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Misused English words in EU publications | ||
Tags: False friends | English | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6598 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes  4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 17 of 37 22 May 2014 at 4:31pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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I love the entry for Anglo-Saxon
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| Doitsujin Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 5321 days ago 1256 posts - 2363 votes Speaks: German*, English | Message 18 of 37 22 May 2014 at 4:41pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
Merriam-Webster is a US dictionary and as such reflects current US English use. However, I don't remember seeing "dean" being used in the USA as a generic term to refer to a chairperson or the most senior member of a group or organization. IMHO, they should have picked doyen instead, which is a well-known international term in diplomatic circles. BTW, I agree with pretty much all suggestions in the style-guide, except for "badge."
At least in the USA, "badge" is commonly used to refer to plastic RFID ID cards used to access restricted areas. It's also used as a verb. For example, you can badge someone in. P.S. The PDF link in my first post works; it links to the same .pdf file that you linked to. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| dampingwire Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4666 days ago 1185 posts - 1513 votes Speaks: English*, Italian*, French Studies: Japanese | Message 19 of 37 22 May 2014 at 5:21pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
The MW definition of "dean" may well be current usage in the US, but in the UK, that's not how I've (ever) seen it used. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| dampingwire Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4666 days ago 1185 posts - 1513 votes Speaks: English*, Italian*, French Studies: Japanese | Message 20 of 37 22 May 2014 at 5:27pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
I would suggest that, in this case at least, a quick search of the internet has found that many people write sloppily. Normally I'd have to preface this with a warning that these might be acceptable English in some other part of the world, but in this case the article does specifically say the English of the UK and Ireland. (1) sounds completely wrong to me. (2) is very stilted. (3) is wrong. (4) is not wrong, but it is awkward and I don't recall hearing it. (5) is wrong. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| s_allard Triglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5431 days ago 2704 posts - 5425 votes Speaks: French*, English, Spanish Studies: Polish | Message 21 of 37 22 May 2014 at 7:18pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
I"m always amused when people make themselves into arbiters of proper linguistic taste. When I look at usage, I don't consider myself the authority. I prefer to observe what other people, especially respected authors and good sources, are saying. Who cares if (1) sounds completely wrong to you or to me? I note for example that The Guardian newspaper, which is not exactly some foreign rag, writes: " Can I specify other targeting? We recommend you avoid applying targeting to activity in the first instance – our optimisation strategy is goal- seeking against your KPI." The Guardian FAQ I won't comment on the other items but to say that it's usage that counts and not somebody's individual likes and dislikes. Edited by s_allard on 22 May 2014 at 7:31pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Doitsujin Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 5321 days ago 1256 posts - 2363 votes Speaks: German*, English | Message 22 of 37 22 May 2014 at 7:53pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
If you google "recieve," you'll get almost 9 million hits. However, that doesn't mean that "recieve" has become an accepted alternative spelling of "receive." As for Urban Dictionary, the quality of the entries is a mixed bag. IMHO, at least 30-40% of definitions for each entry are utter garbage. Don't believe me? Check out the definitions for Serge. Edited by Doitsujin on 23 May 2014 at 12:17am 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| s_allard Triglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5431 days ago 2704 posts - 5425 votes Speaks: French*, English, Spanish Studies: Polish | Message 23 of 37 22 May 2014 at 9:36pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
Who is talking about the spelling "recieve"? Let's keep our eye on the ball. What is so bad about the second example from the above list? cEU English: It is not allowed to smoke in enclosed public places. Some people find this stilted. So be it. That may be so. But here is a quote from that infamous rag, The Guardian: "It is a particular challenge for BBC World News because it isn't a rights holder and is under the same restrictions as Sky News, for example. It is not allowed to use much stuff shot on Olympics premises," said a BBC source." Well, actually, it's the BBC source who used the stilted expression. The point of all this, if it needs repeating, is that one must be careful before making broad statements on what is wrong or right in matters of language because of personal tastes. There are things that I myself do not like nor use, but I observe that a lot of people do. But I don't go around calling things garbage because I don't agree. Take for example slowlier. I don't use it myself, and I don't hear it much, but I'm sure that I'll see it more now that I'm paying attention. I think the reason it exists is that it is constructed on the same model as costly - costlier. There's even costliest in the Oxford dictionary. So what's the fuss about? There's nothing wrong with slowlier except that it irritates some people. Not me. Edited by s_allard on 22 May 2014 at 9:36pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Medulin Tetraglot Senior Member Croatia Joined 4669 days ago 1199 posts - 2192 votes Speaks: Croatian*, English, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Norwegian, Hindi, Nepali | Message 24 of 37 22 May 2014 at 11:06pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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'' It is not allowed to smoke in enclosed public places''. is not correct unless by IT we mean a dog, a cat or another animal.
the correct formula is ''somebody is (not) allowed to do something'' (that is "(for someone) to be allowed to" requires a 'someone' who is given the permission. ) or ''something is not allowed''.''something is (not) allowed to do'' is ungrammatical in English, according to the book called ''Practical English Usage'' written by Michael Swan and published by Oxford University Press, the author states: ''The passive structure with IT is only possible with PERMIT'' (and not with ALLOW).'': 
compare: No smoking (here)! (the most idiomatic). You are not permitted to smoke here / It is not permitted to smoke here / You are not allowed to smoke here / We don't let you smoke here. (okay) It is not allowed to smoke here / It is not let smoke here / You are not let smoke here (unidiomatic or wrong). I asked a native speaker of American English about various expressions with ''dummy it'', and here is his reply: '' It is permitted to smoke here. / OK It is allowed to smoke here. / IMO NO, unless you're really talking about an "it" It is able to smoke here. / NO, unless you're talking about an "it" It is supposed to smoke here. / Again, NO. It is likely to smoke here. / Nope. Other "be" pseudo-modals: It is going to smoke here. / Nah. It is about to smoke here. / No can do. It is to smoke here tomorrow. / Hell no. '' --- Another cEU/L2 English structure I regularly hear: ''quite many''. It should be just ''many'', or if you want to use quite ''quite a few''. I've heard Indian usage ''The film is releasing tomorrow'' in Europe, and I don't know if it's correct English or not. I would say ''The film is being released tomorrow'' or ''The film is going to be released tomorrow''. Edited by Medulin on 23 May 2014 at 12:13am 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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