The Pedant's Revolt

[Ajarn Philip]

Sign in a Newton Abbot car park.
"Beware rising barriers."
The chance of being above them when they rise is infinitesimally small; the problem comes if you are underneath them when they descend.

Pedant heaven!

[NEILL THE NOTORIOUS]

JR will hate me
As a Diabetic, I have my Blood Tests 2 hours after a meal.
I arrive 1hour and 10 minutes later --- and jump the queue !
There are notices all around saying Diabolicals can do this ! :mutley:

Sorry JR -- I couldn't resist it !

[99yorkpj]

Those Americans have a verb non existant in English....gotten

How often did i hear as a student and since during trips to USA, "have you gotten"....
Already they can't spell correctly words ending in -our....

Cos or coz is another one that gets me.....

Gotten I hear frequently in Canada. I tried to insist that it wasn't a real word... but they don't believe me

[DavebytheSea]

Ah - but I think "gotten" was once in common usage, I remember, when playing MacHeath in the Beggars Opera, the Newgate gaoler describing someone as a "shotten herring" i.e. a herring that has just expelled its reproductive whatevers and therefore flabby and wasted. If shot can become shotten in the past tense, then why not got becoming gotten?

Yes, I am right! My Shorter Oxford says:

"gotten (go-t'n) ppl. a.ME [pa. pple of GET v] ............. Now rare, exc. in ILL-GOTTEN "

Ill gotten gains? yes of course, we have all used/heard that.

[DavebytheSea]

And ......

Use both lanes ???

or .... on the green opposite here :

DOG OWNERS

Don't let them foul our Green

What am I to do? find out all the dog oiwners in the village and follow them with a scoop and a plastic bag?

And I avoid disabled toilets like the plague - I once had a marine loo blow up on me on the boat - very nasty!

[Jo]

You are right David - a lot of what we criticise the Americans for is actually closer to old English.

And a lot of language pedantry is actually based on artificial conceits, with no solid foundation. I was disappointed to learn this at first, as an aspiring language pedant myself, but the inestimable Michael Quinion, at http://www.worldwidewords.org, is systematically shattering my illusions and prejudices

[englishangel]

Gotten IS a real word as in the past whatever of get. We here in the UK use that mode as in forgotten.

In many ways North American English is 'older' than British English.

ref: Mother Tongue, The English Language. Bill Bryson. Hamish Hamilton 1990

You can blame Webster for honor, color etc, he was simplifying spelling.

Not so sure about burglarised as used in the US (don't kow about Canada) where we use burgled.

[englishangel]

[quote="CHAZ"]Those Americans have a verb non existant in English....gotten

How often did i hear as a student and since during trips to USA, "have you gotten"....
Already they can't spell correctly words ending in -our....[quote]

[NEILL THE NOTORIOUS]

How about the American past participle of Dive ? ---" Dove,"--- I thought that was a bird !

[englishangel]

How about the American past participle of Dive ? ---" Dove,"--- I thought that was a bird !

–verb a participle of dive.
verb, dived or dove,

pronounced as in "Oh my goodness"

[99yorkpj]

Gotten IS a real word as in the past whatever of get. We here in the UK use that mode as in forgotten.

In many ways North American English is 'older' than British English.

ref: Mother Tongue, The English Language. Bill Bryson. Hamish Hamilton 1990

You can blame Webster for honor, color etc, he was simplifying spelling.

Not so sure about burglarised as used in the US (don't kow about Canada) where we use burgled.

I stand corrected. I will make no further mention of the word gotten to my north american amigos

[NEILL THE NOTORIOUS]

I also stand corrected -- but what can you expect from a "Jogger Dep"

Apropos Webster--- Was it not Bob Hope and Bing Crosby (Who ?) who sang in "Road to Morroco"
"Like Webster's Dictionary -- we're Morocco bound !" (Probably should be AS rather than LIKE ?) There we go again !

[englishangel]

I also stand corrected -- but what can you expect from a "Jogger Dep"

Apropos Webster--- Was it not Bob Hope and Bing Crosby (Who ?) who sang in "Road to Morroco"
"Like Webster's Dictionary -- we're Morocco bound !" (Probably should be AS rather than LIKE ?) There we go again !

I have consulted the Oracle on all things 'Road to' (my husband - also The Marx Brothers AND US horse racing) and you are absolutely correct.

[midget]

A lot of Devonians use gived,drawed,'er gooed.

[englishangel]

There are some islands off the coast of Carolina which were settled very early in US history and for many years didn't have much contact with the outside world where the accent is still distinctly Devonian.