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Pedants' corner

I`m sure these have been mentioned before ...

(92 Posts)
suzette1613 Wed 16-Oct-19 07:42:56

When did `railway station` become `train station`?

I always thought `students` were in tertiary education, now all pupils seem to be known as students.

`Faith` schools? Just sounds wrong to me.

welbeck Wed 16-Oct-19 23:19:35

I was laying in bed when I heard a knock at the door.
are you a hen?
This use of laying seems ubiquitous, maybe due to the general decline in knowledge of our language.
However, I disagree that, I was stood, etc is incorrect. It is an older form and still used esp in Derbyshire northwards. It is not incorrect, it is a perfectly acceptable variant; one with which you are unfamiliar.

Lilypops Wed 16-Oct-19 23:03:20

The word. "Gifted" as in giving or receiving a present , Ie. It was gifted to me, Where has that come from ?

sodapop Wed 16-Oct-19 21:50:47

That's funny Cabbie21 grin

The 'myself' thing is really annoying. Usually people trying to sound important.

suzette1613 Wed 16-Oct-19 20:48:41

`Clients` always makes me think of a brothel!

Legs55 Wed 16-Oct-19 20:40:33

It drove me mad when I worked for HMRC & we had to call Taxpayers "Customers"confused, a customer has a choice a taxpayer doesn't.

Railway Station is the correct term as the rails are always in the station but the train is transient.

There are lots of things that annoy me but I do accept that language evolves

GinJeannie Wed 16-Oct-19 19:35:19

Medsin instead of Medicine! Heard often, especially on news reports. Since when did the ‘i’ become silent?

Wheniwasyourage Wed 16-Oct-19 19:08:34

4allweknow, my DGC go to a school which has XX Public School carved into the stone along the front of the building, and it's not the only one.

Greenfinch, I do agree with you about passengers now being called customers. When I travel by bus or by train (certainly from a railway station) I am definitely a passenger.

Saggi Wed 16-Oct-19 19:05:58

Language is totally moveable... it has to be. I have a CD of Middle English language ( I.e Chaucer)... and believe me most of us wouldn’t understand 2words in 5. It’s inevitable ... don’t fight it.

Greenfinch Wed 16-Oct-19 18:33:07

Passengers are now called customers which does not seem quite right.

Hetty58 Wed 16-Oct-19 18:23:52

Thank you BlueBell:

'Language is always changing thankfully or else we would still be speaking in Shakespeare’s tongue or worse still Chaucer'

Agreed!

Jaxie Wed 16-Oct-19 18:18:37

Old censuses have schoolchildren down as scholars: what about that?

Chestnut Wed 16-Oct-19 17:47:32

Bijou - but it's worrying that the English language is being simplified so much now. With the use of text-speak amongst youngsters I wonder if they will even be able to read 20th century books in the future. Victorian literature is fast becoming too complex to understand. And yet schoolchildren were expected to read such books in the past, which means their understanding of language must have been far superior to the children of today.

Bijou Wed 16-Oct-19 17:16:04

Over the years the English and probably other languages have always changed. We would not understand someone from say the seventieth century nor they us.
My 1990s Oxford Dictionary is definitely out of date. As long as we can make ourselves understood why worry.

suzette1613 Wed 16-Oct-19 17:11:13

Did that wrong, I am rubbish with computers!

suzette1613 Wed 16-Oct-19 17:10:37

Cabbie21, I wish there was a Like button! grin

Cabbie21 Wed 16-Oct-19 17:06:22

When talking about meals with my 14 year old grandson he was highly amused when I said we have a joint most Sundays.

luluaugust Wed 16-Oct-19 16:37:47

I thought train station was American.

suzette1613 Wed 16-Oct-19 16:30:54

The public school I attended changed its designation to independent school. Still the same school with the same governors etc.

Chestnut Wed 16-Oct-19 16:23:28

We've always used the term 'public school' for a private school in England which is a bit bonkers really. No-one else seems to do it, they all use the term 'public school' to mean a state school which makes more sense. Still, I guess we're stuck with that one.

Hellsbelles Wed 16-Oct-19 15:52:18

When did being a customer become a ' service user ?'

GillT57 Wed 16-Oct-19 15:51:50

it is the use of irrelevant points in a report which irritates me, when a 65 year old woman, for example, who has won the lottery/been mugged or whatever,she will be referred to as a 'granny', but the same does not apply to a man of the same age, he will never be referred to as grandfather. Likewise, everyone who has served in a conflict is referred to as 'hero', some are, some are not and it devalues the actions of those who are true heroes. Every actor/actress is 'former acme soap opera star' even if they had a bit part 15 years ago, it is petty, but it truly irritates the hell out of me

grandtanteJE65 Wed 16-Oct-19 15:40:12

I imagine that railway stations gradually became train stations as our generation who had called them that when children grew up and had our own wee ones. I don't mind what you call the place you go to get a train, but faith schools are another matter. That one gets my goat.

Bathsheba Wed 16-Oct-19 15:18:20

'Cohort', besides being the name of a group of Roman soldiers, has the specific meaning of 'group with shared characteristics'. When applied to schoolchildren it's a shorter way of saying 'children in the same year group'.

But if the word 'cohort' is replacing 'year group', how is that shorter? Both terms have two syllables.

4allweknow Wed 16-Oct-19 15:13:16

I have always regarded public schools other than in Scotland as private school eg Eton. If not a state school in Scotland then you went to private school eg Fettes. Never really hearf
"public" being used to refer to a state school in Scotland. Perhaps there is a local reference in that you use this.

gillyknits Wed 16-Oct-19 14:51:12

How about “to podium” if you win a medal at the Olympics?