This thread is going all kindsa fun.Yup, I can speak local vernacular, such as this IE: "How you is?" is just one flavor. I could ask that in Richmond CA, Richmond BC, and Richmond VA (3 of my customer cities) and get wildly different responses. I occasionally let a bit of Southern twang slip out when spending a lot of time in LA (not California) or any of the Panhandles. I, like others, spend a lot of time on the phone for my job, and communication via voice and email stays constant. But years of also training my customer base (on-site, on a national conference, and in regional settings) has shifted the way I speak as well. The main point I try to carry is communicating clearly. A run-on paragraph with no punctuation is an eye-sore ad- in my eyes- a sign of either laziness or insufficient discipline. I even see it in a professional capacity by customers with advanced degrees. This, in turn, brings me back to SOLs- the so-called Standard of Learning. Teaching to the average, graduate as many people as possible, and encourage most that College is the Only Way. If I think of my day-to-day interactions, all of this is a non-issue. People call, I provide answers, we move on. Now there are certain words that are truly cringe-worth. Conversated is one of them. The millisecond I hear anybody use that, I will interrupt and correct them. I also am exposed to a lot of questions where people want answers. I provide replies, then get a request for a link or video (as was mentioned a couple pages back). In these situations, I send them the link from LMGTFY... Let Me Google That For You - you, you open that site, type in the question, then send the person the link resultant from the question. When he or she clicks on the link, it shows a cursor moving to Google, typing in the question, and then opening Search results. It truly is the ultimate is smart-arse replies.Conversated. People use that all the time. I will run across a store, interrupt a conversation, and verbally accost a person when I hear this fake word spoken. I took these exact measures with my old Team Leader a number of times and received numerous arse-chewing for it, but when I explained to him our customers thought he was idiot because he couldn't speak proper English in a professional setting, I realized some people Just Don't Get It. I mean, how much HARDER is it to say "converse"? Wait, it ain't! Less syllables, easier spelling, AND proper English. Geez, something you can call a flat-out win no matter what! But I digress. As much as I prefer good spelling, punctuation, and syntax, I also realize that we are in the Age of The Selfie.And that's all anybody needs to know.EDIT: how many other folks disable spellcheck? I cannot be the only one!
Quote from: oldnamvet on February 21, 2019, 11:20:32 PMSometimes also spelled as 'pasty'. A pastry shell filled with meat, potatoes, some vegetables. https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=pasties+michigan&qpvt=pasties+michigan&FORM=IGREWent up to a sporting goods store southern Georgia last week. When checking out the young man laid on the southern accent about as thick as he possibly could. ~Sure was a pleasure hepein yall!~. Pretty sure he was putting it on for the city slickers
Sometimes also spelled as 'pasty'. A pastry shell filled with meat, potatoes, some vegetables. https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=pasties+michigan&qpvt=pasties+michigan&FORM=IGRE
This time I'm not going to quote who just did it, but another of my peeves is using the word less instead of fewer.The rule is, people - If speaking of multiples, the word is fewer. If speaking of a singular (or collective) the word is less.For example:Less moneyFewer dollarsLess weightFewer poundsBeer does not have less calories. It has fewer of them.Get it? ?I hear this ALL the time on commercials and it drives me absolutely batty.
Spell check is disabled on my personal equipment although enabled at work. I have told Word to allow some of my incorrect spelling or usage. I really do love accents and dialect but certainly in formal communication, both written or in conversation, correct usage is the norm. Poor grammar is poor grammar and dialect or accent is not much of an excuse. However, there are times when ain't is the only way to convey the sentiment. One of the old Serenity sic-fi episodes had one of the characters remark about how she moved to the outer worlds and learned to say "ain't" so she could fit in.....and even now I use the apostrophe for whatever reason. Go figure. You gotta love the English language.
Yeah I don’t like spell check. Sorry for all the typos, gays!
Quote from: UlteriorModem on February 22, 2019, 10:05:08 AMQuote from: oldnamvet on February 21, 2019, 11:20:32 PMSometimes also spelled as 'pasty'. A pastry shell filled with meat, potatoes, some vegetables. https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=pasties+michigan&qpvt=pasties+michigan&FORM=IGREWent up to a sporting goods store southern Georgia last week. When checking out the young man laid on the southern accent about as thick as he possibly could. ~Sure was a pleasure hepein yall!~. Pretty sure he was putting it on for the city slickers I noticed that when my husband was speaking with a friend from his home (Baton Rouge), he'd take on more of his old southern Louisiana accent, then when speaking with Texas friends, he'd sound more like a local. I never got the impression it was purposeful on his part- he just seemed to adapt who whomever he was speaking with.
Beer and Deer both can be less and fewer in proper context
I'm always yelling at the monitor (as if it did any good), "Get the apostrophe out!" when I see the constant error of writing it's when people mean its.it's: It is, or occasionally it has (as in, "It's been said...," meaning, "It has been said...")its (without the apostrophe): belonging to, or relating to, "it"Also: People write "alot" when they mean "a lot" (two words). It's like "a bunch," "a group," "a set," "a lot," etc.. There is a word "allot" (with two l's), but it's a verb, and means to set aside, designate, or dedicate a quantity of something for a particular purpose.Ok, just one more (of the dozens of peeves I could list): Do not use apostrophes to make plurals!! ("Plural" means more than one.) Use them to make possessives. ("Possessive" means it owns, or relates to, something else being spoken of.) "I have three airgun's" is incorrect; but "My airgun's barrel is 22" long" is correct. Never use an apostrophe in verbs either. "She want's her own airgun" is also incorrect. Sometimes the misuse of apostrophes changes the meaning. Which butler should be fired here?The Butler stood at the door and called the guests names.The butler stood at the door and called the guests' names.(The apostrophe in #2 goes after the s because there's more than one guest, so you don't write "guests's names."
Thank you for all of that. I feel like I have a teammate here.
How do you explain people who use commas instead of apostrophes, like in this word Don,t ? I saw a post last night that had that multiple times throughout, and with words other than don't.