clunking english

[Arch]

I blame Nick Park for starting it in the electric (or was it gas) heating adverts - that had gems like "turn-off-and-onable".

Not really down to Nick Park - those were all unscripted interviews with real people, so it was basic English usage. "turn-off-and-onable" was brillant.

Isn't it true that nearly all children go through the same phase of experimenting with English, saying things like "Sheeps", and go-ed, when they are never given those words as examples - they are just playing with applying the rules to irregular words. I guess some of us have a greater tendency to carry that on in later life.

I've picked up adding -age to words, mostly from the Tea? thread. As in

"I've got some cake",
"oooh, Hoorah for cakeage!"

 

[Kirstie]

And don't forget 'Sniglets' - it's where I get alfredhitchcooking from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sniglet

 

[Arch]

Some of those are similar to a list we used to have up in the lab, a competition run by the Washington post to invent new words by changing, taking away, or adding one letter. The ones I can remember off hand are:

Caterpallor - the colour you go after finding half a grub in your bitten apple
Giraffiti - spray paint writing up really high

 

[ChrisKH]

My five year old tends to say "I forgotted" which seems more acceptable than I forgot somehow.

 

[yello]

Isn't it true that nearly all children go through the same phase of experimenting with English, saying things like "Sheeps", and go-ed, when they are never given those words as examples - they are just playing with applying the rules to irregular words

So thems that claim to know would have us believe. It's one of the proofs cited for language being rule driven. The child derives the rule from the examples they hear and applies the rule to create new words. Hence, they derive that past tense is formed by adding 'ed', so you get the regular construction of goed. Sadly all languages have irregularities just to keep us on our toes.

Sometimes the irregularities are ignored/not learned and become, arguably,part of the language/grammar proper in a language. For example, in NZ they commonly says 'yous' for the 2nd person plural - because the rule says plurals are formed by adding 's' to the singular, so 'you' becomes 'yous'. Completely logical!

 

[Flying_Monkey]

For example, in NZ they commonly says 'yous' for the 2nd person plural - because the rule says plurals are formed by adding 's' to the singular, so 'you' becomes 'yous'. Completely logical!

That's normal in Geordie too.

 

[swee'pea99]

Some of those are similar to a list we used to have up in the lab, a competition run by the Washington post to invent new words by changing, taking away, or adding one letter. The ones I can remember off hand are:

Caterpallor - the colour you go after finding half a grub in your bitten apple
Giraffiti - spray paint writing up really high

Ignoranus - someone who's both stupid and an peanut.

Read 'em all at http://www.scribd.com/doc/396130/Washington-Post-Neologism-Contest

 

[MajorMantra]

[quote name='swee'pea99']I tried to contribute to that. They put out a query on what people call their remote control. Ours has always been 'the plinker' - I was amazed to discover that anyone calls it anything else, but plinker, it turned out, was pretty much unique to us.[/quote]

I don't know if there's a connection, but I have encountered the word "plinking" used to mean shooting at improvised targets for fun.

I like the -age suffix mentioned above. I think the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series may have had an influence in popularising it.

Matthew

 

[Keith Oates]

The first referred to Team Colombia as "the winningest team" >,

I also noticed that in Cyclingnews and was lass than happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[rich p]

The first referred to Team Colombia as "the winningest team" >,

I also noticed that in Cyclingnews and was lass than happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nicole or Victoria?

 

[Fnaar]

[quote name='swee'pea99']I tried to contribute to that. They put out a query on what people call their remote control. Ours has always been 'the plinker' - I was amazed to discover that anyone calls it anything else, but plinker, it turned out, was pretty much unique to us.[/QUOTE]

My dad always used to call it the "discomknockerator" (I've never written it out before)

And when i was a kid, and had a dalek suit for Christmas, i called the thing sticking out of its head the "conshernation". And I called dinosaurs "donabones"

 

[Fnaar]

We still call toast "stoat" because that's the way my daughter pronounced it when she was little. It's disconcerting for houseguests.

S'funny you should say that.. we call it "toe-ast" (no idea why!) and fruit is "froo-it"

 

[ChrisKH]

We still call toast "stoat" because that's the way my daughter pronounced it when she was little. It's disconcerting for houseguests.

My youngest still calls a cup of tea "a cut a tea" so that's what it is in our house.

 

[swee'pea99]

What I want to know is how come impertinent doesn't mean irrelevant, inflammable means exactly the same as flammable, and why have I never heard of anyone being gruntled?

 

[papercorn2000]

Or indeed Shevelled