English language - where is it going to? AIBU

I hate "almost exactly". Something is either almost the same or exactly the same, but it can't be both!

Back story instead of ‘your past’ yesterday evening instead of ‘last night’ most annoying. Starting a sentence with ‘So’ what’s the point of that?

What about "Woke".

Many 'new' words are simply americanisms. Competence to competency! They dont necessarily expand available vocabulary, they also limit and confuse. Evolve, yes, anything goes, no. My current pet hates are ' alternate' instead of 'alternative '- its plain wrong, the words have different meanings - and the overuse of superlatives. There is no room for degrees any more everything and everyone is amazing. Really?

Sentences seem to start with 'so' these days! Why? e.g 'What do you do for a living?' 'So I'm a nurse' !!! Argghh!
I too am irritated when people use the word myself when they shouldn't.
And what about 'literally'? We keep hearing people say things like 'I literally laughed my head off'!! No, you didn't!!
'I give 110%' ?? That's not possible!!
And don't even get me started on 'My bad'!
But that's language for you, I suppose!

When requesting applause for someone, why do ‘they’ now to ‘give it up for...’. What exactly are we to give up?

My particular hate is hearing something described as ‘very fun’ or ‘so fun’. When I pointed out that fun is a noun not an adjective, my DGD said, “But that was when you were at school Grandma!”

not so much words as

I so hate..

me and him,, where we were taught to put the other person first!! ie..

John and me! for example...

perhaps that is part of the problems now.. we always put ourselves before others?

JenniferEccles

I have noticed the habit lately of people saying “I am sat here” instead of sitting.

To me I am sat seems to indicate someone picked them up and plonked them down on the seat !

Maybe it is correct but it just sounds wrong to me.

Agree! One of my pet hates too. "I am sitting" IS correct, as is "I was sitting". Not sat. I have seen this mistake in a number of published novels too.

Please can we find a new word for unprecedented? It's being so overused these days that, for me, it's lost the impact.

I swear... when people kill adverbs !

Wrap up warm..... aaarrrrgh !!

Oh that’s interesting welbeckthank you.

That would probably explain it as I have lived in the south all my life!

HillyN

I can't understand why people on radio or T.V. who describe a sport event are said to 'commentate'. Surely the verb is to comment?

Hardly.
The late Bill McLaren was a rugby commentator not a commenter

The two verbs do indeed have different meanings.

Re colleague/s - a ‘prize’ should probably have gone to my local Asda, where there used to be signs saying, ‘If you can’t find what you want, please ask a colleague.’

I was frequently so tempted to ask customer services, with a suitably puzzled expression, how my colleagues at work would know where to find e.g. gluten free pasta.
But I restrained myself.
I don’t see those signs any more - someone must have had a little word.

Actually IIRC it was even ‘better’:

‘If you can’t find what you want. Please ask a colleague.’

I don't like the expression 'turning' when it's someone's birthday. Just me.

I hate ‘gifting’ too, especially when in the context, ‘giving’ would be fine.
Even John Lewis has signs in our local store about ‘gifting’. I would expect JL to know better!

I don’t even use ‘gift’ - it’s always ‘present’ here, which maybe make me weird, not that I care.

Clear as......?

Coworker vs colleague:
The key difference between colleague and coworker is that the colleague can either refer to someone who is in the same rank or state as you or who work with you while the coworker typically refers to someone with whom you work with.

I unconsciously associated colleagues being of more professional nature, and coworkers at a lower level. For instance teachers or accountants would be colleagues and clerks coworkers. So both are correct in my eyes. when referring to two mechanics at a garage, I would use coworkers.

JenniferEccles

I have noticed the habit lately of people saying “I am sat here” instead of sitting.

To me I am sat seems to indicate someone picked them up and plonked them down on the seat !

Maybe it is correct but it just sounds wrong to me.

i used to think like you, but that was my lack of travel, as i grew up in southern england.
i was sat is normal and correct usage in derbyshire and other places oop north. it is an older form.
i think it has gained currency through youngsters moving about the country for university and picking up modes of local speech.
also now that tv/ radio actively encourage regional accents, we hear more of these variants.
there is always more to learn.

Yes vegansrock
Is it a covid thing?
It seems to have evolved alongside the virus.
I associate it with the graphs.
I think it's one that will disappear as quickly as it appeared.
And yes, commentate is different to comment!

The only one that really annoys me, and I cannot understand, is 'off of', meaning 'from' as in
'I got this spiffing new hat off of my splendid aunt'.

I've always used 'off'meaning from colloquially as I'm a bit common like that (), but 'off of' drives me crackers.

Has anyone noticed the increased use of the term ‘uptick” to mean increase?

I went through a pedantic phase, but have got over it ?

The changes are actually quite fascinating, a reflection of history as it is happening!

It's not surprising that our language is changing rapidly - via the Internet, we now have close contact with English speakers from across the globe, so of course some mixing of the different forms of English spoken in these different parts of the world is happening. That's why more Americanisms are being used. They don't bother me - I just add them to my vocabulary for future use if and when appropriate, just as I do with any new words or phrases.

There has also been a big shift in the ethnic mix of our population, so again, linguistic change, of grammar, vocabulary and usage, is bound to happen, just as it has throughout history in times of rapid change.
Language and languages interest me, so sometimes I can see how a new word or expression has come into English from another language, either through a mistranslation, or just to fill a gap in English.

English is great (all languages are great), and I'm happy to see it continuing to grow, as it should. smile

Very interesting thoughts and comments on here. Thanks everyone!

I think 'to commentate' means something very different to 'to comment'

I think objecting to the word ‘gotten’ shows up a bit of prejudice It’s an old English word in use when the English colonised America which we have now stopped using - shame really.