No offense to anyone…but, anytime I see an “Unca Cecil” or a “himself” (referring to a husband or an SO, I guess) it just grates on my nerves; I can’t explain why.
Duuuude. They’re writing it in French.
I heard this on CNN. It really grated on me, but not enough to make a Pit thread. It was a story about Christina Aguilera and Nicole Richie giving birth on the same day. The caption on screen read, “Wild Childs Settle Down.” (sic)
EXCUSE ME? “Wild childs?” Since when did the plural of child become childs? Doesn’t CNN hire proofreaders. Didn’t one person look at it and say, “Hey, this should be children?” Even my Firefox spell checker says that is wrong.
Now, if it had said “Wild kids,” I probably wouldn’t have noticed. But “childs” is just wrong.
When did all the lawyers and government officials start using “persons” instead of “people”?
I’ve given up this battle, but it still bothers me when people mispronounce the name of a foreign place and then say, “well, that’s the American pronunciation.” Ditto when it’s changed entirely. Why can’t people from England say “Deutschland” and people from Germany (I mean “Deutschland”) say “England”? Why do Americans call Nippon “Japan”? Nippon is easy enough to say.
It bothers me when women call their husbands/boyfriends “daddy.” It seems incestuous and ooky.
I detest “so” used as a synonym for “very” (e.g., “He’s so cute” or “Thank you so much”). I’ve read the arguments. I know it’s been around for centuries. But I still keep waiting for the end of the sentence. It’s comparative, doggone it.
And you’re right, Auntbeast. “Sir” and “ma’am” are always appropriate if you don’t know someone’s name. They indicate respect.
Wombat’s Apostrophe Style Guide:
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If it’s a possessive, use an apostrophe before the S (exception: the possessive “its”)
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If it’s a contraction, put an apostrophe in place of the missing letter(s)
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If it’s a plural, do <i>not</i> use an apostrophe
That’s it! You’re an apostrophe expert now!
I can see their reasoning, though. “Wild Child” is a well-known phrase. “Wild Children” isn’t, plus it doesn’t rhyme. Using “Wild Children” will completely kill the phrase’s catchiness. So they don’t use the proper plural.
Now, I agree with cochrane that it grates horribly and that it’s just WRONG, but I do see why they did it.
And the possessives “hers,” “ours,” “theirs,” and “yours.”
Or, to put it another way, possessive pronouns.
And, for the love of god, if you are referring to your entire family, it is the Smiths, not the Smith’s. The Smith’s means that there’s just one Smith who owns something.
Yeah, I can see their reasoning. But a “serious” newscast really ought to refrain from pandering to popular culture. Or put “wild childs” in quotes (It wasn’t in quotes in the caption.).
AAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHH!!!
I don’t know which idjits are providing the commentary for the stoopit football game that’s on TV, but one of them will begin every other sentence with “I mean…” What an annoying verbal crutch!! It’s not that he’s restating something for clarification. It’s as if I walk into a room, and say “I mean, this is going to be a busy day.”
What’s even more irritating is when I catch myself saying it. I am so easily influenced. GRRRR!
YES! Although I’ve run into this many times, I’m still momentarily caught off-guard when people up north (those who are not of southern derivation, anyway) react “unkindly” to “Sir” or “Ma’am”. (What I mean is, it’s cool if you want me to address you by your first name, but please don’t think I’m trying to insult you with my initial use of “Ma’am” or “Sir”, 'cause, really, it ain’t that deep.)
Exactly. And now that I’m almost 40 years old, I *still * address those people using the proper honorific+first name (Miss Anne, Mr. Tony, etc.). If they asked me to use just their first names, I reckon that I’d make an effort, but I’m sure it’d feel pretty strange to me.
I must say, though, that it’s not necessary for the children of *close * friends to address me as Mr. Li’l Pluck. One of my friends did insist on having her children address me as such, even when I told her that it wasn’t necessary. (We were, after all, close friends–not strangers or mere acquaintances.) When her oldest boy became an adult, I told him that he didn’t have to do that with me anymore, and she (and he) seemed to be okay with that. (I’m sure, though, that when she mentions my name to him in conversation, she still refers to me as Mr. Li’l Pluck.)
Good GOD, yes! I still haven’t figured out if this is just some kind of affectation, or if there are people out there who really don’t know how the word “probably” is supposed to be spelled and pronounced.
Oh, and I agree with those who say that “you” in the plural can be unclear unless some qualifier (or body language, such as making eye contact with all relevant parties) is used.
And as someone who uses “y’all” in non-formal situations and who digs its simplicity (of course, I did learn the plural “you” in school, even though I used “y’all” at home), I don’t get upset if my waitperson uses it (though I might be a bit…surprised if a waitperson at, say, Per Se or some other *really * high-end restaurant were to use it).
I’m sure there are some people who get upset over “yinz” (which is the western PA/eastern OH version of “y’all”), but I’m unlikely to ever stop using it. It’s too ingrained.
Are there actually any “serious” newscasts left that don’t pander to popular culture? Is there one single newscast out there that doesn’t promote its network’s other shows, interview celebrities, and talk about Brittney’s latest underwear or childcare faux pas?
I think you’ll find “sir” used every bit as often up north in Wyoming and Montana as you will down south in Georgia or Mississippi.
Western PA? Really? I thought the Pittsburgh version was “you’uns” (shortened more like yoonz than yinz).
It’s sort of a neutral vowel, somewhere in between oo and i. I’m sure different sections of the region pronounce it slightly differently. I personally tend to pronounce as sort of a “y(schwa)nz”. I’ve just always seen it spelled “yinz” in the few places it tends to be written.
The correct form, as used by Bugs Bunny, is “Youse guys”