… nope, this post has nothin’ to do with Katie Perry. But did it catch your attention?
You know what caught my attention? Having no power when I woke up this morning (ahem, 10:00) until almost 1:00. I had a “mini panic attack (see yesterday’s post for that joke…) about my food in the freezer, then stared out in bliss at this:
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| my feet… |
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| hmmm compared to man-go-round’s yeti footprint… |
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| not to be confused with the ice that dropped on my face |
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| enjoying the snow while it is still a novelty |
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| all along the watchtower-this one’s for you bobby d! |
So after warming myself back up with some tea (good earth, then celestial seasonings “gingerbread tea” from last xmas season) I resumed thinking about something strange that had been on my mind off and on all day…
you guessed it, more word nerdery.
Why is it that English speakers tend to slangify (obviously i’m guilty of this too inventing “slangify”) and misuse words to the point where they basically have no meaning out of the specific context? If I’ve lost you a bit, I’m thinking of words (most likely prepositions or adjectives) that technically have opposite meanings, but could be used interchangeably depending on context. How very, very confusing for a non-native speaker! Do other languages/cultures do this too and I just don’t know about it?
Cases in point (if you can think of more please do share to add to my petty cause)
Exhibit A– “in/out,” for example if a kid walks into best buy and inquires,
-“Is the new X-box game in?” vs. “Is the new X-box game out?”
same meaning, using words that mean opposites. Get my drift?
Exhibit B- “hot/cold”
-“the new pumpkin spice latte is so hot right now” vs. “the new pumpkin spice latte is really cool right now.”
Next Exhibit- “afloat/sunk” let’s say there is a business that is not doin so hot:
“we’re still afloat” vs. “we’re SUNK”
– it’s ALL about intonation/ context, the words do not seem to matter… is anyone else sensing my angst about this??? Can we just input ANY word and use sarcasm or inflection to get our meaning across? For crying out loud, we’re either geniuses or imbeciles for existing like this. I believe this is the main issue with email/online relations and communication. As much as this word nerd wants the words to matter, it is usually the nouns that people give importance to. It sure isn’t the prepositions, as we Minnesotans are widely known for ending our sentences with a handy “with,” “”too,” “along,” etc. etc. etc. and not caring that we are just adding words senselessly…
Another exhibit “up/down”- this one’s admittedly pretty slangy
“are you up for it?” vs. “are you down with it?”
This “exbibit” is a stretch: “save/close down” when at a computer
“sure, let me just save this” vs. “sure, let me just close down quick”
Okay, I think I’m dwindling here. My point, however, remains.
WHAT DO YOU PEOPLE ALL THINK?
Did anyone else lose power today? Did anyone else practically hibernate today? Are any of you jerks in warmer climates…? If so, enjoy my beautiful pictures, and know that it was cold. Not hot, just cold.
🙂
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