Just wondering

I love working out the origin of words: as a small child, around 4, I asked Mum where words came from but she didn't know. I ended up picturing a group of men in brown suits sitting round a table naming things. I suppose I thought men in suits ran everything.

Later at grammar school I did French, then Latin a year later, then German - all the languages taught me so much about word origins, and German made my local Yorkshire dialect seem so very legitimate.

The Indo-European language tree is a good way of picturing it all. We are on the Germanic branch of course. I often wondered what became of the Celtic language: we don't seem to have much of it in today's language. Then I found out our simple grammar with few inflections comes from there.

Here in Australia we have loads of new words; I use them all the time. Chooks for chickens is a good one: I have 7 chooks in my back yard i.e. back garden, and love to sit out there on a sunny arvo (afternoon)watching the greenies (lorikeets) fly over, and the cockies (cockatoos) too. We have words like rabbit-o and fish-o i.e. vendors.

I'm pretty sure some new words will crop up for Australian cricketers, but they'll probably not be fit for these pages.

I'm just wondering whether you're a pair of grans or just one gran with two names, Royandsyl

I agree words and language are really very interesting. I do crosswords and learning words through this. Fascinating language is. I love it. Don't particularly like Americanisms though!

I thought that perhaps 'freebie' could equally have been 'freeby', but when I tried 'freeby' in the Google dictionary, it turned out to be the name of a small village in Leicestershire. -by is a suffix in place names in areas occupied by Danish invaders, meaning 'town', like Whitby or Grimsby. 'Freebie' is one of our transatlantic borrowings, originally slang, but has made the transition into standard English.

ha!

From the same place as the 'n' in 'an', maybe?

Where does the "bie" come from in freebie. Being?

petra
If you dont like the way I post, or what I post, tough I suppose.
Else I suppose you could take it up with gransnet. The only other option is to stick it out.

Good post on the use of the me or I etc problem Elegran. a lot of people put the me word first these days though, perhaps less strict than our own school teachers many moons ago explains it.

@Elegran - that isn't in the least pedantic!

My DGCs use 'huggles' for a cuddly hug and 'kisstletoe' for the Christmas greenery....I don't think we invented them, they are just fun words that seem to come about by themselves.

When does a solecism become common usage? I think 'He gave it to Rosie and I ' is still generally regarded as an error, while (point I was making earlier) 'Me and Rosie went yesterday' is pretty general. Although incorrect.

Of course, being really pedantic, it should be "I am fatter than he" (because it should read "than he is" ) and so on.

If you can substitute us it is Rosie and me
If you can substitute we it is Rosie and I

So-
He gave chocolates to Rosie
He gave chocolates to me
He gave chocolates to us
He gave chocolates to Rosie and me

Rosie thanked him
I thanked him
We thanked him
Rosie and I thanked him

Rosie is fatter than him
I am fatter than him
We are fatter than him
Rosie and I are fatter than him

He is thinner than Rosie
He is thinner than me
He is thinner than Rosie and me
He is thinner than us

Great post, helmacd.

'He gave the chocolates to Rosie and me.'

Words are my passion too. Thanks for such a fascinating thread.

'Rosie and me' sounds like something I expect to hear from a four year old.

I remember a Billy Connolly piece on "Wee Sweary Words". He made up 2 wonderful words, Getifer and Basa, especially when used together as in "Aye getifer ya bass".

Brilliant helmacd

I write in our local newspaper from time to time and this appeared a couple of months ago, which might - hopefully - amuse as it seems to fit in with the topic somewhat.

With gritted teeth and raised BP I’ve learned to compromise
When hearing words like DIGIVERSE, CHILLAX and DIARISE,
And not directly have a fit when listening to the news
For language changes all the time, though it may not me amuse!

My moisturiser’s not just smooth, it soothes and MATTIFIES
For it’s a COSMACEUTICAL, the label states - whatever that implies.
Men aren’t just mates, or drinking pals, but now they may be labelled
As having a BROMANCE, by trendy types, like an imaginary fable!
But worse maybe is a FRENEMY with which they could contend
For that’s a secret rival, who is pretending to be a friend.

And as though we need more labels there’s the DEMITARIAN
Who eats a little bit of meat but is mainly vegetarian!
I’ve also learned of a new disease – AFFLUENZA it is named,
Caught by bankers and their like, who claim they can’t be blamed
For earning obscene money and spending like a drain
Which causes them anxiety and intensely nervous strain.
It would make it even worse if chased by VIDEORAZZI
Who are video operating types of the old fashioned paparazzi!
And they all feed the appetites of star crazed groups of FANDOMS
Who stalk their admired target literally in tandem.

I can’t leave out the lazy words, coined by the younger speaker-
Who put two words together to make them short and sleeker.
LATERS and AMAZEBALLS are self explanatory
But MAGHAG may be less so, and also defamatory,
For it refers to a female editor of American magazines
(She probably encourages FANDOMS and publishes FANZINES!)
Worst of all, and finally, there are words akin to slush
If I actually had to say one I would unquestionably blush,
ADORBS, UNFRIEND, EMOJI are words I just can’t stick
In fact I’d not just blush, I’d physically be sick!

absent Quite funny in the circumstances !

'Spect she was just glad to get the letters.

I'm not sure there is a 'correct' informal way to address envelopes. I've been just writing people's names (first and last) on informal post communications all my life. Even to my mother. She has never complained and she would have done if she had minded.

And one the backs of envelopes I put the sender's address as First Name, House number/name, Postcode.

Sod it! I posted before I had read through what I had posted. … language is distorted*, don't understand what is meant. Many variations from and, for goodness sake. Perhaps I should cut my nails (or go to bed)!

There is Caribbean English where "me am" is the popular form. If it makes sense to other people then surely that is fine. I live in a country where the popular form is "I am". That makes sense to people and that is fine.

What is far more of a problem is when language id distorted so that people don't understand why is meant and cannot, therefore, communicate properly. There are many avriantions of English from Canad and US to Australia and New zealand.