Can't think of a thread title (The death of English?)

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mathepac

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Interesting to note that amongst other developments, Trumpisation of Our Nation continues apace with the disappearance of Autumn from our traditional seasons. Sad but almost as inevitable as the proliferation of the idiot words and phrases and the now meaningless, mangled old sayings. Liberally sprinkled throughout oral communications they create the impression the speaker has something of import to relate (apparently more = better to some ears, especially those of the idiot speakers/typists/broadcasters).

A few examples:
  • So
  • Like
  • Well
  • Now
  • Wow
People these days can’t seem to start a sentence without one or more of them or injecting
  • You Know
  • Sort Of
  • Kind Of
  • Very
  • Obviously
  • Basically
  • Essentially
  • Absolutely
Stupid Phrases, Mangled sayings and Affectations [EDIT] now in common usage:
  • Very Unique
  • The proof is in the pudding
  • Playing stuff forward
  • I should of, could of, would of, done/said something or other
  • The rising antipodean inflection that makes every sentence sound as if its a question
all now finding their way into written communications these days as well as a total absence of punctuation, vowels, capital letters, sentences or paragraphs, apart from the trailing ? in the antipodean-structured sentences.

People write in txt-spk even when they’re not using their phones.

Such a shame, and English was such a poor communications medium to begin with.
 
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Great post @mathepac. I work with a person who used inserts the filler word "physically" into sentences before some verbs. For example "I physically gave that to him". or "I physically saw it". I suppose it's no more redundant that "actually" but being less common is more jarring.
mathepac said:
apart from the trailing ? in the antipodean-structured sentences.
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The Australian upward inflection or Australian questioning intonation is one of the many things I find irksome.

I also find it strange that bad spelling seems to be a bigger deal in the education system that bad sentence structure. Clarity of language is, in my opinion, far more important that correct spelling.

...my wife has a lot to put up with...
 
Don't know what this has to do with Trump, as these expressions and redundant words/phrases have been around for a long time - albeit in different forms. There's no doubt that it's getting worse and more irritating by the day - even (especially) among the so-called educated and more qualified elites.

(All of the above-listed words and expressions are good examples of the trend but I've noticed that "I suppose" has now overtaken "basically" and "essentially" at the beginning of every sentence or answer to a question. To me it implies doubt and uncertainty rather than an assured opinion or observation. Oh and I almost forgot - "100%" is now used instead of, "yes, i agree with you on that.")

A few more overused phrases in no particular order mainly used by politicians, media and NGO types:

Let me be clear
Utterly
The most vulnerable in society
It is the right thing to do
The fact of the matter is...
He/she/they should hang their heads in shame
Stakeholders/Civil Society groups
International obligations
The cupla focal
A more equal inclusive society
If we're to reach our climate targets [we need to do x,y,z.]

And people being described in the media as "activists" merely because they turn up at protests demanding whatever, waving flags and being generally annoying. (Of course if they're on the "wrong" side of a particular liberal cause they're described as "far-right agitators" or "bad actors.")

Slightly tangential but decades ago I worked in a Civil Service department where there was what was known in those days as a "gas man" in the section. You know the kind who thinks he's uniquely hilarious, has a permanent grin on his face as he wandered around, oblivious to the fact that he was largely ignored and shunned. He'd always preface one of his funny-isms with, "as the fella said" or "as the actress said to the Bishop." If you asked him how he was, he'd answer "not three bad," and the girls would roll their eyes in unison when he'd ask them to "pass the Tip-Y" [Tippex].

Finally, I'm always amused when a hotel room is advertised as having a "Flat Screen TV." There's been no other kind for the last twenty years or more.
 
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Purple said:
Clarity of language is, in my opinion, far more important that correct spelling.
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Agreed @Purple, the odd typo is easy to forgive, unless of course its my typo when my perfectionism kicks in and I must edit before detection :)

The reason for grammar rules is to try to ensure clarity of the message, and that responsibility rests with the originator. Donkeys' years ago when interviewing, we were trained to use a technique called "active listening", reflecting back to the speaker what you believed you'd heard; very useful to ensure the listener understood all of the the speaker's key points in the case of any doubt or fuzziness, but also, for example in clinical environments, to help give the client the assurance they were being heard.

The ugly "Hey" thing is Ahmurikan, now prevalent in written communications here, and not exclusively in text messaging. Fadó fadó we used to say "Hay is for horses, please feed it them".
 
"I think" and "I feel" do not mean the same thing and are not interchangeable. I have no interest in hearing about what someone on the TV or Radio feels. I would often like to know what they think. When someone is debating and they preface their comment with "I just feel" they are saying that they haven't actually thought about the issue at all and are treating you to their unprocessed brain fart.

There is personal experience. That's the same as lived experience. Both are anecdotal and of less value than data and broad analytical statistics.

"Fulsome" means gushing, excessive and insincere. It is often used to mean full and complete. It always amuses me when some pundit or member of the commentariat insists on a fulsome apology from a politician.
 
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mathepac said:
Agreed @Purple, the odd typo is easy to forgive, unless of course its my typo when my perfectionism kicks in and I must edit before detection
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You may have a little work to do on your perfectionism??!!

Purple said:
Both are anacdotal
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I see what you mean!

Howth Head said:
there was what was known in those days as a "gas man" in the section.
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I suppose Flann O'Brien would want to know whether he was an imaginary gas man or not?
 
Just listening to Drivetime on RTE Radio 1 a few minutes ago and I heard a presenter say, "in terms of" - twice in the same sentence while posing a question. The guest being interviewed said, "very much so" - while answering in the affirmative. Another increasingly used term that means - "yes."
 
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