What Changes Would You Make to the English Language?

[Calthrop]

Elvis Tribute Artist?

Or the highly-militant and sometimes violent Basque separatist movement particularly against the Franco regime, but also against subsequent Spanish governments -- "Euzkadi T-whatever A-whatever" (the Basque language being reckonably impenetrable to anyone who isn't a Basque) -- acronym ETA...

my meaning was just, "Edited To Add".

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 29 May 2021 ==

arrrggghhh and also “Can I get”, in a queue at a counter, especially coffee shops.

I don't "get" -- as it were -- the loathing of this expression. It's imported from America; but even if ungrammatical and illogical, its meaning is basically meant to be polite; maybe some slack could be cut -- it's not as though the bod were, with face screwed up in hatred, angrily snarling "give me, right now, mother****er -- or else !!"

Mind you, "I can talk" -- different expressions infuriate different ones of us, and it's not about making sense: I hate the word "cromulent", with the white-hot fury of a thousand suns.

 

[swt_passenger]

I don't "get" -- as it were -- the loathing of this expression. It's imported from America; but even if ungrammatical and illogical, its meaning is basically meant to be polite; maybe some slack could be cut -- it's not as though the bod were, with face screwed up in hatred, angrily snarling "give me, right now, mother****er -- or else !!"

Mind you, "I can talk" -- different expressions infuriate different ones of us, and it's not about making sense: I hate the word "cromulent", with the white-hot fury of a thousand suns.

I don’t “loathe“ or “hate” it. I do dislike it.

But then “hate” is another word that’s become completely overworked in the social media age…

 

[Calthrop]

But then “hate” is another word that’s become completely overworked in the social media age…

Sometimes, though, one has to draw a line -- or things go mad. In the era of great "preciousness" over the physical facts of life: the good old English word "belly" came to be considered as gross and vulgar, and was replaced by the more delicate "stomach". That in turn got into the "too crude and matter-of-fact" bracket, and people started saying instead, "tummy" -- then folk started to retreat even from that, and say "tum-tum"... turning around and reclaiming words for their real meanings -- and to heck with the "prissy and particular" brigade -- is sometimes necessary.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

No no, I mean yes, ETA was/is also Environmental Transport Association, a sort of green car club.

 

[AY1975]

As someone would learned English as a second language, there are some difficult things. One of the most irritating things is the fact that there are numerous possible pronunciations of the same spelling and also the other way around. This means you need to learn nearly every word and pronunciation individually. While learning French and German, I found pronunciation much easier as it is nearly standard given a spelling.

This thread on whether the English language should have a spelling reform may be of interest: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/should-the-english-language-have-a-spelling-reform.212765/

 

[Cantab26]

I don’t “loathe“ or “hate” it. I do dislike it.

But then “hate” is another word that’s become completely overworked in the social media age…

As is ‘passionate’.

“I’m passionate about X.”

Really? You would sacrifice your life for X?

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

Passionate? Committed, 113%!
..
'Despise' is a good word for 'hate'. I have Thesauri to hand but I do not need them often.

 

[Strat-tastic]

113%? Is that all?

 

[takno]

Passionate? Committed, 113%!
..
'Despise' is a good word for 'hate'. I have Thesauri to hand but I do not need them often.

Oh yes, I'd definitely get rid of awkward Latin plurals

 

[Cantab26]

Oh yes, I'd definitely get rid of awkward Latin plurals

How about θησαυροί instead?

 

[takno]

How about θησαυροί instead?

It's all Greek to me

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Perhaps if we taught ALL British schoolchildren Welsh, rather than just the ones in Wales, there wouldn't be so many people using "off" when they mean "of" or vice-versa...

 

[Senex]

It's all Greek to me

Just thesauruses for me!

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

Just got a book of Antonyms, quite fascinating, to go on the shelf with my Thesauri.

 

[S&CLER]

I still prefer to say and write "the data/media/criteria are", but it's probably futile to expect people to apply a rule in one language if it requires a knowledge of another language to be understood; and it lays you open to charges of elitism. At least media and criteria have singulars which are still widespread (medium and criterion), but datum for an item of data would sound rather affected in most contexts. I can only recall its use as the term for the height from which sea level is measured.
The Greek neuter singular words in -ma that form the plural in -mata, on the other hand, I would readily anglicise (e.g. trauma, drama, stigma, dogma, although stigmata would be acceptable in its specific meaning in academic theology).

 

[takno]

I still prefer to say and write "the data/media/criteria are", but it's probably futile to expect people to apply a rule in one language if it requires a knowledge of another language to be understood; and it lays you open to charges of elitism. At least media and criteria have singulars which are still widespread (medium and criterion), but datum for an item of data would sound rather affected in most contexts. I can only recall its use as the term for the height from which sea level is measured.
The Greek neuter singular words in -ma that form the plural in -mata, on the other hand, I would readily anglicise (e.g. trauma, drama, stigma, dogma, although stigmata would be acceptable in its specific meaning in academic theology).

Particularly with data that always sounds incredibly painful to me. It's still in the NYT style-guide to say "data are", but I think in general that UK has moved on. Data was a pretty obscure term before computers became widespread, and nobody in that field uses datum at all - data is to all intents and purposes a quantitative noun.

 

[Geezertronic]

Particularly with data that always sounds incredibly painful to me. It's still in the NYT style-guide to say "data are", but I think in general that UK has moved on. Data was a pretty obscure term before computers became widespread, and nobody in that field uses datum at all - data is to all intents and purposes a quantitative noun.

Way back in the day, Computers were people not microchips

 

[xotGD]

In the North East, most people would say "yous", particularly those who were my age. It's also used in a number of other areas of the UK as well as some cities abroad - I don't know where it originally came from.

However, it isn't a formal term - it's probably more like the German "ihr" in meaning than an actual catch-all plural "you". And there's no equivalent for "your".

The alternative for "your" is "yous's". Belonging to yous.

 

[Westcountryman]

I used to work for an American company. In the occasional newsletters you would frequently see abominations like 'He/she is a chemist since 1990'