View Full Version : Loose for lose
cullbucket
30-Dec-07, 00:49
Wonder if it is just a yankee thing or if it is happening over there too.....
This drives me mad and I am seeing it nearly every day - people using loose instead of lose,
e.g. I would hate to loose that
It makes me feel like metalattack, my blood burning with mental energy
There's no point in posting anything.
Just people who cannot spell and have never bothered to learn which frankly in this day and age is appalling!
American spell checkers..confusing and WRONG!:D
kxx
cullbucket
30-Dec-07, 01:08
Come on you loosers - answer the question ;o)
well, i am american and i would say that loose and lose are two dif. words.
but you have to remember that its not wrong for things to be spelled dif. or pronounced dif. or to mean dif things, its a cultural thing. and just because it is dif. dosent make it a bad thing.
their is a lot of extra U's on words over here that i was not use to when i came over.
and i do tend to spell things in the american way as that is how i was taught.
for instance i pronounce dog as dawg
its because i have a southern drawl.
i call my mother Mama..
my children call me mummy and my youngest often calls me Mama (he hears me talking to my mama on the phone)
in fact my four year old has turned my name into MUUUUUUUUUUUuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuum mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm on several occasions *grins*
Metalattakk
30-Dec-07, 01:40
Wonder if it is just a yankee thing or if it is happening over there too.....
This drives me mad and I am seeing it nearly every day - people using loose instead of lose,
e.g. I would hate to loose that
It makes me feel like metalattack, my blood burning with mental energy
[lol]
I see it all the time, and it does annoy the heck out of me. But more annoyingly, there's nothing I can do about it. I can remind them and correct them when I see it, but there's far too many people out there who make the same mistake. I can't teach them all, can I?
Or can I?
(By the way - two '"k"s in "Metalattakk" and it's "metal" energy, not "mental". ;))
Wonder if it is just a yankee thing or if it is happening over there too.....
This drives me mad and I am seeing it nearly every day - people using loose instead of lose,
e.g. I would hate to loose that
It makes me feel like metalattack, my blood burning with mental energy
Can't say that I have heard the above; maybe we move in different circles!
What you will hear in Caithness is the pronunciation "loss" instead of "lose" as in "waatch in case ye loss yur hankie" instead of "watch in case you lose your hankie".
And instead of "loose" you might hear "lowss" as in " 'at wheel's cuman lowss" instead of "that wheel is coming loose". No doubt this won't mean much to many of the younger generation but it is the Caithness dialect as I know it; grammatical errors and all!
cullbucket
30-Dec-07, 02:00
well, i am american and i would say that loose and lose are two dif. words.
but you have to remember that its not wrong for things to be spelled dif. or pronounced dif. or to mean dif things, its a cultural thing. and just because it is dif. dosent make it a bad thing.
their is a lot of extra U's on words over here that i was not use to when i came over.
I think it is bad spelling and it is not just americans, lots of folk I work with who do not have english as a first language use it too... I can see it being accepted in the american mainstream in 10 years time.....
Actually I was very surprised at the poor level of literacy and abysmal spelling I have seen since I got here, much worse than back home in the UK
Margaret M.
30-Dec-07, 04:39
I could of slapped him if I was there
I could have slapped him if I was there.
Just been reading a forum I'm on: "We're going to give it a go in the New Year. Got nothing to loose by trying."
Think that's just bad grammar..
Be nice if the Beeb set a better example. I don't know whether the people who do the rolling headlines on News 24 have spellcheckers but I saw seperate the other day - shouted at the screen but made no difference.
The other thing that is becoming accepted now is less when it should be fewer . They all do it - even those who sound as if they should know better. Apparently John Humphrys corrected someone who did it on Today recently - wish I'd heard it. He's fighting a losing battle.
Just been reading a forum I'm on: "We're going to give it a go in the New Year. Got nothing to loose by trying."
Think that's just bad grammar..
Or it just could be poor spelling........I haven't heard anyone saying "loose" instead of "lose" have you? My apologies if you have.....:confused
I think this has gone far enough now as we are getting in to the realms of criticising folk for more than just different ways of talking and, as we all know, not everyone finds spelling and grammar easy just as some of us can't sing, draw or paint.
We all have our little foibles....;)
Or it just could be poor spelling........I haven't heard anyone saying "loose" instead of "lose" have you?
That's what I've always thought....spelling it as it sounds ....in line with "choose".
It's not a mistake that bothers me unduly. Neither does spelling "could of" when it should be "could have", because I can see that has evolved naturally from the contraction "could've".
"Less" when it should be "fewer" does irritate me though.....as does folk confusing when to use "I" and "me", but what really drives me bonkers is the misuse of "myself", usually when the simple "me" is all that's needed. You know -when someone says something like "you should send it to myself".....:eek:
It quite reminds me of an old Joan Armatrading song I like, "Me, Myself, I"....! :roll:
My pet hate (I have probably said this before) is when someone says
"I learned him ..." instead of "I taught him.."[evil]
Please no nastiness....its almost next year....and I am looking forward to it.
j4bberw0ck
30-Dec-07, 14:26
Just as a reminder to all those who need it, American English derives from English as it was spoken and spelled here at the time America was colonised. So in the 1500's and 1600's, the correct English spelling of "colour" was "color". Words ending in "ise" were spelled "ize" - both far more logical.
What went wrong with English thereafter was the idea that everything French was sophisticated, and that to be sophisticated, you had to be able to speak French. French became the language of diplomacy. In pursuit of sophistication, the French "our" replaced the "or" ending. "ise" replace "ize". The French structure of verb use was adopted so grammatically correct phrases like "I have gotten" (still in use in American English) were replaced by "I have" (and more recently corrupted again to "I have got" which is just horrible). That's not a complete list but it should give you an idea, anyway. Oh yes - we have the French to thank for split infinitives, too - not a concept that existed in English more than 150 - 200 years ago.
So - you could argue that our American cousins are actually the guardians of the English language, just as they're rapidly becoming the guardians of English law and liberty, now our Government is intent on whittling away even more of our Magna Carta freedoms.
I've no doubt the idea of American English as the "proper version" won't be a popular one - it is, after all, deeply fashionable to dislike all things American in certain quarters - but there we go.
Here endeth today's history lesson :lol::lol: . Have a nice day, y'all.
PS my pet hates:
amount, for number
less, for fewer
bacteria used as a singular noun (as in the Yakult advert on TV and any time the word is mentioned on the BBC, who are supposed to know better)
data, for datum
flourescent for fluorescent
and I'll probably remember some more as soon as I hit the "go" button......
Well I've noticed that the Americans are slowly trying to take over the English language, I mean now most teenagers in England are using "mom" instead of "mum", "honor" instead of "honour".
It has been going on for centuries, so much so that we are completely unaware that some of our dearest English words are actually American.
j4bberw0ck
30-Dec-07, 15:28
It has been going on for centuries, so much so that we are completely unaware that some of our dearest English words are actually American
or German, or French, or Anglo-Saxon or Greek or Latin or any one of a hundred other languages.... you make it sound like another devilish American plot, the sort of thing that people are so fond of.
I blame President Bush, personally. :lol::lol: He clearly has designs on that nice Mr Salmond's oil and is starting a stealth campaign by corrupting the language into a new American lingua franca. Oh woops! Job done. He's giving us our old language back!
Margaret M.
30-Dec-07, 15:40
I think this has gone far enough now as we are getting in to the realms of criticising folk for more than just different ways of talking and, as we all know, not everyone finds spelling and grammar easy just as some of us can't sing, draw or paint.
I limit my input to those who make mistakes as they rant about other peoples' mistakes.
I agree with Brandy loose & lose are two different words.
I call my mother mam and my kids call me that too.
I am also a nana not a grandma i think granma sounds to old.
It's all down to preference. although it does not excuse bad grammer.
We should also take into account not every one is on the same intellectual wave length. Not every one can have brains. People are gifted in many ways.
orkneylass
30-Dec-07, 16:09
There is an important distinction between intelligence and ignorance. Correct use of english is to do with education, not IQ.
Having grown up in Canada I am very aware of American vs British/Canadian spelling - I still muck it up from time to time but there you go.
This thread reminds me of an earlier thread about Scottish words vs English words. If there are Scottish words can there not also be American words? I think there needs to be standards and the OED should be good enough for anyone but language does evolve. It doesn't mean those Americanisms are right but we do need to accept change at the same time.
I limit my input to those who make mistakes as they rant about other peoples' mistakes.
Yes Margaret, I did like that one; I couldn't of put it better myself! ;)
That's what I've always thought....spelling it as it sounds ....in line with "choose".
It's not a mistake that bothers me unduly. Neither does spelling "could of" when it should be "could have", because I can see that has evolved naturally from the contraction "could've".
"Less" when it should be "fewer" does irritate me though.....as does folk confusing when to use "I" and "me", but what really drives me bonkers is the misuse of "myself", usually when the simple "me" is all that's needed. You know -when someone says something like "you should send it to myself".....:eek:
It quite reminds me of an old Joan Armatrading song I like, "Me, Myself, I"....! :roll:
Incorrect use of myself annoys me as well - funny one that. The I and Me thing is easy to sort out. It's usually wrong in something like "he came to see Dave and I" and if you take away the other person you would never say "he came to see I". Can't remember where I got that but it never fails.
silversurfer
30-Dec-07, 20:31
Now, let's take this in a different direction.
The one that really annoys me is the number of times I see Princes Street in Thurso spelt Princess Street.
For the last time - it is PRINCES STREET!
northener
30-Dec-07, 20:34
Now, let's take this in a different direction.
The one that really annoys me is the number of times I see Princes Street in Thurso spelt Princess Street.
For the last time - it is PRINCES STREET!
Shouldn't it be Princes' Street?:confused
silversurfer
30-Dec-07, 21:17
No - if anything, it should be Prince's Street - but you never see it as that. Either way - NOT Princess Street.
Perhaps it refers to Princes as in plural?
j4bberw0ck
30-Dec-07, 22:35
I could have slapped him if I was there.
The mistake comes from "could've", which does sound like "could of". It's a common enough mistake.
If you want to see something terrifying, here's a copy and paste from a blog comment; the blog entry was about Government plans to make the driving test more difficult, more expensive and more time-consuming to pass. This was a comment left by a reader (Really. Not edited in any way).
"Ive spent about 450 on lesson with some private practise with dad whos a cop.
As for car mad boys well im a girl that is starting to mod her car to a point to which some would call boy racerish but i would never dream of driving like a idiot. why because althought u may not like the look of it i aberslutly love it and wouldnt like to damage it.
By the way just to end the sterio type a little further im a A grade student applying to med school from two police parents
vicky | 12.29.07 - 12:47 am |"
Now that is scary. Nice to know, though, that she aberslutley loves it. Aberslutley?? :eek:
The mistake comes from "could've", which does sound like "could of". It's a common enough mistake.
If you want to see something terrifying, here's a copy and paste from a blog comment; the blog entry was about Government plans to make the driving test more difficult, more expensive and more time-consuming to pass. This was a comment left by a reader (Really. Not edited in any way).
"Ive spent about 450 on lesson with some private practise with dad whos a cop.
As for car mad boys well im a girl that is starting to mod her car to a point to which some would call boy racerish but i would never dream of driving like a idiot. why because althought u may not like the look of it i aberslutly love it and wouldnt like to damage it.
By the way just to end the sterio type a little further im a A grade student applying to med school from two police parents
vicky | 12.29.07 - 12:47 am |"
Now that is scary. Nice to know, though, that she aberslutley loves it. Aberslutley??
Whatsematterweethat?
No 'sterio' types there........man!;)
kxx
As someone already said, "the English language is evolving". Loose is obviously being used in error for the word lose as they have totally different meanings. Whether American spelling is adopted by people here in Britain is neither here nor there and doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things as it will be a natural progression. For the purist, try watching the movie, 'kidulthood', that will make your blood boil.
Try working with special needs children an you may lower your sights a bit.Or may they not post!
j4bberw0ck
31-Dec-07, 00:02
Horseman, believe me, I would be the very last person to belittle the efforts of special needs children. But our alleged "A" grade student applying for medical school can't be one such - unless she's also hopelessly deluded.
Try working with special needs children an you may lower your sights a bit.Or may they not post!
Agreed...totally!
I have to say as a Lit grad..if someone can't understand what I post then perhaps it is my fault for being so inflexible.
It isn't lowering anyones sights horseman..more expanding them which isn't always welcome and there are a lot of sad people out there who choose their own supercilious egos over clear and simple communication.
Some horrible and scared people use language to exclude people rather than embrace them.
Kariax
Try working with special needs children an you may lower your sights a bit.Or may they not post!Yes horseman, they may post but have to be mindful of those that think they are of superior intellect and will take any opportunity to dissect someone's post for grammatical and or spelling errors. Usually you will find that those who judge others on their command of the English language, written or spoken, would most certainly fail to achieve the standards they accuse others of lacking. people in glass houses and all that.
Agreed...totally!
I have to say as a Lit grad..if someone can't understand what I post then perhaps it is my fault for being so inflexible.
It isn't lowering anyones sights horseman..more expanding them which isn't always welcome and there are a lot of sad people out there who choose their own supercilious egos over clear and simple communication.
Some horrible and scared people use language to exclude people rather than embrace them.
KariaxI will bite my tongue!;)
Aaldtimer
31-Dec-07, 04:19
Yes Margaret, I did like that one; I couldn't of put it better myself! ;)
"have" put it it better...:eek:
cullbucket
31-Dec-07, 04:53
"have" put it it better...:eek:
....(sic)......
orkneylass
31-Dec-07, 12:03
I'm a Lit graduate too Karia and what I don't understand is that aspiring to raise standards (or at least stop the erosion of them) is seen as elitist wheras the constant erosion of standards...of language, manners, behaviour, morals etc...goes largely without challenge.
As I said earlier and nobody commented on...intelligence is largely fixed but ignorance can be cured by education - either formal or self-taught. But you have to want to learn. All I can say when people embrace ignorance over educating themselves is, just look at those kids in Africa desperate for an education or walking miles to school, and hang your head in shame.
Agreed...totally!
I have to say as a Lit grad..if someone can't understand what I post then perhaps it is my fault for being so inflexible.
It isn't lowering anyones sights horseman..more expanding them which isn't always welcome and there are a lot of sad people out there who choose their own supercilious egos over clear and simple communication.
Some horrible and scared people use language to exclude people rather than embrace them.
Kariax
"have" put it it better...:eek:
Just what did you think the winking smiley was for.......? Grrr....
I'm a Lit graduate too Karia and what I don't understand is that aspiring to raise standards (or at least stop the erosion of them) is seen as elitist wheras the constant erosion of standards...of language, manners, behaviour, morals etc...goes largely without challenge.
As I said earlier and nobody commented on...intelligence is largely fixed but ignorance can be cured by education - either formal or self-taught. But you have to want to learn. All I can say when people embrace ignorance over educating themselves is, just look at those kids in Africa desperate for an education or walking miles to school, and hang your head in shame.
I'm another English graduate, orkneylass- literature and language - and I'm grateful for the education I received. It's not something anyone should have to apologise for surely?
I agree wholeheartedly with what you say. My mother would have been overjoyed to have had the education I did, she desperately wanted to be a teacher, but family circumstances meant she had to leave school and start work at 14. This didn't stop her grammar and spelling being more or less perfect and her handwriting beautifully clear.
My father's five older siblings all contributed financially so that he, the baby of the family, could go to university. Education, and in particular a good level of literacy, was seen as crucial in making the most of your life.
I do have a huge amount of sympathy for people who, for whatever reason, just aren't able to express themselves as well as they would like to. Of course it doesn't make them less good people, or their opinions less valid, but I don't think we're doing anybody a favour by saying that standards shouldn't be important. Far too many kids are leaving school more or less illiterate for no good reason, and we just shouldn't allow this to happen. I believe we're denying them the opportunity to enrich and improve their lives.
We're already a long way down the road to accepting that the lowest common denominator is perfectly OK, and being accused of elitism, and made to feel almost ashamed, if we aspire to or encourage anything better. :(
Metalattakk
31-Dec-07, 14:09
Why is it we wait all year for 'Post Of The Year' and then two clear nominations arrive in the last two days?
Yesterday we had J4bberw0ck's marvellous "swivel-eyed dangerously lunatic half-wits" post in the "Can We Live Sustainably?" thread, and now we have your wonderfully balanced post today, Angela! Well said. ;)
orkneylass
31-Dec-07, 14:14
Thanks Angela. Hopefully some folk could have (not could of!) learned some useful things from this thread, or at least given things some thought.
Café, cafe' or cafe? resume, résumé or resumé?
j4bberw0ck
31-Dec-07, 16:13
Café, cafe' or cafe? resume, résumé or resumé?
Depends whether you have a foreign keyboard or know the ASCII codes, or know how to "insert character" in Word. As was said, the language evolves so in everyday use you have to wonder whether the presence of a foreign character makes all that mcu difference. But that isn't that same as not knowing the difference between "loose" and "lose", just to return to the original point.
If you abandon all rules of grammar, punctuation and spelling than everything that depends on those things disappear - poetry, precise scientific / engineering prose, emotional writing of all descriptions - because they can't be read any longer for their precision, or for their deeper meaning - as appropriate.
There was a debate similar to this on here months ago and I said then that iof you abandon the rules and structure the language comes down to a sort of general grunting sound. Better analogy might be radio; removing rules and precision from language in effect reduces its ability to carry information - or in radio terms, its bandwidth. So it becomes the equivalent of a crackly, hissy, radio signal fading in and out.
I think people should come down off their high horses and stop thinking of others as inferior because they can't spell or word things quite as well as they can.
There are more important things in life surely.
Not everyone is perfect and as far I was aware Internet forums are there for every-one's use, not just the intellectually superior posters.
Depends whether you have a foreign keyboard or know the ASCII codes, or know how to "insert character" in Word. As was said, the language evolves so in everyday use you have to wonder whether the presence of a foreign character makes all that mcu difference. But that isn't that same as not knowing the difference between "loose" and "lose", just to return to the original point.
If you abandon all rules of grammar, punctuation and spelling than everything that depends on those things disappear - poetry, precise scientific / engineering prose, emotional writing of all descriptions - because they can't be read any longer for their precision, or for their deeper meaning - as appropriate.
There was a debate similar to this on here months ago and I said then that iof you abandon the rules and structure the language comes down to a sort of general grunting sound. Better analogy might be radio; removing rules and precision from language in effect reduces its ability to carry information - or in radio terms, its bandwidth. So it becomes the equivalent of a crackly, hissy, radio signal fading in and out.Résumé and resume have different meaning so are the accents not important to correct pronunciation and to mark the difference between the two words?
j4bberw0ck
31-Dec-07, 17:09
Résumé and resume have different meaning so are the accents not important to correct pronunciation and to mark the difference between the two words?
Well, yes, and I was going to point it out but thought you'd find me pedantic, or think I'd missed the point.
Resume (as in rezoomay) is becoming more used here but context is an infallible guide as to which is meant, don't you think? And before you tell me that context applies to other words too, I'd have to point out that without rules / standards, context doesn't work either :lol:
j4bberw0ck
31-Dec-07, 17:14
I think people should come down off their high horses and stop thinking of others as inferior because they can't spell or word things quite as well as they can.
At no point that I can see has anyone in here suggested that they're superior because they can spell better, or have a better vocabulary or better grammar. As far as I can see "superiority" rests on other, much less easily defined, virtues, and I for one make no claim to it.
orkneylass
31-Dec-07, 18:08
I like the orger whose motto is "nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission". When someone makes a fuss about being corrected for poor spelling or grammar, it is at least as possible that they have a chip on their shoulder, as it is that someone is being superior - especially since one person will be being factually correct while the other will not!
Well, yes, and I was going to point it out but thought you'd find me pedantic, or think I'd missed the point.
Resume (as in rezoomay) is becoming more used here but context is an infallible guide as to which is meant, don't you think? And before you tell me that context applies to other words too, I'd have to point out that without rules / standards, context doesn't work either :lol:Therein lies one of the problems.
I like the orger whose motto is "nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission". When someone makes a fuss about being corrected for poor spelling or grammar, it is at least as possible that they have a chip on their shoulder, as it is that someone is being superior - especially since one person will be being factually correct while the other will not!I like the story about the Czar of Russia, Alexander the 3rd who Supposedly issued a warrant stating, "Pardon impossible, to be sent to Siberia". The Czarina Maria Fyodorovna apparently changed this to read, "Pardon, Impossible to be sent to Siberia". True story or not it shows the implications of bad grammar and I for one would be a little unnerved by any doctor that did not have a firm grasp of grammar and spelling.
Green_not_greed
02-Jan-08, 22:00
I don't suppose anyone on the org should complain - though many of us still make spelling mistakes and typos, we still manage to communicate effectively.
I shudder to think that in some years time the org could be typed in phone text language!
Powered by vBulletin® Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.