tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post73895820476474483..comments2024-03-22T13:57:42.835-04:00Comments on Wishydig: "Evacuate": the premisesWishydighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06141057866370676641noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-84717869129746990272013-08-16T04:41:01.315-04:002013-08-16T04:41:01.315-04:00I apologize for the delay in publishing your comme...I apologize for the delay in publishing your comment, Chris. I was away from my account for a while.<br /><br />I'm not sure I completely understand your point. Are you saying that the constant and inevitable changes in specific meanings necessarily change the "real essence" of language?Wishydighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06141057866370676641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-64349528823698258832013-08-08T23:05:39.874-04:002013-08-08T23:05:39.874-04:00Seems like most of the people who are born in this...Seems like most of the people who are born in this generation do not know the real importance of language. I agree that there are new discoveries about language but do not forget its real essence.Chrishttp://www.languageapproach.net/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-43000404502284567522013-05-31T21:00:39.041-04:002013-05-31T21:00:39.041-04:00are you saying that "evacuate A from B" ...are you saying that "evacuate A from B" is a dumber, or less effective or otherwise impressive use of the word "evacuate"?<br /><br />is all language change a dumbing-down?<br /><br />i suspect there are several reasons for the elimination of apostrophes from street signs and place names. perhaps confusion plays a role. and uniformity and the removal of factual implications too i would guess. is it really a road belonging to St John? And is the absence of a '.' from abbreviated 'St' equally a dumber form of the punctuated American form 'St.'?<br /><br />I say no. that would be a ridiculous claim about the significance of a little mark on the page. A mark that is used differently by different writing systems in various contexts. variation doesn't always mean much. or at least, it doesn't always mean what we're afraid it means.<br /><br />and since place names and street signs aren't semantically loaded sentences, nor do they make full semantic claims, i don't believe the presence or absence of punctuation marks is a very good indicator of broader linguistic competence or performance.<br /><br />here's <a href="http://stancarey.wordpress.com/2009/04/02/apostrophes-in-business-names-and-place-names/" rel="nofollow">a good post</a> (by the reliably helpful Stan Carey) on the issue.Wishydighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06141057866370676641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-71586873722195590142013-05-31T06:26:17.068-04:002013-05-31T06:26:17.068-04:00The dumbing down of English continues - in the UK ...The dumbing down of English continues - in the UK some street signs are having apostrophes removed. So "St John's Road" has become "St Johns Road". All because no-one thought to correct the "idiot's" who automatically think plural "word's" merit an apostrophe. Sigh.Ray Bonettihttp://www.studyonlinefrench.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-67906514156304132942013-05-26T15:51:15.229-04:002013-05-26T15:51:15.229-04:00It's only nonsense if you know their team does...It's only nonsense if you know their team doesn't mean it. ;-)<br /><br />This is what happens when you let your language lose its inflections and go all word-order on you. It's not chaos, but it is different. And we're about ... what, 800 years? ... too late to stop it.The Ridger, FCDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01538111197270563075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-26759464470910107992013-05-15T08:43:41.094-04:002013-05-15T08:43:41.094-04:00Yeah I love The Wire too. The thing is your "...Yeah I love The Wire too. The thing is your "evacuate" example is of course correct, but "corporate management speak" has destroyed the original meanings of many words, so it's no wonder some people get confused. <br /><br />Take the word "deliver". You can deliver a parcel or a letter. Or a card for your grandmother's birthday. But "Our team is committed to delivering this project on time" is just nonsense. IMHO :-)Robinhttp://www.studyonlinespanish.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-70731424326418948972013-04-23T07:30:35.695-04:002013-04-23T07:30:35.695-04:00Great post. Love the Wire.
The push and pull betwe...Great post. Love the Wire.<br />The push and pull between descriptive and prescriptive linguistics is always fascinating. There are uses which no-one will accept: I can’t use the word “cat” to refer to a dog if I want to avoid confusion or damage to my social prestige. Yet a dictionary is out of date as soon as it is published, even if it were a perfect record of “standard” use originally. You’ve given a good example of how dictionaries aren’t perfect. <br />What about cases such as the use of “less” instead of “fewer”? Is this wrong? Should we accept it?<br />I came to this via Twitter: you probably already know but you should be a lexicographer. You have a great surname for it! <br />GregAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-78115878800530188242013-03-23T00:57:31.650-04:002013-03-23T00:57:31.650-04:00I love detective stuff....esp Agatha ChristieI love detective stuff....esp Agatha ChristieLindyhttp://customizedfatlosssite.comnoreply@blogger.com