Grammar, Spelling and Usage Peeves

[Old Woman in Purple]

aisle vs. isle

I find it really, really annoying to read something that refers to the 'isle' in a store.

 

[Angry Floof]

OK

Iraq and Iran, pronounced as eyeraq and eyeran, and sometimes Italian as eyetalian, but never Italy as eyetaly. Why?

Not to mention AY-rab or AIRB when they mean Arab. This is not actually a peeve of mine, but rather a source of amusement.

 

[Copernicus]

A particular hate of mine is when people pronounce 'dissect' as 'di-sect', instead of 'dis-sect'.

Dissect means 'cut up into its component sections'. Di-sect, if it were a real word, would mean 'cut in half'. A stage magician might di-sect a woman; but a pathologist dissects her. The word even supplies an 's' for each syllable. Fucking use them both.

I suspect that your attitude may be linked to your Aussie accent. It takes much more effort to perform a vowel movement whenever you encounter a diphthong.

 

[bilby]

A particular hate of mine is when people pronounce 'dissect' as 'di-sect', instead of 'dis-sect'.

Dissect means 'cut up into its component sections'. Di-sect, if it were a real word, would mean 'cut in half'. A stage magician might di-sect a woman; but a pathologist dissects her. The word even supplies an 's' for each syllable. Fucking use them both.

I suspect that your attitude may be linked to your Aussie accent. It takes much more effort to perform a vowel movement whenever you encounter a diphthong.

We try to avoid that, mate. It pollutes the water.

 

[Copernicus]

Regarding the data/datum controversy, it is true that "data" is plural in Latin. However, English goes crazy with the distinction between count and mass nouns. Most speakers seem more comfortable with treating "data" as a singular mass noun rather than a plural count noun these days. Those who do insist on a count noun usage usually forget themselves and say things like "much data" instead of "many data", the latter being the so-called "correct" expression for those who like to shame mass noun advocates (i.e. The majority of English speakers).

 

[Wiploc]

"Different to."

"Sally and me went to the theater, but they wouldn't let Sally and I in."

 

[Speakpigeon]

Iraq and Iran, pronounced as eyeraq and eyeran, and sometimes Italian as eyetalian, but never Italy as eyetaly. Why?

Russian undercover goons. They haven't a clue.

Because Iran, Iran's so far away...

"I ran" at least makes sense. "I rak"?

[YOUTUBE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIpfWORQWhU[/YOUTUBE]

And bizarrely it comes with a 'Grammarly' plug:

Grammarly
https://www.grammarly.com
Your writing, at its best.
Millions of students and professionals use Grammarly to
check their papers, emails, and other important documents.

Pure coincidence?
EB

 

[Speakpigeon]

Regarding the data/datum controversy, it is true that "data" is plural in Latin. However, English goes crazy with the distinction between count and mass nouns. Most speakers seem more comfortable with treating "data" as a singular mass noun rather than a plural count noun these days. Those who do insist on a count noun usage usually forget themselves and say things like "much data" instead of "many data", the latter being the so-called "correct" expression for those who like to shame mass noun advocates (i.e. The majority of English speakers).

A too many data situation brings you into this tempting too much data territory. It's just a lazy shifting between plural count to singular mass, so too speak.
EB

- - - Updated - - -

"Different to."

"Sally and me went to the theater, but they wouldn't let Sally and I in."

They should have let Sally in at least.
EB

 

[gmbteach]

People who say and write ‘learnt’ and ‘burnt’ instead of ‘learned’ and ‘burned’.

 

[Copernicus]

People who say and write ‘learnt’ and ‘burnt’ instead of ‘learned’ and ‘burned’.

So you don't like British English. I think that British dialects sound great, but Shakespeare's plays are more accurately pronounced with a North American "Northern dialect" accent, which retains all of the syllable-final r sounds and vowel pronunciations.

 

[ZiprHead]

Carmel vs. caramel. Someone did that on a local Wendy's sign and left it like that for weeks.

 

[PyramidHead]

Regarding the data/datum controversy, it is true that "data" is plural in Latin. However, English goes crazy with the distinction between count and mass nouns. Most speakers seem more comfortable with treating "data" as a singular mass noun rather than a plural count noun these days. Those who do insist on a count noun usage usually forget themselves and say things like "much data" instead of "many data", the latter being the so-called "correct" expression for those who like to shame mass noun advocates (i.e. The majority of English speakers).

That's actually an interesting point. A mass noun like "juice" is easily associated with a single quantity of something with discontinuous parts, but can also be thought about as an atomic thing, like a datum. Thus, while "a gallon of juice" uses the singular, "a GB of data" uses the plural, hence the confusion. "Juice" as a mass noun can have a different meaning when used as a plural, to differentiate between kinds of itself (kinds of juices). Thus, "a lot of juice" and "a lot of juices" can have distinct meanings. There isn't a comparable function for "datum", so the plural form has become an honorary singular mass noun. I guess I should be less picky about it in light of this.

That doesn't exclude the medium/media thing in the sciences, though. There is DEFINITELY a difference between "a lot of medium" (I made several liters yesterday) and "a lot of media" (I tested six different formulations last week).

 

[4321lynx]

A particular hate of mine is when people pronounce 'dissect' as 'di-sect', instead of 'dis-sect'.

Dissect means 'cut up into its component sections'. Di-sect, if it were a real word, would mean 'cut in half'. A stage magician might di-sect a woman; but a pathologist dissects her. The word even supplies an 's' for each syllable. Fucking use them both.

I suspect that your attitude may be linked to your Aussie accent. It takes much more effort to perform a vowel movement whenever you encounter a diphthong.

We try to avoid that, mate. It pollutes the water.

You mean the thong in the billabong?

 

[4321lynx]

A particular hate of mine is when people pronounce 'dissect' as 'di-sect', instead of 'dis-sect'.

Dissect means 'cut up into its component sections'. Di-sect, if it were a real word, would mean 'cut in half'. A stage magician might di-sect a woman; but a pathologist dissects her. The word even supplies an 's' for each syllable. Fucking use them both.

I suspect that your attitude may be linked to your Aussie accent. It takes much more effort to perform a vowel movement whenever you encounter a diphthong.

Ey-up lad. Ah bet 'e talks wi' bit of Yarkshire accent, tha' knows... (Unless it's Standard English , what used to be called BBC English) Music to my ears, any Northern accent, anything definitely North of Birmingham[I[, that is.]

 

[Learner]

My biggest peeve on this topic is the mindless shaming of grammatical or spelling errors in other people's posts on the internet. Communication is light years more important than rules, but some people are oblivious to that I guess because they're too enamored by the sweet gush of microscopic self-righteous superiority complex gratification.

Present company excluded, of course.

"cough" thanks um..for understanding.

 

[4321lynx]

I would not call juice a mass noun, I frequently drink various juices. Now if you had said news, that is a mass noun. "Here is the news".

Also moose, deer, elk (usually), sheep, cattle, and I'm sure many others.

 

[PyramidHead]

I would not call juice a mass noun, I frequently drink various juices. Now if you had said news, that is a mass noun. "Here is the news".

Also moose, deer, elk (usually), sheep, cattle, and I'm sure many others.

Then what type of noun is it that can be used in its singular form to refer to a quantity of one kind of itself?

A basket of apples versus one apple is one type of noun. Apples = many of the thing; apple = one of the thing.

A herd of sheep versus one sheep is another type of noun--maybe the classical mass noun you're referring to. Sheep (first use) = many of the thing; sheep (second use) = one of the thing.

A glass of juice versus one juice versus a variety of juices is a third type, as neither of the other two types have corresponding usages. Juice (first use) = a quantity of the thing; juice (second use) = one of the thing; juices = many of the thing.

 

[4321lynx]

I would not call juice a mass noun, I frequently drink various juices. Now if you had said news, that is a mass noun. "Here is the news".

Also moose, deer, elk (usually), sheep, cattle, and I'm sure many others.

Then what type of noun is it that can be used in its singular form to refer to a quantity of one kind of itself?

A basket of apples versus one apple is one type of noun. Apples = many of the thing; apple = one of the thing.

A herd of sheep versus one sheep is another type of noun--maybe the classical mass noun you're referring to. Sheep (first use) = many of the thing; sheep (second use) = one of the thing.

A glass of juice versus one juice versus a variety of juices is a third type, as neither of the other two types have corresponding usages. Juice (first use) = a quantity of the thing; juice (second use) = one of the thing; juices = many of the thing.

I am not a grammarian. I think you are confusing things like context and meaning. I think an orange juice kiosk sells orange juice not orange juices, but of courseit does not sell the same one glass of juice all day. A carpet vendor sells carpets, but not the same one carpet. The sentences do not make juice or carpet collective (mass?) nouns even if the noun is first used in a collective fashion. A herd of moose is never many mooses, it is many moose, the noun never changes from the singular. Same with a flock of sheep, it many sheep But all that is only IMHO.

 

[Elixir]

I would not call juice a mass noun, I frequently drink various juices. Now if you had said news, that is a mass noun. "Here is the news".

Also moose, deer, elk (usually), sheep, cattle, and I'm sure many others.

Then what type of noun is it that can be used in its singular form to refer to a quantity of one kind of itself?

A basket of apples versus one apple is one type of noun. Apples = many of the thing; apple = one of the thing.

A herd of sheep versus one sheep is another type of noun--maybe the classical mass noun you're referring to. Sheep (first use) = many of the thing; sheep (second use) = one of the thing.

A glass of juice versus one juice versus a variety of juices is a third type, as neither of the other two types have corresponding usages. Juice (first use) = a quantity of the thing; juice (second use) = one of the thing; juices = many of the thing.

"Oranges' juice"?

 

[PyramidHead]

I would not call juice a mass noun, I frequently drink various juices. Now if you had said news, that is a mass noun. "Here is the news".

Also moose, deer, elk (usually), sheep, cattle, and I'm sure many others.

Then what type of noun is it that can be used in its singular form to refer to a quantity of one kind of itself?

A basket of apples versus one apple is one type of noun. Apples = many of the thing; apple = one of the thing.

A herd of sheep versus one sheep is another type of noun--maybe the classical mass noun you're referring to. Sheep (first use) = many of the thing; sheep (second use) = one of the thing.

A glass of juice versus one juice versus a variety of juices is a third type, as neither of the other two types have corresponding usages. Juice (first use) = a quantity of the thing; juice (second use) = one of the thing; juices = many of the thing.

I am not a grammarian. I think you are confusing things like context and meaning. I think an orange juice kiosk sells orange juice not orange juices, but of courseit does not sell the same one glass of juice all day. A carpet vendor sells carpets, but not the same one carpet. The sentences do not make juice or carpet collective (mass?) nouns even if the noun is first used in a collective fashion. A herd of moose is never many mooses, it is many moose, the noun never changes from the singular. Same with a flock of sheep, it many sheep But all that is only IMHO.

The examples you give (carpet vendor, etc.) are technically adjectives, where the noun is being described or specified by another word. Notice how the juice kiosk sells juice (singular!) and the carpet vendor sells carpets (plural!). That's the ambiguity I'm talking about.