English Usage
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robin orton
Posts: 716
Joined: Feb 2009
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05-09-2013 11:53 AM
'VolunTARily' is another word where the stress seems to be moving to the (default?) antepenultimate syllable. What I believe to be the traditional RP pronunciation includes two successive indefinite vowels (what I believe linguists call a 'schwa') - 'VOl-uhn-tuh-ri-ly'. Perhaps people think that sounds awkward. Personally, I think it sounds rather classy.
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robin orton
Posts: 716
Joined: Feb 2009
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07-09-2013 08:48 AM
'Picture perfect'. A phrase new to me which I've heard twice in the last twenty-four hours. Is it about to become fashionable?
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robin orton
Posts: 716
Joined: Feb 2009
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11-09-2013 08:17 AM
'There's no timeline yet for action against Syria' (BBC news). What's wrong with the good old 'timetable'? To me, a 'timeline' is a graphic way of showing the chronology of past events, so that you can see at a glance for example that the dinosaurs came a long time before the evolution of human beings.
But yes, I know, language too evolves, let's just get used to it...
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rshdunlop
Posts: 1,111
Joined: Jun 2008
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11-09-2013 08:33 AM
I wonder if the use of 'timeline' there was a genuine mistake? Users of social media know the term well, and it does indeed refer to a sequence of past events, as it should. As it has come into more common use with the rise of social media (people often refer to checking someone's 'timeline' on Twitter) I wonder if the journalist who said it meant timetable but fluffed it?
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robin orton
Posts: 716
Joined: Feb 2009
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11-09-2013 09:18 AM
It's not the first time I've noticed this usage, so I don't think you can blame it on an individual mistake.
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lacb
Posts: 627
Joined: Mar 2005
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11-09-2013 10:45 AM
A timeline can also be used in project management so it is not just used for past events. I think that using timeline in preference to timetable is perhaps better suited in this context as it more strongly implies a forward direction or purpose (or lack of in this case).
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robin orton
Posts: 716
Joined: Feb 2009
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11-09-2013 10:58 AM
Yes, that's an interesting point, lacb, you may be right. I suppose 'timetable' suggests something more static, such as a school timetable.
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robin orton
Posts: 716
Joined: Feb 2009
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13-09-2013 04:40 PM
I know that 'no problem' is increasingly used to respond to 'thank you', like the German 'bitte' or the Italian 'prego.' But I heard it used today in a way I don't think I've ever come across before:
Vet's receptionist (consulting appointments diary and pointing to dog): Is this Charlie?
Me: Yes.
Vet's receptionist: No problem.
Why might it be a problem, one wonders?
A new way of saying, 'Good, please take a seat?'
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MightyMouse
Posts: 122
Joined: Apr 2012
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13-09-2013 06:48 PM
Might it just have been the receptionist doing that thing I know I do from time to time - using the wrong stock phrase because your brain's on automatic?
"Happy birthday."
"Thanks - and you."
This post was last modified: 13-09-2013 06:49 PM by MightyMouse.
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Jane_D
Posts: 189
Joined: Jan 2010
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13-09-2013 07:00 PM
Or 'No problem' maybe = 'ah yes here you are in the diary, thank God nothing's gone wrong this time'?
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Jane_D
Posts: 189
Joined: Jan 2010
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11-10-2013 07:33 PM
Shame about 'empathic' being replaced with 'empathetic'. It was even used on Newsnight Review the other day. I always feel 'empathic' has more gravitas somehow.
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robin orton
Posts: 716
Joined: Feb 2009
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11-10-2013 09:51 PM
Interesting. I must admit I would naturally say 'empathetic', on the analogy of 'sympathetic'. The Oxford English Dictionary gives both. The first recorded usage of 'empathic' is from 1909, as a technical term in psychology. 'Empathetic' goes back to 1932 - it first appeared in America - and the context of the earliest citations seems to be rather broader and less technical than that of 'empathic.'
I shall try to remember to say 'empathic' in future, which I agree sounds classier.
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Jane_D
Posts: 189
Joined: Jan 2010
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11-10-2013 10:08 PM
Thanks Robin. That is interesting that 'empathetic' has been around so long and is not, as I thought, a new-fangled expression. I must have picked up 'empathic' through psychology reading.
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rshdunlop
Posts: 1,111
Joined: Jun 2008
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11-10-2013 11:07 PM
I thought 'empathic' was a sci-fi invention - 'empaths' reading people's emotions.
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robin orton
Posts: 716
Joined: Feb 2009
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11-10-2013 11:17 PM
So 'pathic' as an alternative for 'pathetic'?
Ah......perhaps not.
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robin orton
Posts: 716
Joined: Feb 2009
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12-11-2013 05:24 PM
I have noticed on a forum based not a million miles from SE23 an interesting extension of the usage of the word 'kudos'. I think it generally used to carry the sense of 'glory' or 'honour' - 'His exploits on the football field brought him much kudos'. But I see it can now be used to mean 'credit' or 'congratulations', as in 'kudos to you for your generous gesture.' Originally a US usage, according to my dictionary.
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rshdunlop
Posts: 1,111
Joined: Jun 2008
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12-11-2013 09:38 PM
I don't particularly like that use of 'kudos' and it jarred when I read it. I think you can earn kudos, I don't think people can 'give' it as praise.
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lacb
Posts: 627
Joined: Mar 2005
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13-11-2013 10:53 AM
Funny that, as I thought it was just a synonym for praise. In which case either usage works nicely. Actually from Greek, BTW.
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robin orton
Posts: 716
Joined: Feb 2009
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13-11-2013 11:08 AM
The Greek word means 'glory' or 'renown', rather than 'praise', I find.
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lacb
Posts: 627
Joined: Mar 2005
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13-11-2013 11:12 AM
If you prefer. Still works though.
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