English Language - what "Does your head in" ??

[Jdsk]

This kind of thing we do to the spelling of words cos if you said the word with it's new altered spelling as in example a) it would mean something else. Like inflate changing to inflat --- able. Yet replace is still replace --- able.

What happens when you add -able to these verbs?
a) argue, breathe, debate, inflate, translate, value

b) notice, replace

Answer
a) Omit the final ‘e’ from the root verb:

arguable, breathable, debatable, inflatable , translatable, valuable

b) Don’t omit the final ‘e’ from the root verb:

noticeable, (ir)replaceable

Yes. It's about whether the next vowel softens the preceding c or g. If it doesn't you need one that does: i, e, y.

Jonathan

[Manc33]

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Lowkey
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=highkey

Jonathan

I thought it might be on there.

As far as I was aware, high key is a white background in photos.

I low key want to have my photo taken with a high key background.

[Jdsk]

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Lowkey
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=highkey

I thought it might be on there.

As far as I was aware, high key is a white background in photos.

I low key want to have my photo taken with a high key background.

Yes. My first thought was about photography. Although "keeping it low key" and similar has been around for some time.

Jonathan

[mattheus]

If enough people say "pacific" when MickF would say "specific",
would jdsk conclude that "pacific" was correct English usage?

Would this usage need to make it into the OED to pass jdsk acceptance?

[Jdsk]

If enough people say "pacific" when MickF would say "specific",
would jdsk conclude that "pacific" was correct English usage?

Would this usage need to make it into the OED to pass jdsk acceptance?

The easy bit is the second. The *OED and other authorities describe and explain words and how they are used. They don't say what is "right" or "wrong" or "acceptable" or "unacceptable".

And of course this part of the debate is about the well-known difference between descriptive and prescriptive linguistics.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic_description
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic_prescription

Jonathan

* And my recent use of the OED above was simply to show that daytime is a word used in English. Dictionaries are good at that.

[mattheus]

If enough people say "pacific" when MickF would say "specific",
would jdsk conclude that "pacific" was correct English usage?

Would this usage need to make it into the OED to pass jdsk acceptance?

The easy bit is the second. The *OED and other authorities describe and explain words and how they are used. They don't say what is "right" or "wrong" or "acceptable" or "unacceptable".

And of course this part of the debate is about the well-known difference between descriptive and prescriptive linguistics.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic_description
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic_prescription

Jonathan

* And my recent use of the OED above was simply to show that daytime is a word used in English. Dictionaries are good at that.

I think you're dodging the question by simply referring to Wiki; we're discussing our own views here. If you just want to post URLs, that's fine, but we're not the Wikipedia discussion forum!

What is YOUR view of when a word/usage is "right" or "wrong"? I chose "pacific" because most people would call it "wrong". Most.
What is YOUR view?

[Bmblbzzz]

I think that's a matter of pronunciation rather than vocabulary.

[mattheus]

I think that's a matter of pronunciation rather than vocabulary.

Do you have an example of a common vocabulary mistake?

[Bmblbzzz]

Off the top of my head? No. If I think of one or encounter one later, maybe I'll post it (if I remember).

[Mike Sales]

Do you have an example of a common vocabulary mistake?

Cross bar?
Peddles?
Breaks?

Beefburger?

[thirdcrank]

Do you have an example of a common vocabulary mistake?

Cross bar?
Peddles?
Breaks?

Beefburger?

I think peddle/pedal is an excellent example for what is, after all, a cycling forum.

In the distant past, I made a long waffling post based on the definition of a pedlar - goes from town to town or other men's houses etc - explaining how a pedaller could not be a pedlar. Unfortunately, it disappeared (I think it must have been on a classified ad which had run on a bit. )

[Mike Sales]

If you search on malapropisms there is a rich harvest. I think that my favourite is 'an allegory on the banks of the Nile.'

[Mick F]

Malapropisms, I like!

We have an insinuator in the garden, I burn paper and cardboard in it.

[Manc33]

These are American but I keep hearing and reading them all the time.

"Lowkey"

Usage:
"I'm lowkey so self-conscious"

Why say lowkey? Why not just leave the word out and say "I'm so self-conscious"?

"Lowkey" seems to be used when there's embarrassment about the situation. Rather than just say you're "So self-conscious" it's somehow better to say "I'm lowkey so self-conscious"

Another one: "ngl" (not gonna lie)

Usage:
"I'm not gonna lie, I was self-conscious"

This implies that usually you are lying, so why say it?

Skip to 14m 22s (the link should skip to that time)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2A5LFu1twQ&t=862s

[Audax67]

Why say lowkey? Why not just leave the word out and say "I'm so self-conscious"?

And why write it as lowkey? English is non-agglutinative; low key used as a adjective needs a hyphen.

Any day now it'll be lokey.

And come to that, why be inconsistent? If lowkey then selfconscious, surely?