OK Nigel...I plead ignorance...only I have never ever used the word "aerodrome" and have never ever heard anyone use it in ordinary convos.
Endangered Words and Phrases
Just out of curiosity, Nigel, what words did you think pople were using instead of:
towards
perhaps
skilful
realise
traveller
fitted
sprang
disc
sank
ageing
kilometre
mediaeval
amoeba
paediatrics
dived
biscuit
favourite
colour ?
They all seem pretty common to me. Even amoeba. ;)
towards
perhaps
skilful
realise
traveller
fitted
sprang
disc
sank
ageing
kilometre
mediaeval
amoeba
paediatrics
dived
biscuit
favourite
colour ?
They all seem pretty common to me. Even amoeba. ;)
"I have never ever used the word "aerodrome"
Ive used it a couple of times, but only in reference to an old Airfield i visited, or to sound a bit quirky or old fashioned.
"Just out of curiosity, Nigel, what words did you think pople were using instead of:
towards
perhaps
skilful
realise
traveller
fitted
sprang
disc
sank "
maybe I would say "sunk" instead of "sank" but only because I'm an illeducated drunkard.
Ive used it a couple of times, but only in reference to an old Airfield i visited, or to sound a bit quirky or old fashioned.
"Just out of curiosity, Nigel, what words did you think pople were using instead of:
towards
perhaps
skilful
realise
traveller
fitted
sprang
disc
sank "
maybe I would say "sunk" instead of "sank" but only because I'm an illeducated drunkard.
>Just out of curiosity, Nigel, what words did you think pople were using instead of:
towards toward
perhaps maybe
skilful skillful
realise realize
traveller traveler
fitted fit
sprang sprung
disc disk
sank sunk
ageing aging
kilometre kilometer
mediaeval medieval
amoeba ameba
paediatrics pediatrics
dived dove
biscuit cookie
favourite favorite
colour color
As I mentioned, it is mostly the spelling which seems to be changing throughout the world (to the US standard), but there is also the change of grammar: use of past participles as past tenses (sprang being overtaken by sprung, sank/sunk).
Another change I've thought of is in the use of "maybe", not as a synonym for "perhaps", but written (and even printed) as a single-word instead of two, as in "That maybe true" rather than "That may be true".
towards toward
perhaps maybe
skilful skillful
realise realize
traveller traveler
fitted fit
sprang sprung
disc disk
sank sunk
ageing aging
kilometre kilometer
mediaeval medieval
amoeba ameba
paediatrics pediatrics
dived dove
biscuit cookie
favourite favorite
colour color
As I mentioned, it is mostly the spelling which seems to be changing throughout the world (to the US standard), but there is also the change of grammar: use of past participles as past tenses (sprang being overtaken by sprung, sank/sunk).
Another change I've thought of is in the use of "maybe", not as a synonym for "perhaps", but written (and even printed) as a single-word instead of two, as in "That maybe true" rather than "That may be true".
IMO, "The ship sunk." and "The ship sank." both sound good, though I like "sank" better. However, "The girl sung." sounds very bad.
<<As I mentioned, it is mostly the spelling which seems to be changing throughout the world (to the US standard), but there is also the change of grammar: use of past participles as past tenses (sprang being overtaken by sprung, sank/sunk).>>
Hmm, but there's a lot of variation all over the world. I wouldn't say that there's any perceptible shift towards all the forms on the right in all parts of the world. Also, some of the ones on the right are actually the conservative forms while the ones on the left are innovative ones, so it's hard to argue who's changing to what, really. For instance, "realize" was the traditional British spelling (not "realise") despite the fact that "-ise" has gained popularity in the UK over the past century. In this case any changes there may be to "realize" would be reverting to the older form which is still in current usage in written North American English.
Also, as an American, I can confirm that I have "toward" and "towards," "perhaps" and "maybe," "fitted" and "fit" "sprang" and "sprung" "sank" and "sunk" etc. One isn't replacing the other but both forms exist side by and side and varying contexts (whether grammatical or sociolinguistic) determine which one gets used.
Hmm, but there's a lot of variation all over the world. I wouldn't say that there's any perceptible shift towards all the forms on the right in all parts of the world. Also, some of the ones on the right are actually the conservative forms while the ones on the left are innovative ones, so it's hard to argue who's changing to what, really. For instance, "realize" was the traditional British spelling (not "realise") despite the fact that "-ise" has gained popularity in the UK over the past century. In this case any changes there may be to "realize" would be reverting to the older form which is still in current usage in written North American English.
Also, as an American, I can confirm that I have "toward" and "towards," "perhaps" and "maybe," "fitted" and "fit" "sprang" and "sprung" "sank" and "sunk" etc. One isn't replacing the other but both forms exist side by and side and varying contexts (whether grammatical or sociolinguistic) determine which one gets used.
towards/toward -- I use both
perhaps/maybe -- I use both
traveller/traveler -- personally I use "traveller"; I think choice of spelling is entirely optional in the US
fitted/fit -- you still have to get fitted for a dress, right? Nobody gets "fit" for one!
sprang/sprung -- well, those are two separate tenses of "to spring"
sank sunk -- ditto for "to sink"
disc/disk -- either can be used
dived/dove -- either can be used
amoeba/ameba -- I rarely see "ameba" in the US. When I do, it looks contrived. This is one case where the "oe" is usually preserved.
biscuit/cookie -- we have biscuits, too, and they're definitely not cookies -- more like scones (sort of)
favourite/favorite
colour/color
ageing/aging
kilometre/kilometer
mediaeval/medieval
paediatrics/pediatrics
skilful/skillful
realise/realize
Those are just minor spelling changes -- the words are still the same and used the same way throughout the English-speaking world.
perhaps/maybe -- I use both
traveller/traveler -- personally I use "traveller"; I think choice of spelling is entirely optional in the US
fitted/fit -- you still have to get fitted for a dress, right? Nobody gets "fit" for one!
sprang/sprung -- well, those are two separate tenses of "to spring"
sank sunk -- ditto for "to sink"
disc/disk -- either can be used
dived/dove -- either can be used
amoeba/ameba -- I rarely see "ameba" in the US. When I do, it looks contrived. This is one case where the "oe" is usually preserved.
biscuit/cookie -- we have biscuits, too, and they're definitely not cookies -- more like scones (sort of)
favourite/favorite
colour/color
ageing/aging
kilometre/kilometer
mediaeval/medieval
paediatrics/pediatrics
skilful/skillful
realise/realize
Those are just minor spelling changes -- the words are still the same and used the same way throughout the English-speaking world.
Score as in "fourscore and five" which is 85.
This is also partially a la French.
This is also partially a la French.
>fitted/fit -- you still have to get fitted for a dress, right? Nobody gets "fit" for one!
But would you ever use "fit" for the past tense? "She tried on the dress, and it fit(ted) perfectly"?
But would you ever use "fit" for the past tense? "She tried on the dress, and it fit(ted) perfectly"?
<<But would you ever use "fit" for the past tense? "She tried on the dress, and it fit(ted) perfectly"?>>
Yes, that's the North American usage. Here's it's an irregular verb in the past and past participle:
---"The suit I wore yesterday fit me just fine"
not
---"The suit I wore yesterday fitted me just fine."
Or with the past participle:
---"Those socks should've fit fine but they were too large"
However, the past participle in adjectival form is "fitted:"
---"he bought a specially fitted suit for the event."
Yes, that's the North American usage. Here's it's an irregular verb in the past and past participle:
---"The suit I wore yesterday fit me just fine"
not
---"The suit I wore yesterday fitted me just fine."
Or with the past participle:
---"Those socks should've fit fine but they were too large"
However, the past participle in adjectival form is "fitted:"
---"he bought a specially fitted suit for the event."
Some old phrases I like include:
"I don't like the cut of his jib" - Used when you don't trust someone based on a quick impression of their appearance or manner.
"Enough to make a monkey bite its mother" - Something very annoying.
"Don't spoil the ship for a hapeth of tar" - Don't skimp on a small but important element of something, from the days when tar was used to waterproof ships. Obviously an expensive ship could be ruined for the sake of some inexpensive tar waterproofing.
"I don't like the cut of his jib" - Used when you don't trust someone based on a quick impression of their appearance or manner.
"Enough to make a monkey bite its mother" - Something very annoying.
"Don't spoil the ship for a hapeth of tar" - Don't skimp on a small but important element of something, from the days when tar was used to waterproof ships. Obviously an expensive ship could be ruined for the sake of some inexpensive tar waterproofing.
"To look like the wild woman of Borneo" - to look badly dishevelled, for example on waking up in the morning.
There are some usages and pronunciations in the dialect here in Milwaukee that seem to be somewhat endangered, such as the use of "yet" to mean "now" or "still", the use of "once" as a softening particle in requests, the use of "hey" like "eh" in Canadian English, and the pronunciation of "Mueller" like "Miller" (that is, as ["mI:L\R=] rather than as ["mju:L\R=]). I do hear these forms every once in a while, but not that much even though they supposedly were classically features of the dialect here.
Do young people in the US use the word "lovely" these days? I use it fairly frequently, but I don't think I hear it much now, except in British movies & TV.