I don’t use the word super like that but don’t mind it.
My bad 😉
The thing about language is that you can often learn a lot about a person from how they use it.
Super diddums.
So are you suggesting it is only Canadians who use that word to emphasise the(edit, damn, I am at it now using words incorrectly) following word? Because I am quite sure my daughter isn’t Canadian
It seems that you are annoyed at an article where a Canadian says a word that is probably super-correct in his usage, but really you are annoyed at your daughter's use of it, because she's English and it's super-inappropriate for an English person not to speak like the Queen? Oy oy saveloy! (I think that's how you English folk speak nowadays, innit?)
I like this thread - it's very unique.
It's bad but it doesn't annoy me as much as 'can i get', as opposed to 'can i have'
Are there any grammar experts in here who can say for certain that this new use of the word is correct?
Well yes. OED recognises it as an "informal adverb" so it's fine here or in slang, but you'd probably not want to use it formally, and notes that it's use as an intensifier as been gaining ground since the '90s (First recorded use 1946 - American cake recipe "Super-Simple" ) Miriam Webster also recognises it.
So, not new, and yes. Sorry.
If I hear my children say it the immediate response is “No, but you may be able to have one”
I recall my teachers saying the same when I said "please can I" instead of "please may I". As a sign of advancing years, it's up there with an involuntary exhalation when you sit down.
"You can, but you may not" was a favourite of one of my English teachers.
Mind you, she's probably dead now. Makes you think.
I recall my teachers saying the same when I said “please can I” instead of “please may I”. As a sign of advancing years, it’s up there with an involuntary exhalation when you sit down.
Oh dear god! I do that exhalation thing
What annoys me is they way that yout uses the word like. Like it was, like, punctuation.
I mean, why can’t they just use **** like normal people?
It’s bad but it doesn’t annoy me as much as ‘can i get‘, as opposed to ‘can i have‘
Why though? Both are shorthand constructs. One is just less formal than the other. What you mean is "Can you make/go and get/ and bring to me/ while I wait.
But you wouldn't use that instruction would you? (because it would be weird)
Server "Hello sir, what would you like today?"
You: "I'd like you to make and bring to me; a coffee, thanks..."
Use whichever you prefer, getting humpty about it is just making your blood pressure go up for no good reason.
“You can, but you may not” was a favourite of one of my English teachers.
Oh yeah. "Anyone can go to the toilet, but they may only do so with my permission. Now sit down".
He's probably dead too.
Are there any grammar experts in here who can say for certain that this new use of the word is correct?
If the meaning is unambiguous, it's grammatically correct. It may not agree with style guides, but our grammatical processing has no problem with it. The objections are just old people complaining about young people.
Oh dear god! I do that exhalation thing
Me too. But I try to not be annoyed by evolving forms of expression where the meaning is perfectly clear.
After all, back when I were a lad, "wicked" was used to mean "really good" so I would be a bit of a hypocrite to complain...
Well yes. OED recognises it as an “informal adverb” so it’s fine here or in slang, but you’d probably not want to use it formally, and notes that it’s use as an intensifier as been gaining ground since the ’90s (First recorded use 1946 – American cake recipe “Super-Simple” ) Miriam Webster also recognises it.
So, not new, and yes. Sorry.
Well bugger me! I guess I am going to have to let it wash over me like the overuse of the word 'absolutely'
After all, back when I were a lad, “wicked” was used to mean “really good” so I would be a bit of a hypocrite to complain…
Did you flap your fingers in a snappy fashion when saying it? Trying to think of a word that was used when I was a yoof. We used "Ace" a lot, and "Brill"
Why though? Both are shorthand constructs. One is just less formal than the other. What you mean is “Can you make/go and get/ and bring to me/ while I wait.
So if I said to a person " Can I get a coffee?" to me that would be me asking the person if I was allowed to sort a coffee out for myself?
So if I said to a person ” Can I get a coffee?” to me that would be me asking the person if I was allowed to sort a coffee out for myself?
Do you think that the person serving would be in any way unclear as to what you wanted? I don't like it much either, but by the same argument "can I have" is also wrong.
But equally "May I have a coffee?" can also be answered very simply and correctly with "Yes, you may"
Context is everything, and most probably the irritation comes from what you're used to hearing, and what setting you're in. Like I said, both are shorthand for please make and bring to me the item I want. Neither are right or wrong.
Wait for "super awesome"
Wait for “super awesome”
Well, "awesome" literally means an overwhelming feeling of reverence, and its usage largely replaced "marvellous" which means a great wonder. Both evolved to mean "really good".
But equally “May I have a coffee?” can also be answered very simply and correctly with “Yes, you may”
My wife does this. I hear the kettle boiling and shout "May/can I have a coffee" she says "Yes" 5 mins later she walks through with one cup of tea and no coffee. I say "Did you make me one?" She says "No, you didn't ask me to" Smiles, and wanders back to her office with a spring in her step
Nothing wrong with it. Very standard usage in physics - super cooled, super heated.
It grated a bit when I first noticed it being maybe over-used in surfing, snowboarding media, but over the 15, 20 years since then, I've got over it.
Whilst "can I get..." makes my shit itch, we're perhaps getting excessively pedantic here now. If you go into a coffee shop, there is a prior understanding that you might just be there to buy coffee and the person on the other side may well in fact be employed to provide you with a cup of hot, brown, caffeinated goodness on request. If you asked "may I have a coffee please?" and the server replied "yes you may" then stood there looking gormlessly at you awaiting further instruction, would you consider that a sensible response?
Can I / may I / could I have... is really just English hyper-politeness. We all know what it means.
Would you prefer "hey, make me a coffee, bitch" ?
This thread is ill
While we are on, how about "perfect", it's all the ruddy time at work.
Great feedback too
It is a Latin prefix you proles - it means "above, extra". So to say I am "super excited" is correct usage if one is more than averagely excited.
"Great, super, knockout" is also acceptable as it is from The Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin, one of the best, dare I say perfect, comedy shows made.
This thread is ill
This made me super laughy
It's a lazy word to use. I can't stand how it's increasingly used these days.
Schwalbe tyres, Super Gravity, Super Trail, Super Gravity & Super Race....
Avoid using the word ‘very’ because it’s very, very lazy
So to say I am “super excited” is correct usage if one is more than averagely excited
It would be if we spoke Latin.
But saying 'may I get a coffee' rightly gets an eye roll and a question about which coffee would you like whereas 'can I get an oat milk latte with a shot of hazelnut syrup' will result in a reply of 'sure' and following bleeping your phone on the counter you will be presented with something undrinkable.
Surely one should say “ Good afternoon coffee bar person. I wish to purchase a steaming mug of your finest Arabica beaned liquid refreshment please.” That way there can be no confusion.
My 14y/o son told me Mum was out meeting the Realtor, because he couldnt remember the term Estate Agent.
I do love the word "super" without suffix in the 1980s style. Vacuous characters in John leCarre novels were fond of it as an affirmation.
I blame Mary Poppins.
Why can't she just be verycalifragilisticexpialidocious
Uber thread
It's an outrage. I demand that my native language stays exactly the same as the version I spoke when I was between 18 and 23, and everyone else must comply!
Oftentimes 😮💨
(It's not going away. I will try to relax.)
On super etc surely it's best to keep use of any adverbs/adjectives/modifiers to a minimum? As per Yorkshireman channeling Elmore Leonard advised by lawyers. It's the adjectives can tie you in knots. Best avoided.
Very Scandi! Howies made a 'Super Nice' tee 10+ years ago dedicated to the Swedes. It's cute...
I like honey. So I think that super is a super word.
How is this thread not, like, super annoying? Oh. My. GOD. Duuhr?
