Topic: Pedant's Corner

[Emagggie]

....and the contents of my cranium are still causing me some discomfort.

[Hyacinth]

Right! Back to "Import/Export".....my mind today in freefall  at work....dangerous situations, both.... ;D

And my thought on this topic was that how can I have got this SO WRONG? :-[

And then I concluded (or justified in my own inimicable fashion).....that I didn't 8) ;)

To export = to me, the transfer of a commodity, under the aegis of a dealer, of one thing from one country to another. That is export.....

To say "we imported "(blah-di-blah, in this case the speech prevalent at the time...)" to me signifies that we took it with us .

And that, I offer up, is the difference.....

Furthermore! (and yep! it was a long and hard 6hrs work under unaccustomed sun)......I then pondered if I had been right in saying "imported TO to the US" rather than "imported INTO......"

.....and decided that I was 8)

(no surprises there, then ;D).....

I concluded that the "in" of the word "into" was superfluous, cos the word "import" provided the "in" but in an 'im"-type fashion?

And then I realis(z)ed that I'd done enough work with toxic weedkillers at close quarters for many hours - and I came home  ;D ;D ;D

[Hyacinth]

Accents, or the way we speak today....

Yes, I think they're changing - and not only I think so,  but Our Esteemed Old Lady of Broadcasting has sez so too, so who am I to argue  ::)

Out of the window is the 'cut-glass' RP pronunciation, which signified a clear division between "us" and "them" (or "them" and "us"?) and IN is a softer middle-of-the-road pronunciation which blurs the boundaries....

.....innit??

[GrannieAnnie]

Alishka, next time just say "smuggled."

[Hyacinth]

.....something else we imported to the USA where it's still alive and well AND I WANT IT BACK, please,.....is......
'
'
'
'
'
'
'
'

the
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'
'
'
'
'
'
'
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z

Had you realiz(s)ed that?

My mate'n'me's gotta Save the Zed Society, 'cept that he calls it the "Save the Zee Society"...  ;D

When did the Zee become endangered? Seems to be alive and well here.

[Hyacinth]

Point is........the 'Z' was an import....(ie taken INTO the US by Settlers?).......which we're now casting aside, as without value per se and an inconvenience on a modern keyboard.........?...... ;) ;D

The Z is British and so it should remain!!!!

An So Sez All of Uz!!

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

we say zed. The Americans say zee (which is also British), or you could say IZZARD. How cool is that? Eddie Zed

[valmarg]

Oh dear A_M, I see what you mean about exporting into the USA.  It's a real pedant's quandary.  I tend to go along with GrannieAnnie, and would use the term smuggled ;D ;D

valmarg

[Hyacinth]

Nah, nah, nah, nah, NAH! Valmarg :P...... into the USA....and there I rest my case - and go to sleep, perchance to dream....

...it's been a bloody hard 2-3 days....

zzzzzzzzzz (or zed-zed-zed....)

 ;D Lishka x

[valmarg]

Nah, nah, nah, nah, NAH! Valmarg :P...... into the USA....and there I rest my case - and go to sleep, perchance to dream....
 ;D Lishka x

Just so long as you don't shuffle off your mortal coil A_M ;D ;D

valmarg

[Hyacinth]

The good and the bad about dying....

The good is that you get to get a lie-in in the mornings?

The bad is that you're SO bloody stiff...(mind you, some of the men here might think this a bonus?)

 ;D ;D ;D

Hey, before I shuffle off to bed.....in't this a FAB thread? Thanks Ol :-*....it's great to talk with frens, like, with no-one scoring points off each other 8) or getting huffy...or any of that.... 8)

[Suzanne]

I have just read though this thread. A few points;

If we are banning words from the UK can we include "mazing", as in amazing but for some reason we seem to have mislaid the a.

Also the phrase "Oh My God, innit", I am not at all sure where this originated from, but suspect AliG and his massif.

Recover the h for with - even Leona Lewis sang "for the very first time wit you.  Even with my broad East Midlands accent I can retain the h on the end of words, its only the beginning where I lose them, although I have noted that they pop up unexpectedly now and again.

Also can anyone enlighten me on whether vehicle has a an almost silent "hi" as the spoken by the english, or whether it's vehicle as the participants on Judge Judy would have it?

Suzanne  :)

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

I like innit. Very popular with the Asian community, where it's not English being spoken incorrectly, but a completely new word. I had two girl students working for me who were ( family were) from Pakistan, and one of them was talking to the other about taking a boy home to meet her parents. The idea of this was so terrifying to both of them that they virtually had a fit of hysterics. They ended up holding on to each other, and all they could say was innit..innit...innit. Very sweet and funny (once i'd decided that neither of them was going to die)

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

or is it were going to die

[Suzanne]

Rt, that will keep me awake all night, was or were?

[GrannieAnnie]

Point is........the 'Z' was an import....(ie taken INTO the US by Settlers?).......which we're now casting aside, as without value per se and an inconvenience on a modern keyboard.........?...... ;) ;D

(It isn't any fun when all of you pop off to bed so early. Rahhly!)

Without a Z how on earth will you spell gizzard? With two Sses? It won't sound nearly as quaint.
And wouldn't that sound like you are saying "Kiss hard?"

Which brings up another thing that I find too weird.  This business of spelling various letters of the alphabet.
Not only zed but also Es for S, en for N etc. Why would one have to create a whole word when a single letter would suffice?

[valmarg]

THE ABC

T'was midnight in the schoolroom
And every desk was shut
When suddenly from the alphabet
Was heard a loud "Tut-tut!"

Said A to B "I don't like C;
His manners are a lack.
For all I ever see of C
is a semicircular back!"

I disagree said D to B
I've never found C so
From where I stand he seems to be
An uncompleted O.

C was vexed, "I'm much perplexed,
You criticise my shape,
I'm made like that, to help spell Cat
And Cow and Cool and Cape.

"He's right" said E; said F "Whoopee!"
Said G "Ip ip,  'ooray!"
You're dropping me roared H to G
Don't do it please I pray.

Out of my way LL said to K
I'll make poor I look ILL
To stop this stunt J stood in front
And presto ILL was JILL

U know said V that W
Is twice the age of me
For as a Roman V is five
I'm half as young as he

X and Y yawned sleepily
Look at the time! they said
Let's all get off to beddy byes
They did, then Z-z-z-z-z

Don't know why I'm posting this, something to do with Z. ;D ;D

Anyway, I love it, Spike Milligan at his best.

valmarg

[Baaaaaaaa]

Rt, that will keep me awake all night, was or were?

Its the thought of two student girls working on me, that will keep me awake all night  !

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

Rt, that will keep me awake all night, was or were?

that's the problem with this thread - I'm not clever enough to know what's right

[OllieC]

I don't think cleverness has to be a prerequisite to pedantry. I argue whenever possible, and am pretty thick.