pickI discovered that I‘m way less of a word nerd than I think I am! 🙈 Listening to Curzan‘s musings on the English language, I found myself feeling amused and surprised by the text as often as I caught myself zoning out. The main takeaway is that language evolves; unless clarity is being lost, we should watch how it does so with interest and curiosity instead of gatekeeping and policing usage. 👇🏻
monalyisha 1/2: It‘s a position that will make us look less foolish in the long run when change inevitably occurs; it‘s also a stance that promotes inclusivity and diversity. Listen to/read this book if you want to tuck intelligent arguments in your back pocket about use of the singular “they,” or about how responding “I‘m good” to the question, “How are you?” is just as correct as answering “I‘m well.” (edited) 22h
monalyisha Thanks for the #AuldLangSpine rec, @Christine! 22h
monalyisha *Note: The only time I caught myself going “grammando” was over the phraseology of “I could care less” vs “I couldn‘t care less.” While I don‘t feel the need to correct people verbally, I‘ll never be able to accept the first version in my heart of hearts! (edited) 22h
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monalyisha 📣 PSA! A short summary of how to defend the use of singular “they”: 1. Singular “they” has over 800 years of usage in the English language. It‘s well-established and is not, by any means, new! 2. If you use singular “they”, you‘ll find yourself in illustrious company, rubbing elbows with Jane Austen & Shakespeare. 3. The history of pronoun usage in English is WILD. If you want to be persnickety about it, we shouldn‘t be using singular “you.”👇🏻 (edited) 22h
monalyisha [3. continued] Technically, “you” used to be plural — and “thou” was the singular second person pronoun. So, if you want to rail against use of singular “they,” thou better get real comfy using “thou.” END PSA. 📣 22h
willaful For me it's “literally“ now meaning the same as “figuratively.“ Admittedly it's hardly the only time an English word has meant two opposite things, but I still can't stand it! 18h
ravenlee Oh, could/couldn‘t care less is a hot button for me! I also have trouble with “gifted,” because we already had a perfectly serviceable word for that but we had to misappropriate another one? Actually, I have a lot of peeves…should probably stop talking…. 11h
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