On Fri, Dec 19, 2008 at 5:37 AM, Aishwarya Subramanian < [email protected]> wrote:
> > And here are some of mine: the use of "hopefully" to mean "I hope that", > > "nauseous" to mean "nauseated", and in Delhi, "until" to mean "while". > > (Yes, really. "We can't have the meeting until he's not well.") > > > > ..which of course leads to *my* pet peeve in India in general: "offer open > till stocks last" > IMO form follows function with language. As long as the message is effectively delivered I shouldn't care much for the format of delivery. Of course I am more guilty than most for my use of irritatingly baroque prose in business meetings and every day situations. Irritating that is for the other 98% of the universe that couldn't care less. Still I believe it is my failing to some degree since this difference gets in the way of efficient communication. Second, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What is wrong usage and deviation from standard maybe also viewed as elegant - not unlike modern art. For example I love listening to my Ukranian and Hispanic colleagues when the invent new phrases and words on the fly to describe their thoughts in English. I think this is how language is enriched, and being stodgily conservative is helping no one. I will nevertheless fight tooth and nail against SMS lingo in any form even though I know I fight a losing battle :-) kthxbye, Cheeni
