So what?

[anneed]

Is it just me or have others noticed a new speech trend whereby people begin with the word 'So' when answering questions? Now that I've become aware of it I seem to hear it all the time. Where has this come from? It's as annoying as people using an upward inflection turning every statement into a question.

So (see what I did there?) what quirks of language get on your nerves? (And the overuse of the word 'like' is a given.)

[qbman1]

So, like, what winds me up is the constant use of "I mean" often about three times a sentence like.

I mean, if you don't mean it, why say it ?!

[Silver_Shiney]

My son's been doing this "so" business ever since he moved out to Florida a few years ago. It's infuriating, but not as bad (imo) as the diminutives of should've, would've etc being pronounced "should of", "would of"

[qbman1]

My son's been doing this "so" business ever since he moved out to Florida a few years ago. It's infuriating, but not as bad (imo) as the diminutives of should've, would've etc being pronounced "should of", "would of"

Even worse when they are written like that !!

[Boris+]

No, Anne, It's not just you - it's becoming more and more commonly used.

However, as ever the rebel - I do my best to not use 'so' to start a sentence, similarly I don't use 'should of' or 'could of'.

Meanwhile, I'm going to continue to keep calm and pack!

[oldbluefox]

The use of the word 'less' when it should actually be 'fewer' really grates especially when it is used by reporters and news correspondents who are always quick to point out how many degrees they have and how they are doing the rest of us a favour. It's not rocket science to know the difference, just lazy journalism from those who should know better.

[Mervyn and Trish]

At least "so" is gramatically okay, if irritating. "Should of" is just plain nonsense. What do they think it means? Is the present tense "I of", "you of" etc? And in the past "I ovved"?

Another one that annoys me is "for free" when what they mean is simply "free". "Children get in for free". "Buy one, get another for free". All cobblers.

And a friend of mine has what I think is the best. The one before programmes where they say "contains strong language" when he says they actually mean "contains weak vocabulary"

[oldbluefox]

............................................ and since when did thank and you become one word?
I suppose we should be grateful to see it anyway considering that for many the phrase does not exist!!!

[anniec]

At least "so" is gramatically okay, if irritating. "Should of" is just plain nonsense. What do they think it means? Is the present tense "I of", "you of" etc? And in the past "I ovved"?

Another one that annoys me is "for free" when what they mean is simply "free". "Children get in for free". "Buy one, get another for free". All cobblers.

And a friend of mine has what I think is the best. The one before programmes where they say "contains strong language" when he says they actually mean "contains weak vocabulary"

Hooray! I HATE 'for free', now even used by the Beeb, and by serious journalists too.

I give you 'effected' instead of 'affected' (or vice versa).

[Mervyn and Trish]

Once upon the time the Beeb used to lead standards now they follow the pack.

Not a wrong word or usage, but a trendy and irritating pronunciation. Homage. It always used to be hom-ij. Now it's often hom-arj, with a very soft j.

I'm sure the trendies will say it's a French word and therefore we should use the French pronunciation. In which case we should also say Par-ee, not Par-is. And Fr-ons, not Fr-ar-ns.

There is, by the way, a useful on line oral Cambridge dictionary where you can look up words and hear them pronounced correctly. I did check this one and no, it isn't me!

So......

[qbman1]

Once upon the time the Beeb used to lead standards now they follow the pack.

Not a wrong word or usage, but a trendy and irritating pronunciation. Homage. It always used to be hom-ij. Now it's often hom-arj, with a very soft j.

I'm sure the trendies will say it's a French word and therefore we should use the French pronunciation. In which case we should also say Par-ee, not Par-is. And Fr-ons, not Fr-ar-ns.

There is, by the way, a useful on line oral Cambridge dictionary where you can look up words and hear them pronounced correctly. I did check this one and no, it isn't me!

So......

I'm sure Moorlands Radio leads the way now !!

[Ranchi]

I think we have to blame Joni Mitchell for 'for free'.
'Mains' on a menu really irritates me. As a farm its OK.
I also think there is only one Baltic Sea. (Oops!)
Although not grammatical, I get annoyed at the incorrect use of chemical symbols (& symbols for measurements) by newspapers, TV companies & firms that should know better.
One company which caused a problem was Berghaus. They brought out a range of clothing & sacks with the H2O symbol but with a superscripted '2' (rather than the subscripted number). Due to Berghaus being such an aspirational brand with young people, superscripted numbers became common (presumably with an increasing number of students losing marks in exams). Berghaus did change the labelling of their H2O range fairly quickly.

[Mervyn and Trish]

Once upon the time the Beeb used to lead standards now they follow the pack.

Not a wrong word or usage, but a trendy and irritating pronunciation. Homage. It always used to be hom-ij. Now it's often hom-arj, with a very soft j.

I'm sure the trendies will say it's a French word and therefore we should use the French pronunciation. In which case we should also say Par-ee, not Par-is. And Fr-ons, not Fr-ar-ns.

There is, by the way, a useful on line oral Cambridge dictionary where you can look up words and hear them pronounced correctly. I did check this one and no, it isn't me!

So......

I'm sure Moorlands Radio leads the way now !!

We sure do. Well sometimes. In our little world.

The Beeb went down hill round about the time I left. Just saying.....

[qbman1]

Well, it would of, wouldn't it !

[Mervyn and Trish]

It did of.......

[anniec]

Once upon the time the Beeb used to lead standards now they follow the pack.

Not a wrong word or usage, but a trendy and irritating pronunciation. Homage. It always used to be hom-ij. Now it's often hom-arj, with a very soft j.

I'm sure the trendies will say it's a French word and therefore we should use the French pronunciation. In which case we should also say Par-ee, not Par-is. And Fr-ons, not Fr-ar-ns.

There is, by the way, a useful on line oral Cambridge dictionary where you can look up words and hear them pronounced correctly. I did check this one and no, it isn't me!

So......

How strange. A friend and I were discussing the new 'improved' Frenchified pronunciation of homage only a couple of days ago. We even made the point about Paree.

How about subsidence, which used to be subsid-ence and now seems to be subside-ence (the middle bit now rhyming with ride)?

[Stephen]

I don't know where they get it from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLuEY6jN6gY

[oldbluefox]

We used to go to the pictires or the cinema. Nowadays we have to go to the movies because the media says so. What's wrong with our own language?

[Quizzical Bob]

Once upon the time the Beeb used to lead standards now they follow the pack.

Not a wrong word or usage, but a trendy and irritating pronunciation. Homage. It always used to be hom-ij. Now it's often hom-arj, with a very soft j.

I'm sure the trendies will say it's a French word and therefore we should use the French pronunciation. In which case we should also say Par-ee, not Par-is. And Fr-ons, not Fr-ar-ns.

There is, by the way, a useful on line oral Cambridge dictionary where you can look up words and hear them pronounced correctly. I did check this one and no, it isn't me!

So......

How strange. A friend and I were discussing the new 'improved' Frenchified pronunciation of homage only a couple of days ago. We even made the point about Paree.

How about subsidence, which used to be subsid-ence and now seems to be subside-ence (the middle bit now rhyming with ride)?

If you listen to Kenneth Williams in Round the Horne he always made a point of Saint 'omarge'.

[anniec]

Another irritation: the use of the word 'community' - the 'golfing community', the 'community is in shock'. Coming soon: 'the cruising community'. Grrrrr.

[anniec]

Another irritation: the use of the word 'community' - the 'golfing community', the 'community is in shock'. Coming soon: 'the cruising community'. Grrrrr.

NB - Having just remembered the name of this forum, my mortification knows no bounds. I shall now go and shoot myself, which may make me part of the 'self harming community'.

[Mervyn and Trish]

If you listen to Kenneth Williams in Round the Horne he always made a point of Saint 'omarge'.

But he was joking.

[Onelife]

For obvious reasons l generally run for cover when threads such as this appear, but hey! as l am lying here wondering if my 32 in 12 hour visits to the loo have made it into the Guinness book of records l thought l would add my two pence worth.

Please don't see this as a criticism of what has already been said, but none of you have given any leeway to those who suffer with Dyslexia....and l do mean suffer because only those who are affected by it, or have some knowledge about it can really understand what a devastating effect it can have on your life. What appears to be bad grammar, careless spelling, etc often goes unoticed to many with dyslexia (Even having read the same passage of text several times) Thankfully these days, once diagnosed dyslexic sufferers have access to many aids that can help them compensate for their difficulties.

Having said all that l do think poor verbal and write grammar isn't something that should be encouraged and l do wonder if present day texting plays a part in why a lot of kids don't speak the Queens language like wot l do.

And just before l make my 42 visit to the loo we should not forget that most dialects have originated from what some would perceive as lazy vocabulary....amongst other thing of course.

Regards

Shity pants.

[jay-ell71]

It is "different from" not "different than" . Splitting the infinitive, is now irritatingly in common use. Also saying "yourself" instead of you or "myself" instead of me. I could go on. J

[Happydays]

I agree with all of the replies..... these are some that irritate me.

When listening to the news (Sky and BBC) everything seems to be "issues" never "problems" in interviews I loose count how often issue is used the when it's really a problem or a subject even when they talked about the floods. For example if my home was flooded it would definately be a probem (for me)..... so no problems only issues!
The latest phrase on Sky is "keeping across the story" instead of "keeping up to date" just waiting for the BBC to copy them and should I mention "focus"?

I could mention more but I will give someone else a turn