Just had an official email on the subject of building 2,300 houses in my village that contained the phrase “subject to masterplanning”. WFT?

I don’t know what is more offensive, the proposal or the email.

“Tech” is another one. Anybody who says “Tech” should be fired into the sun, after a brief period of masterplanning of course.

I believe that if you hear anyone using that term in spoken conversation, you are legally allowed to punch them in the throat 😉

I do some of this. Mostly I don a shiny 70s suit, stroke my evil white cat, then unveil my megalomaniac masterplan, muwhahahahahahaha!

It’s a very common word in architecture/construction industry. See https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Masterplanning and http://awards.bdonline.co.uk/masterplanning-public-realm-architect-of-the-year/ It helps to distinguish it from a town plan/local plan/floor plan etc.

That’s not to say it’s fully accepted: http://m.bdonline.co.uk/5084689.article?mobilesite=enabled

masterplanning

just planning, done by a tosser ?

tech as in an abbrev. of ‘technology’?

I’ve a lot of this printed out and stuck on my wall but, the highlight in this case is:

Things Linguists Know that Most People Don’t

That language constantly changes and that language evolution is not to be feared.

Too many people fear language change. Many people think that if we don’t attempt to regulate the “correct” way of speaking – from spelling to pronunciation to word choice – then we will all plunge into anarchy or some other misfortune. It’s a shame. Language constantly evolves, and even those political/cultural elites who claim to use it “correctly” fail to do so themselves; this is why you find split infinitives in written opinions of the U.S. Supreme Court, for example. (And even those who fancy themselves guardians of The Correct Way of Speaking can’t even agree on whether split infinitives are kosher). Societies rise and fall, but not because too many people started to say “ain’t” when they should have said “isn’t.”

tl;dr

Language evolves. It’s a good thing.

Language evolves. It’s a good thing.

innit

bruv

Language evolves. It’s a good thing.

…unless it sounds really ****.

Tech.
When did you start talking in abbreviations?
Oh, I don’t know, I just got into the hab.
(With apologies to PGW)

Do you say “plane” or “aeroplane”, “phone” or “telephone”, “maths” or “mathematics”? There are lots of abbreviations in common usage. As noted above, language evolves, so long as it evolves such that the new way is understandable then there’s no problem.

A bigger problem to comprehending what’s been written is people making the wrong choice between words like: “their”, “there” and “they’re” or “to”, “two” and “too” or (bizarrely) “then”, “than” and “that”

As long as evolution isn’t the excuse used by those who are wrong, we’ll be fine.
I don’t see any problem with making a verb out of a noun, or any other grammatical change, as long as you know what is correct and can explain the rule. Very much like foul language, if you use it as an expression and have alternative vocabulary, then all is well and good. If the foul language is your vocabulary, less good.
Omg, lol, hth.

Do all words that are new to you cause as much angst?

Master plans are good things to have. They have been around as long as people have planned what they build and where. Masterplanning is an activity that would produce a master plan.

Masterplanning is a recognised term that’s been in common usage for about 25 years…
As regards language change, when I was studying in the Us I had to take an English elective, and the very anglophile English professor (from Harvard) said that a language changes fastest the closer one is to its home. So as a result we are getting Americanisms back to us which upset people like my father (who’s 83) without them realising that they’re actually old English words and phrases from the 17th and 18th centuries.

I would hope that anyone proposing to build 2,300 new homes would have a master plan, but maybe it’s just me.

I would hope that anyone proposing to build 2,300 new homes would have a master plan, but maybe it’s just me.

As long as you don’t hear they have been masterplanning cos that would send you MAD WITH RAGE.

So as a result we are getting Americanisms back to us which upset people like my father (who’s 83) without them realising that they’re actually old English words and phrases from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Like “color” and “theater”? I was once informed that many of the American spellings were originals, and that the weirdly written ones we use in Britain were changed to make them look more French. Apparently being French was pretty cool at one point.

“obligated” spoken on R4 today.

WTF

“obligated” spoken on R4 today.

WTF

The past tense of “obligate”? How very dare they!

What would you prefer they swapped out for masterplanning?

I’ve been sick in my mouth.

Current American spelling is a mixture of English written by the settlers and Webster attempting to simplify and formalise (formalize?) the English language. I *think* most of the “our” => “or” and “re” to “er” endings are due to Webster, “centre” came from old French or Latin so is likely to have been that spelling anyway.

The “wh” words like “when” used to have the w & h transposed, so “hwenn”.

One of my dislikes of American English is “gotten”, just sounds so wrong and ungainly.

Everyday is a school day on STW!

Thanks for the lesson Whitestone, it’s an interesting subject.

Does Barrie know best?

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8L5l3UxCiw[/video]

One of my dislikes of American English is “gotten”, just sounds so wrong and ungainly.

“He was gotten in drink: is not the humour conceited?”

The Merry Wives of Windsor/ ACT I/ SCENE III.

Fercryingoutloud!

Just read Bill Bryson’s book, Mother Tongue, and you’ll gather all you need to know for the limitless future internet discussions on langwitch* evolution.

*Never quite caught on, that one. Nice try Roald.

One of my dislikes of American English is “gotten”, just sounds so wrong and ungainly.

We will soon be dispensing with the present perfect too. That isn’t a development of the language, that isn’t positive evolution.
That is murdering our grammar.
Grammar is an interesting point in the English language in that, unlike many languages where the grammar was sorted at the ealy stages of development, was developed to provide rules for an already established language (and a language that was formed over many years from at least 5 different and sepearte languages). The clearest example is the rules for adjectives, comparatives and superlatives.
Here endeth the lesson.

Do you say “plane” or “aeroplane”, “phone” or “telephone”, “maths” or “mathematics”? There are lots of abbreviations in common usage. As noted above, language evolves, so long as it evolves such that the new way is understandable then there’s no problem.

A bigger problem to comprehending what’s been written is people making the wrong choice between words like: “their”, “there” and “they’re” or “to”, “two” and “too” or (bizarrely) “then”, “than” and “that”

I say “airplane”, obvs. Do you think I’m some sort of throwback to a few years ago who hasn’t watched, like, Buffy the Vampire Slayer?

@ransos – touche! Presumably similar in construct to “forgotten”, I knew it wasn’t an American English new construct and had come from old English. Doesn’t mean to say I like it though – but I don’t mind “forgotten”. 😕

How many people use “thee”, “thou” and “thy” today (other than in the occasional prayer/hymn)?

Edit: @captainsasquatch – my father (a Cumbrian farmer) used “snew” as the past participle of “snow” and “flew” as the past participle of “flow”. I.e. “It snew yesterday” and “The river flew down there once”.

@ransos – touche! Presumably similar in construct to “forgotten”, I knew it wasn’t an American English new construct and had come from old English. Doesn’t mean to say I like it though – but I don’t mind “forgotten”.

Ill-gotten? Begotten? I assume “gotten” became detached and used in its own right at some point.

It’s the past participle of “get”. In modern English we’d say “I got the shopping” whereas in American English it would be “I’ve gotten the shopping”. Or something like that.

It’s the past participle of “get”.

Get: one of the ugliest words in the English language. There is almost always a superior alternative.

It’s the past participle of “get”. In modern English we’d say “I got the shopping” whereas in American English it would be “I’ve gotten the shopping”. Or something like that.

Sure, we use “got” as both the simple past and past participle. But there is a logic and consistency (with other present/ past participles) to getting/ gotten.

Get: one of the ugliest words in the English language. There is almost always a superior alternative.

When I rule the world, “can I get” will be a criminal offence.

Indeed. It’s so rude (and incorrect). Should be: “May I have ..?”