Vigile Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 "I could care less" I'm guilty of that one and I've worked as a professional editor. TBH, I hadn't thought about it until you brought it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScifiChick Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 I see this so often that I caught myself doing it too! Most grammar Nazis miss these. The lose/loose dilemma: You can lose something that was set loose by someone else. Or: Tighten that loose bolt and don't lose it! There! I said it properly. I never miss it. But until now, I was the only person I knew that used it correctly, so I gave up correcting people, but it is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwc Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Its short for, "I could care less...oh wait...no I can't" Yeah. Since I have a rather sarcastic streak in me I've always taken this comment in this way. I could care less. That is a statement dripping with sarcasm. You couldn't care any less if you tried. Usually it comes after trying and trying to care about something but ultimately throwing in the towel. You're dealing with someone that makes it impossible to care anymore so the sarcasm comes out and you could care less about them and their problem(s). mwc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwc Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 ... but it is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. I hope you don't loose your mind over this. mwc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thought2Much Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 ... but it is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. I hope you don't loose your mind over this. mwc WHARGARBL!!!!!!!! Sorry about that. That was an instinctive reaction. It's a pet peeve of mine, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigile Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Its short for, "I could care less...oh wait...no I can't" Yeah. Since I have a rather sarcastic streak in me I've always taken this comment in this way. I could care less. That is a statement dripping with sarcasm. You couldn't care any less if you tried. Usually it comes after trying and trying to care about something but ultimately throwing in the towel. You're dealing with someone that makes it impossible to care anymore so the sarcasm comes out and you could care less about them and their problem(s). mwc That's how I always understood it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CelticWhisper Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 As I understand it, it's a truncated version of "(regarding the matter at hand), I know nothing and could care less." So it's essentially a shorthand way of saying "I could care less than nothing about this." Unfortunately, leaving off the "than nothing" has the unfortunate effect of reversing the meaning for those unfamiliar with the original expression. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YellowJacket Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Not sayin' NPR is the highest form of media, but it probably is on MY radio. About a yr ago I noted hearing one of the hosts pronounce the "t" in often. Now it's everywhere. What was once Ebonics is now Standard American English. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest end3 Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Let's not forget prostrate and prostate... You know...."Prostate yourselves before the Lord".... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YellowJacket Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 I had a horse wrangler in a show I was riding in always pronounce the "Cavalry Charge" as Calvary. After the first 10 times I realized he wasn't trying to make a joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Not sayin' NPR is the highest form of media, but it probably is on MY radio. About a yr ago I noted hearing one of the hosts pronounce the "t" in often. Now it's everywhere. What was once Ebonics is now Standard American English. Pronouncing the "t" in "often" is not an "Ebonics" thing but is more widespread than that and has been around for a long time. If you look in Oxford dictionary, the alternative pronunciation is with a "t". Besides, the history of Ebonics is 400 years long. It's not so new. I read somewhere that the Brits pronounce the "t", but I can't confirm that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
par4dcourse Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 I hate ATM machine (auto teller machine machine) and AM with a description, as in "the party will be 3 AM that morning.' "Interned" for interred has cropped up a lot lately, too. (So you were captured and forced by the enemy to be a doctor?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwc Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Not sayin' NPR is the highest form of media, but it probably is on MY radio. About a yr ago I noted hearing one of the hosts pronounce the "t" in often. Now it's everywhere. What was once Ebonics is now Standard American English. I pronounce it something like off-ten. Are you saying it should be off-in? With a silent "t?" I suppose I might do that if I'm being lazy but usually I try to get that "t" in there (and always have). Maybe this is a regional thing? Or are you effen with me? mwc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YellowJacket Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Not sayin' NPR is the highest form of media, but it probably is on MY radio. About a yr ago I noted hearing one of the hosts pronounce the "t" in often. Now it's everywhere. What was once Ebonics is now Standard American English. I pronounce it something like off-ten. Are you saying it should be off-in? With a silent "t?" I suppose I might do that if I'm being lazy but usually I try to get that "t" in there (and always have). Maybe this is a regional thing? Or are you effen with me? mwc In the northeast US in the 60s, your grammar school teacher would ALWAYS stop and remind you that the "t" is silent. As a child I had never voiced the "t" so it was not an issue with moi, but we had inner city kids bussed from downtown Philly who were corrected until they learned the correct pronounciation. The silent "t" of "often" would never cross my lips unless I was ridiculing someone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YellowJacket Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 I read somewhere that the Brits pronounce the "t", but I can't confirm that. If they did, a 15 minute gag in "Pirates of Penzance" would have to be cut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 I read somewhere that the Brits pronounce the "t", but I can't confirm that. If they did, a 15 minute gag in "Pirates of Penzance" would have to be cut. Pirate English is not proper English any more than Ebonics. So I'm not sure "Arrh" is a proper "Yes" or not? Here's a UK forum and the response from a Brit: http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081209222803AA0fK6R I am English, in my 50's, from the South West of England and currently resident in the South East of England. I pronounce "soften" and "listen" without the "t" sound, as does almost every native speaker of English that I am aware of. However, I pronounced the word "often" with the "T" sound; both my parents do as well, as do all three of my children. I am inclined to think that this is not a regionalism because I remember that, wherever I have lived, there has always been a lively debate about this matter, with some people insisting that "ofn" is the correct way to say it, and others, like myself, sounding the "t". But then you have other Brits down below saying that they don't pronounce the "t". USAGE When pronouncing often, some speakers sound the : t, saying 'off-ten'; for others, it is silent, as in : soften,: fasten,: listen. Either pronunciation is acceptable, although 'off-en' is more common. Source: New Oxford American Dictionary My point is, it's not from Ebonics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 I found something interesting about the history of the "t" in often: According to Random House II (1987), OFTEN was pronounced with a t- sound until the 17th century, when a pronunciation without the (t) came to predominate in the speech of the educated, in both North America and Great Britain, and the earlier pronunciation fell into disfavor. Common use of a spelling pronunciation has since restored the (t) for many speakers, and today [AWF-in] and [AWF-tin]…exist side by side. Although it is still sometimes criticized, OFTEN with a (t) is now so widely heard from educated speakers that it has become fully standard once again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlphaToOmega Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Not sayin' NPR is the highest form of media, but it probably is on MY radio. About a yr ago I noted hearing one of the hosts pronounce the "t" in often. Now it's everywhere. What was once Ebonics is now Standard American English. The etymology often: Oft c.1300, extended form of oft, originally before vowels and h-, probably by infl. of M.E. selden "seldom." In common use from 16c., replacing oft. So technically its pronounced: Off-ten. Unless one pronounces Oft as Off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlphaToOmega Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 I read somewhere that the Brits pronounce the "t", but I can't confirm that. If they did, a 15 minute gag in "Pirates of Penzance" would have to be cut. Pirate English is not proper English any more than Ebonics. So I'm not sure "Arrh" is a proper "Yes" or not? The incorrect pronunciation in the case of the play is what results in the humour. Had it been correctly pronounced there would be no confusion. Australia and England have a very similar sense of humour in this respect and much of our comedies revolve around mispronouncing words causing confusion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScifiChick Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Both of my parents are from Virginia. I was raised in Georgia. Everyone I knew pronounced 'often' with the 't'. I pronounced it that way all the way until I studied with a speech therapist to lose my southern accent for acting. It was then that I was taught to drop the 't'. Now whether or not I pronounce it with the 't' is arbitrary. It really has nothing to do with ebonics however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlphaToOmega Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Both of my parents are from Virginia. I was raised in Georgia. Everyone I knew pronounced 'often' with the 't'. I pronounced it that way all the way until I studied with a speech therapist to lose my southern accent for acting. It was then that I was taught to drop the 't'. Now whether or not I pronounce it with the 't' is arbitrary. It really has nothing to do with ebonics however. Cos I'm like an Australian and I pronounce it correctly, to a T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScifiChick Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Incidentally, the condescension towards ebonics as some sort of total corruption of the English language is a mistake. The history of that dialect is really very fascinating. Essentially, it's a combination of languages, and it's primarily African, and it was developed as a way of keeping the slave owners from knowing what the slaves were saying by convincing them they couldn't speak English properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noggy Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 I hate it when people use herp derp incorrectly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 I hate it when people use herp derp incorrectly. Or meh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noggy Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 I hate it when people use herp derp incorrectly. Or meh. derp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts