So trivial, yet it really ticks you off.

[LizzieMaine]

I also hate the word "hub" when used in this way. It irritates me far more than it should, but it does.

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

Here's a bit of bizspeak a ran across this week while reading a book on data collection and analysis, "preplanning". I realized that I'd heard this same term in connection with preparing for the disposition of my remains and chattels when I die, as well as in other contexts in recent years, but what struck me today is the internal redundancy of the term.

After all, isn't all "planning" done in the advance of an event or an action? You can't "plan" for something that has already taken place. That's while you'll never see "postplanning".

Resistance may be as futile as the efforts of the French to keep English words out of their vocabulary. I remember in a high school French textbook from more than 50 years ago an aside explaining this aversion to the "pollution" of the language of les poilous, but I'm rubbed the wrong way by the use of this kind of overblown words for simple concepts.

 

[Edward]

Here's a bit of bizspeak a ran across this week while reading a book on data collection and analysis, "preplanning". I realized that I'd heard this same term in connection with preparing for the disposition of my remains and chattels when I die, as well as in other contexts in recent years, but what struck me today is the internal redundancy of the term.

After all, isn't all "planning" done in the advance of an event or an action? You can't "plan" for something that has already taken place. That's while you'll never see "postplanning".

Resistance may be as futile as the efforts of the French to keep English words out of their vocabulary. I remember in a high school French textbook from more than 50 years ago an aside explaining this aversion to the "pollution" of the language of les poilous, but I'm rubbed the wrong way by the use of this kind of overblown words for simple concepts.

The local undertaker to my student job in the 90s - himself long gone now - was quite a character. Billy Murray. Billy used to offer people what he called his "pay now, go later" policy...

 

[Edward]

After all, isn't all "planning" done in the advance of an event or an action? You can't "plan" for something that has already taken place. That's while you'll never see "postplanning".

I suppose the notion is that 'pre-planning' refers ultimately to "pre-death-planning", as compared to the norm of a funeral being planned after the death has occurred. (Makes a lot of sense to me culturally, as back in Ireland we move fast - 48 hours, is the norm. My grandmother died in 2005 in the early hours of a Friday morning. The funeral was planned not for the Sunday as would have been normal (my aunt worked in the Church for decades and a lot of vicars wanted to come and pay their respects to her mother, whom they knew. But they all had to do their own morning services, and the cemetery shut too early to accommodate them at the funeral service and still get there in time), but the Monday morning. This was freakishly long enough to be a major topic of conversation.)

Arguably it's still just planning, whenever you do it in advance of the funeral, but hey - it's the English language. got to half half a dozen different ways of saying anything....

 

[Trenchfriend]

As for the "smartphone-ticketing" in omnibus topic, I observed it to be circa 1/3 working, 1/3 troubeling, 1/3 not working.
Far far away from convincing 90s cash-people like me to go digital.

Some folks (not all) with the 1 year-abo use the free optional RFID debit card, which usually seem to work 99%. Probably there's an emergency card reader, in case, that RFID doesn't work. But there are still people, using classic 1 year-paper ticket.

But altogether, the digital doesn't save any time. Sometimes, you even see teens/school kids or very young adults, paying with good old coin for a single ride!!

 

[GHT]

but hey - it's the English language. got to half half a dozen different ways of saying anything....

Now that brought back a lifelong reminisce. Back in schooldays, some piece that had been read out of a book and that which we had to define, brought the class into uproar. It was the word costive. It's direct definition is, constipated. But you can use it like a metaphor, when someone is slow or reluctant in speech or action. In other words unforthcoming.
The fun that is the word costive is that, unless you look it up, having only come across it for the first time, on the page it looks like some sort of derivation of costly.

 

[Edward]

Now that brought back a lifelong reminisce. Back in schooldays, some piece that had been read out of a book and that which we had to define, brought the class into uproar. It was the word costive. It's direct definition is, constipated. But you can use it like a metaphor, when someone is slow or reluctant in speech or action. In other words unforthcoming.
The fun that is the word costive is that, unless you look it up, having only come across it for the first time, on the page it looks like some sort of derivation of costly.

reminds me of an exercise our Spanish teacher used to do to show how challenging the English language can be for non-native speakers. He wrote the word "Ghoti" on the board and asked us to pronounce it - of course we all got it wrong. Then he walked us through a bunch of English pronunciations and showed us how an ESL speaker would see those, and then confidently read "ghoti" as "fish". Can also be done with "Pheti".

Ghoti - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghoti

Pheti - https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/8701/can-fish-really-be-spelled-pheti#8797

 

[tonyb]

But let’s not blame the new tech itself for all the unnecessary delays. I still too often find myself behind a fellow shopper who waits until her purchases are entirely rung up before she sets to fumbling through her purse for the checkbook and, wouldn’t you know it?, she can’t find a pen.

 

[Tiki Tom]

^^^^
My super power is that I always get in line behind that person. Or the one who has a coupon, but can’t find it. Or the person who has brought in a plastic bag of loose change to pay with. Or the one who has specially chosen items without price codes. The list goes on and on. But rest assured, I am always in THAT line.

 

[tonyb]

Here's a bit of bizspeak a ran across this week while reading a book on data collection and analysis, "preplanning". I realized that I'd heard this same term in connection with preparing for the disposition of my remains and chattels when I die, as well as in other contexts in recent years, but what struck me today is the internal redundancy of the term.

After all, isn't all "planning" done in the advance of an event or an action? You can't "plan" for something that has already taken place. That's while you'll never see "postplanning".

Resistance may be as futile as the efforts of the French to keep English words out of their vocabulary. I remember in a high school French textbook from more than 50 years ago an aside explaining this aversion to the "pollution" of the language of les poilous, but I'm rubbed the wrong way by the use of this kind of overblown words for simple concepts.

I’ve noted how two-word phrases have come into common use when, as often as not, one word would suffice.

Examples?

“Price point.” Isn’t “price” good enough?

”Skill set.” How does that differ in any meaningful way from “skills”?

”Lived experience.” What other kind of experience is there?

“Intellectual dishonesty.” Well, I suppose there’s some distinction to be made, seeing how dishonesty comes in myriad varieties, but rarely do I hear the two-word version used when “dishonesty” all on its lonesome would have done just as well, and usually better.

 

[Benny Holiday]

^^^^
My super power is that I always get in line behind that person. Or the one who has a coupon, but can’t find it. Or the person who has brought in a plastic bag of loose change to pay with. Or the one who has specially chosen items without price codes. The list goes on and on. But rest assured, I am always in THAT line.

Next time you're there, especially in traffic or the supermarket checkout queue, turn around and wave, Tom. I'll be the dumb slob stuck at least two extra people behind you!

 

[Trenchfriend]

But interestingly, there are still people willing to learn, even in Germany.
In compare to 20 years ago, much more people in supermarket avoid paying e-cash, these days, because it still simply takes too long and classically debit cards often malfunction as they did in the 90s.

ALSO, luckily many people avoid the stupid "drawing money from your bank account" at the checkout.

Another pro of overaging areas!

The three brandnew self-checkouts are still there, but I observed, that there are often repair-technicians troubleshooting.
Wanna bet, in the end they cut them down to one left? Sooner or later they will have too.

 

[Edward]

But let’s not blame the new tech itself for all the unnecessary delays. I still too often find myself behind a fellow shopper who waits until her purchases are entirely rung up before she sets to fumbling through her purse for the checkbook and, wouldn’t you know it?, she can’t find a pen.

Jinkies cheques, I remember those.... Last time I saw one was an elderly aunt sent me one for a birthday a few years ago. Turned out be quite the challenge to sort it out - I had to take a tube a few stops across town to find a branch of my bank, the local ones all having been shut. I opened my present current account in 2012. I was asked that day if I wanted a cheque book - took one just in case. I still have it in a drawer, completely intact. Never used a single one. Funny how things come and go like that. I remember my parents habitually using a cheque (with, in pre-debit card days, a Cheque Guarantee Card - and the days of people being asked in shops to write multiple cheques if over the £50 limit that the CGC confirmed the bank would always cover if they bounced) for anything over £20. In the debit card era - signatures first, chip and pin later - cheques hung around for some time as a way of making payments by post to individuals, B2C ecommerce having largely seen off cheques as a way of paying for mail order. Then along came paypal...

I've just recent given in and allowed the bank to issue me with my first 'contactless' card. I still don't fully trust it (so far it only seems to ask randomly for a pin about one in fifteen transactions under £100, which seems good odds for anyone who has stolen a card), but at least my RFID blocker in the wallet has proven effective when I tested it.

I’ve noted how two-word phrases have come into common use when, as often as not, one word would suffice.

Examples?

“Price point.” Isn’t “price” good enough?

”Skill set.” How does that differ in any meaningful way from “skills”?

”Lived experience.” What other kind of experience is there?

“Intellectual dishonesty.” Well, I suppose there’s some distinction to be made, seeing how dishonesty comes in myriad varieties, but rarely do I hear the two-word version used when “dishonesty” all on its lonesome would have done just as well, and usually better.

Price point makes sense to me - that speaks to a price relative to a target market. The others, well.... things go in and out of fashion in language, and it evolves.

"Intellectual dishonesty" I get, though. I struggle to define it exactly, but it's a distinct thing. Basically an academic-sounding strawman argument which is specifically dishonestly employed in order to undermine one's opponent. Like Dawkins claiming, as I once saw him do, that anyone who doesn't interpret everything in the Bible literally is doing Christianity wrong, because they don't fit into his own, narrowly-defined and readily debunked definition of Christianity. That's what I'd think of as being intellectually dishonest, as distinct from common or garden dishonesty. A specific form of dishonesty, in much the same way as voluntary manslaughter is a specific form of homicide.

 

[LizzieMaine]

reminds me of an exercise our Spanish teacher used to do to show how challenging the English language can be for non-native speakers. He wrote the word "Ghoti" on the board and asked us to pronounce it - of course we all got it wrong. Then he walked us through a bunch of English pronunciations and showed us how an ESL speaker would see those, and then confidently read "ghoti" as "fish". Can also be done with "Pheti".

Ghoti - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghoti

Pheti - https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/8701/can-fish-really-be-spelled-pheti#8797

The most accurate description of English that I've ever seen came from a linguistics professor who called it "the shower drain of languages," full of a tangle of loanwords, conflicting and confusing orthography, and contradictory rules of syntax. Intelligibility, he argued, was the only thing that actually mattered -- and attempting to enforce any sort of definitive form upon it was pointless because it never stopped evolving long enough to be really defined.

Incidentally, the Klingon word for fish is, in fact, "ghoti." Q'pla!

 

[Tiki Tom]

Those of us who are native English speakers are blessed, indeed, insofar as English has become the lingua Franca of the world and —for the most part— we can travel to most big cities without having to learn the local language. It certainly makes travel easier.

My daughter just accepted a job at a university in Vienna, Austria, where the language of instruction for all masters degree programs (and up) is English.

 

[Benny Holiday]

The Church was the first group of invade the originally West Germanic language the Saxons, Jutes and Angles would come to know as 'Englisc", bringing Latin words from religious observances into the law. Then the Vikings brought their words with them that ended up being integrated into the local populations, that we still use today: skill, dirt, rotten, egg, link, skirt, want, weak, skin, girth, anger, happy, aloft, seat, glove, axle, and many many more.

The Normans had the next huge cultural impact with the Conquest in 1066, mostly at first on the nobility and judiciary, but soon enough French words began creeping into all aspects of English: asset, enemy, crime, dungeon, embezzle, vicar, warden, treaty, survive, pleasure, prison, fashion, chivalry, butcher, judge, evidence, duty, launch, quarter, occupy, reward, virgin, button.

Finally, we have Greek, which has given us such words as athlete, climate, harmony, ocean, geography, program, utopia, therapy, physics, machine, ethics, decade, cinema, aroma, centre, cube, fantasy, disc, hymn, metaphor, patriot, rhythm, and even sarcasm.

Still, even with all those integrated words, close to a third of modern English is still, well, Englisc: night, heavy, fist, fear, day, boat, after, above, care, drive, did, chew, bought, build, some, play, off, out, pretty, reach, rain, run, truth, welcome, under, yard, small, strong.

 

[Edward]

Those of us who are native English speakers are blessed, indeed, insofar as English has become the lingua Franca of the world and —for the most part— we can travel to most big cities without having to learn the local language. It certainly makes travel easier.

My daughter just accepted a job at a university in Vienna, Austria, where the language of instruction for all masters degree programs (and up) is English.

It's been interesting watching that develop over the last twenty years., particularly with the UK universities being radically more expensive, and now less linked in to the various European research schemes. If I had my time over again, I'd definitely consider something like that as an option. The change to live daily immersed in learning another language, without the stress of doing my major studying via that medium would be an appealing option. So I like to think.... but who knows if I'd convince my younger self. At 19, I only wanted to go to my (still highly internationally respected) local university and stay home to save on the cost and stress of having to deal with living on top of studying. I'm certain I missed out on many fundamental life experiences I had to make up later as a result, but living with my parents in a village 40 minutes by train from university, with the last train at night in those days being 9pm certainly ensured I didn't have a lot of distractions that could have negatively impacted on my studies.

 

[ChrisB]

The Church was the first group of invade the originally West Germanic language the Saxons, Jutes and Angles would come to know as 'Englisc", bringing Latin words from religious observances into the law. Then the Vikings brought their words with them that ended up being integrated into the local populations, that we still use today: skill, dirt, rotten, egg, link, skirt, want, weak, skin, girth, anger, happy, aloft, seat, glove, axle, and many many more.

The Normans had the next huge cultural impact with the Conquest in 1066, mostly at first on the nobility and judiciary, but soon enough French words began creeping into all aspects of English: asset, enemy, crime, dungeon, embezzle, vicar, warden, treaty, survive, pleasure, prison, fashion, chivalry, butcher, judge, evidence, duty, launch, quarter, occupy, reward, virgin, button.

Finally, we have Greek, which has given us such words as athlete, climate, harmony, ocean, geography, program, utopia, therapy, physics, machine, ethics, decade, cinema, aroma, centre, cube, fantasy, disc, hymn, metaphor, patriot, rhythm, and even sarcasm.

Still, even with all those integrated words, close to a third of modern English is still, well, Englisc: night, heavy, fist, fear, day, boat, after, above, care, drive, did, chew, bought, build, some, play, off, out, pretty, reach, rain, run, truth, welcome, under, yard, small, strong.

I have heard that one can easily compose a sentence in English using only Germanic words, but that it is not possible to compose one without using any.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Petrus, please put the night A/C on!!

 

[Turnip]

Here you go.