canada (usually Canada follows UK English) the word is spelled.

 

Every time I type spelt, I automatically change it to spelled. Damn teacher and profs don't know that spelt is a legitimate word

[Irritable1]

LOL yeah I threw that in as a sop to the UK spelling I started life on, which still gets me in trouble sometimes.

 

I still hear 'brilliant' at times, but it's largely been replaced with later terms. In defence of my hypothesis (furiously rationalising after the event), the main replacements have come through sporting channels, so the impact of professional sports commentators is outweighing the generational bias.

 

That's my argument and I'm sticking with it (until someone points out the flaws)

 

You could also argue that "brilliant" was like "groovy"---just too shameful to retain and thus a necessary exception. But it actually sounds from Thorne's post like it's still current enough to get by, so maybe I'm just talking to the wrong people.

[Zombie]

I think there are two major drivers of shifts in English: the young and business. Each likes to twist words to mean what they want them to mean, and in some cases those changes make it into the general population.

 

definitely yes, but I like innovation by "the young". Well, mostly. OK, some Gad, now I feel like an old codger

 

Business definitely - HR and marketing are major miscreants - and also the "professions" - they love bamboozling clients - government, the military, wine connoisseurs...

 

and some phrases are beyond problematic -

 

"That's beyond annoying" - nuff said

"He medalled." No he didn't, he won a medal

"Just hold that thought." No, I'll remember it and then remind you when you conveniently "forget" to go back to it

"Collateral damage" words fail me

 

[Xtro]

I've got to say I really cannot stand Jafakan Mockney (Fake Jamaican and Mock Cockney - and my father was a genuine Cockney, born 1911)

 

I mean, bro, I is axing you, like wha'evs?

 

(Best I've heard for a wicked send-up:-

 

"I don't want no bush, reggin - I wanna be so lean I can't fink, I can't get a job, an' I go skitzo, because I'm soooo nang for the skunk."

 

(Synchromystickz - Superfood Shottas with KP and Mike Stanton))