Unless, "me and my friend" is in the accusative declension.
It'll come as a shock to those of us in the UK that anyone in the US is concerned about 'proper' English 🙂
My pet peeve is 'species' pronounced as speeshees. It's just plain nasty.
Oh, and the mind boggling misuse of apostrophe's (see what I did there?). My favourite being a sign outside a pub that said "Dog's welcome". Which I took to mean they'd sniff your bum when you went inside...
What's the difference between a cat and a comma? A cat has claws at the end of its paws, while a comma has a pause at the end of its clause.
Locally there are some phrases that just don't travel well. "Youins pick up the floor." "Jeet." "Geagle." & "Jag off."
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A language that changes is a language that is alive. If that is uncomfortable, then Latin is an option.
no stop Latino please
🙂
@classicalfan :
classicalfan, do you have Italian origins by any chance? in Italy we are renowned with this epilogue: often discussion ends ' ...a tarallucci e vino..' (with tarallucci and wine) I hope do you know what is' tarallo- taralluccio (little tarallo)'
🙂
🙂
@classicalfan :
classicalfan, do you have Italian origins by any chance? in Italy we are renowned with this epilogue: often discussion ends ' ...a tarallucci e vino..' (with tarallucci and wine) I hope do you know what is' tarallo- taralluccio (little tarallo)'
🙂
Went last saturday to a market here with Italian “delicatessen” tradesmen that indeed came from Italy with small trucks. Olives, wine, cheese, ham all made artisanal. They spoke Italian nothing else. My english speaking friend wondered why Italians in Germany did not speak english.
Anway when the friend asked (in english…) what such a cheese would cost the tradesman came from behind the counter and picked up and weighed a cheese. 1.25 kilogram. He then said “cinquante Euro”.
I translated this and the friend replied “expensive”.
The tradesman got wound up and said in Italian which I understood perfectly “you guys don’t believe I drive 2000 kilometers with my truck to give my $£#*? cheese away for free do you?”
Anway when the friend asked (in english…) what such a cheese would cost the tradesman came from behind the counter and picked up and weighed a cheese. 1.25 kilogram. He then said “cinquante Euro”.
I translated this and the friend replied “expensive”.
The tradesman got wound up and said in Italian which I understood perfectly “you guys don’t believe I drive 2000 kilometers with my truck to give my $£#*? cheese away for free do you?”
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A number of people have pointed out that a language that doesn't change is dead, and that's true. But I suspect that what the OP (look how up-to-date I am) is concerned about is sloppy langauge. The English language is a precision tool and should be used as such. The skill is to speak or write a succinct sentence that is incapable of misinterpretation. All this interposed "I was like" rubbish is just to prevent anyone interrupting the speaker (who generally rambles on and says nothing of significance). Be clear, be precise, be brief.
I just wish someone could sort out the spelling/pronunciation of English. It is an awful accidental mess.
And don't forget the lack of any capitalization. Particularly i instead of I.
I don't waste my time reading those types of posts.
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English -- at least, American English -- is an amalgamation of several languages. That includes, apparently, gibberish and insanity. I say this as a native American English speaker. The only rule is that there are no rules. I sympathize with non-native speakers who have to learn English as an alternative language.
I'm afraid that I have no Italian origins but loved our visit to Rome.
Thoroughly enjoyed everything we saw and did there. And most of all the food.
But please don't get me started on that subject, because we have nothing even close here.
I work with a lot of young employees and find this to be a non-issue. They seem to "code switch" with ease and speak with the customers in a completely acceptable manner; I can't say their vocabulary is any more limited than when I (55 years old) was their age.
It's clear that languages change over time and that this is inevitable. However, I think we can make a distinction between changes that improve a language (or language use) and ones that weaken it. For example, the use of "your" to indicate both the possessive form of "you" and the "you are" contraction versus having a distinct form for the "you are" contraction removes a sign that clarifies use. IMHO (look! a neologism!), this weakens the language because it potentially creates ambiguity.
One of the more subtle changes I'm hearing in spoken English in the USA a convergence of vowel sounds. For example, "left" and "lift" are converging toward "laft". So, a few years from now, when one hears, "Walk about 20 steps and then take a laft," they may not know whether they should switch directions or take a rideshare (neologism!) service.
One of the more subtle changes I'm hearing in spoken English in the USA a convergence of vowel sounds. For example, "left" and "lift" are converging toward "laft". So, a few years from now, when one hears, "Walk about 20 steps and then take a laft," they may not know whether they should switch directions or take a rideshare (neologism!) service.
I talk with over 200 people a day and have never heard this "laft" you speak of. I'm on the central coast of California. The your, you're is just a written grammatical error and I don't know if that is on the rise or not.
The funniest pronunciation ambiguity I ever heard was a Scottish engineer explaining ABS vs EBS braking.
They were indistinguishable.
20+ years ago and it still makes me smile.
They were indistinguishable.
20+ years ago and it still makes me smile.