Semantics (A rant)

[cheaton]

Its true, the south is terrible for bad english. I only sound southern when I've had a few too many drinks.

[Artemis]

I'd prefer "plethora" to "myriad" but that's just a personal preference. I'm Southern (although no accent), and I absolutely defend the use of y'all/you all even though I don't personally use it. Besides that, one thing that bothers me is when people say "that's real nice." It's really. Really.

[clareandromeda]

I admit it, I say the New Yark version of y'all which is youz.

"What are youz doing later" I think local dialects are interesting and have been apart of spoken language since the beginning.

[chamekke]

I admit it, I say the New Yark version of y'all which is youz.

"What are youz doing later" I think local dialects are interesting and have been apart of spoken language since the beginning.

One theory holds that youz/youse is rooted in an Irish(-American?) desire to distinguish between second-person singular and plural... a distinction that is clear enough in Irish Gaelic (tú, sibh), but gets lost in "standard" English.

Then again, this theory may be utter nonsense.

Either way, oddly enough, the use of y'all and youz/youse doesn't bother me at all

[clareandromeda]

I am of Irish ancestry.. perhaps I have a genetic need to express second person plural

I remember hearing a show on NPR that interviewed a man who studied accents to the point that he could tell where a person lived down to the neighborhood of a city. I also love that in America, the accent of a place is often a combination of the blended accents of the immigrant population.

I love listening to the way people talk. I noticed in Ireland people go up and down in tone throughout a sentence. North East Americans speak in a flat monotone. I noticed that they took sucked their breath in to mean yes. I love noticing little stuff like that.

When I was in California I was told I have an East Coast Accent....does that mean there are commonalities between a Floridian and Maine accent? I'm too close to the ground here..

I've been living in the Bronx for 5 years now and I can't understand Spanish but I can impress people with my pronunciation of English words in a Puerto Rican accent.

[ABx]

I think that perhaps the board should be set to automatically ban anyone that says "I have a plethora of teaware" for a month, just as an intervention. The notification could read: "Go do something else now, and come back after you've paid your new debts."

[chamekke]

I think that perhaps the board should be set to automatically ban anyone that says "I have a plethora of teaware" for a month, just as an intervention. The notification could read: "Go do something else now, and come back after you've paid your new debts."

Heh, guilty as charged

I haven't posted to the Show Off thread for a long time, so in effect I have already taken your advice. These days I'm trying to enjoy the wares I already have, while struggling not to be seduced by all the gorgeous things I don't

[TierOne]

"Irregardless" gets under my skin. My sister uses it constantly. I cringe every time.

But regarding an adjective for "unique," how about "unabashedly unique"?

You know, sort of "in your face" unique!

Just a thought.

[Proinsias]

I love listening to the way people talk. I noticed in Ireland people go up and down in tone throughout a sentence.

Same thing here in Scotland, maybe even more pronounced. A good few kung-fu buddies here in Scotland who spend time in Hong Kong have reported that learning the language is nigh on impossible due to the tendency of constantly varying the tone and pitch being almost impossible to ditch.