Learning to Speak English (Again)

[Mark Berkowitz]

9 minutes ago, Kuya John said:

How do you comfort a grammar fanatic........Their,They're,There.

Also:  your, you're... two, to, too.... where, wear, ware... and:

• Bear- an animal.
• Bear- to tolerate.
• Bare- naked or without covering.

Since I've missed most of them --  

[graham59]

Plus....'bear' as in to bear weight.

Anyway,  I see nothing wrong in doing things (like simple spelling and simple grammar) RIGHT. 

Isn't that what we went to school for ? 

Seems like everything else these days.... you're pilloried for trying to maintain standards, rather than acquiescing to the level of those who didn't pay attention in class.

[Mark Berkowitz]

1 hour ago, graham59 said:

Seems like everything else these days.... you're pilloried for trying to maintain standards, rather than acquiescing to the level of those who didn't pay attention in class.

Agree but I don't know if all English speaking countries use the following term (that's used in the USA):

Dumbing Down:

The deliberate oversimplification of intellectual content in education, literature, and cinema, news, video games and culture.

[graham59]

Yes, of course we do (in the UK).

Our day to day language is very 'inclusive', and dynamic.  Probably why it is such a wonderful language . 

[JDDavao II]

Just don't fall into the trap of "lazy" language.

For instance, "more yummy" is nicer (to my inner ear at least) than "yummier". Same number of syllables (same number of "beats"), just nicer. And "my bad" reflects the laziness (to me). There's nothing at all wrong with "my mistake".

"I apologize" is much better than, "sorry", or "my bad". And the proper reply to "thank you" is "you're welcome" and not "no problem" or "no sweat".

Everything keeps getting shorter. Pretty soon, we'll just be grunting at each other like Neanderthals.
 

[Mark Berkowitz]

The word "Dope," which has somehow morphed into a counter intuitive meaning upsets me a bit, since I don't see how a word that is typically associated with heroin, fentanyl, oxycontin, etc. (and the high rates of associated deaths) can be "cool."

 Dope 

Saying something is cool. Most heard in big cities.

[Mark Berkowitz]

10 hours ago, graham59 said:

Our day to day language is very 'inclusive', and dynamic.  Probably why it is such a wonderful language.

May also be why English has become the 'de facto' international language. 

[Jack Peterson]

1 hour ago, Mark Berkowitz said:

May also be why English has become the 'de facto' international language. 

It is Mark the First language of my Wifes Company, Anyone caught answering a Phone in Bisaya, is reprimanded

[Gary D]

4 hours ago, Mark Berkowitz said:

The word "Dope," which has somehow morphed into a counter intuitive meaning upsets me a bit, since I don't see how a word that is typically associated with heroin, fentanyl, oxycontin, etc. (and the high rates of associated deaths) can be "cool."

 Dope 

Saying something is cool. Most heard in big cities.

Here in the UK dope firstly is a type of varnish used on early fabric winged aeroplanes and secondly short for dopey or stupid ( your a dope). Don't know where the modern drugs reference came from.

[Mark Berkowitz]

5 hours ago, Gary D said:

Here in the UK dope firstly is a type of varnish used on early fabric winged aeroplanes and secondly short for dopey or stupid ( your a dope). Don't know where the modern drugs reference came from.

Dope: information; at times also used to refer to illegal drugs but mainly in mockery of "square" usage.

From Geneva Smitherman, Black Talk: Words and Phrases from the Hood to the Amen Corner(1994):

DOPE 1) See DEF ["Great; superb; excellent. ... Also boss, mean, cool, hip, terrible, outa sight, monsta, dynamite (older terms); fresh, hype, jammin, slammin, kickin, bumpin, humpin, phat, pumpin, stoopid[,] stupid, vicious, down, dope, on, raw (newer terms)."]

2) Marijuana, crack, or any other illegal drug.

From Clarence Major, Juba to Jive: A Dictionary of African-American Slang (1994):

Dope n. (1980s–1990s) Mainstream American slang users in the thirties used "dope" to refer to food or to information and only occasionally used it in connection with drugs. It was revived in the eighties as a term for illegal drugs and used frequently on the black street culture scene. (F[ield] R[esearch].) S[outhern and] N[orthern] U[se].

Dope n., adj. (1870s–1990s) information; at times also used to refer to illegal drugs but mainly in mockery of "square" usage; by the 1980s it was being used as an adjective, meaning good or outstanding. (H[yman] E[.] G[oldin, Frank O'Leary & Morris Lipsius], D[ictionary of] A[merican] U[nderworld] L[ingo] [(1950)], p. 60; [Harold] W[entworth & Stuart] F[lexner], D[ictionary of] A[merican] S[lang] [(1967)], p. 156.) Examples: "You get the dope on the situation and we'll take it from there." S[outhern and] N[orthern] U[se].

dope adj. Rap Music. excellent; wonderful; superb; very attractive or enjoyable. [First cited occurrences:] 1981 J. Spicer, in Stanley Rap 301: Yo, man, them boys is dope. ... This record is dope. 1988 N.Y. Times (Aug. 29) C 15: Dope...superb, outstanding...That's a dope Porsche. 1988Spin (Oct.) 47: Dope, adj., the ultimate...fresh incredible. Ibid. 48: Gucci may be good, but fake Gucci is what's really dope. Ibid. 58: This is a dope jam.

The early definitions of the adjective form of dope emphasize the notion of being admirable or enjoyable, rather than of being insightful or well informed. It's possible that the original meaning of the adjective doperepresents a telescoping of the idea "as good as [being on] dope," in the "drug" sense of dope.

https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/297851/what-is-the-etymology-of-dope-meaning-excellent-great-impressive

 

Edited June 15, 2019 by Mark Berkowitz