I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Off-Topic => Off-Topic: Talk about anything you want. => Topic started by: MooseMom on July 30, 2013, 02:24:17 PM
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When did "aggression" turn into "aggressiveness"?
Since I watch a lot of sports, I've noticed that more and more broadcasters are appreciating an athlete's "aggressiveness". I just figured that sports broadcasters are dumb.
But then I heard Rachel Maddow make note of someone's "aggressiveness", and my ears really perked up. You might not agree with her political views, but you can't deny that she is well educated. I was gobsmacked when I heard her use that word.
My husband and I now take great sport in noting other such instances of "ion" becoming "iveness. I can't think of any others offhand, but the next time I hear one, I'll post about it.
Oh, here's one. "Attention" became "attentiveness".
OK, I know this is a really trivial thing, but I'm bored. It's either this or empty the dishwasher.
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Better than washing socks.
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Better than washing socks.
Already did that. :P
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I'm confused. Both are recognised nouns in the dictionary, so I should think that they're interchangeable. Perhaps it just hits you wrong? I have many such examples having lived with Gwyn and his constant Britishy speech (the nerve!)
Orientate. This was one of my first clues, back in the day, that we would be having many semantic battles. I asked him 'why not just say orient?' and he had no answer. Specialism instead of speciality just sounds ridiculous to me.
One that irritates the living flip out of me, and this is American as apple pie, is when someone says, always in a pop-psychology, new-agey context "we had a disconnect". I always want to shake them and say "disconnection! You had a disconnection! Use the bloody noun!" (I just checked Merriam-Webster and it does not list disconnect as a noun, and this has done nothing to calm my frustration with that usage.)
There were some atrocious misnomers used back when I worked for the state with loads of social workers. One that my friend and I thought hilarious was 'donator'. I found myself eventually saying donator, too, and then donor started to sound wrong. It's hard to fight that sort of linguistic assault. (Also, spell check recognises the word 'donator' so I guess it's actually an accepted variant. Huh. Well, it shouldn't be.) Many of the less-sharp ones would say 'flustrated'. I thought it was a joke at first, one of those cutesy made-up words. And then there's heighth. Heighth??!! You cannot be serious.
Now, not to pick, but dumb for stupid is not one I use as I think of that word first and foremost as a medical condition, the inability to speak. We had 'dumb cane' in pots in our home growing up in SoCal, and it was called this because if you broke a leaf and ingested any of the serum inside, your tongue would swell up horribly.
Can you tell I'm waiting for the engineer to come by to fix a few issues with the flat? Oh, and do not get Gwyn started on calling the maintenance people 'engineers'. That one really gets his knickers in a twist.
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In this part of the country even well-educated people use the past tense for many words instead of the present perfect as in: Those windows need cleaned. Or those socks need washed. ARGH! I would be able to retire if I had a dollar for each time I have heard that usage.
The other one that gets me is the use of "sell" for "sale." I have a canoe that I will put on sell. :banghead;
Sigh.....
Cariad, I get even more upset when I see orientate in text or (gasp) during Masterpiece Theater. No! No! No!
Aleta
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Orientate. This was one of my first clues, back in the day, that we would be having many semantic battles. I asked him 'why not just say orient?' and he had no answer. Specialism instead of speciality just sounds ridiculous to me.
Orient just means Asia to me. Orientate (orientating/orientated) would be my choice if I were talking about positioning myself or something. My specialism is Religion (because I have a degree in it) and my speciality is Shepherd's Pie (because I make a very tasty one).
I hate 'gotten' with a passion so deep that it makes me feel genuinely nauseous whenever I hear or read it. The fact that it's now becoming more popular over here is horrifying for me.
The word burglarized makes me laugh (affectionately). What's wrong with just being burgled?
;D
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Aleta, glad to hear I'm not the only one with orientate! I despise the "clothes need washed" usage, too.
MM, this issue is really stuck in my head now (better than the endless chorus of When I Grow Up that has been there, uninvited, for weeks) so I'm going to amend my previous statement. I am not sure I can get this explanation out of my brain coherently, but I'll give it the college try.
In thinking it over, I don't think aggression and aggressiveness are quite the same thing. In a sport context, I tend to believe that 'aggressiveness' is probably the correct usage. It is a noun from the word "aggressive" which means you are displaying qualities of aggression, but not necessarily aggression. Aggression I think of as a violent, angry act, whereas aggressiveness is more about being proactive and taking the offense in a situation where violence would be inappropriate. I searched for 'aggressiveness' on IHD and it came up with a few people talking about their aggressiveness in seeking treatment. I don't think one would say "my aggression in seeking treatment". I think it's a softer way of saying "wow, that footballer has really shown some extra determination to win" vs. "wow, that footballer just went mental and punched his manager straight in the eye." The first I would call aggressiveness, the second aggression.
With attention and attentiveness, it's probably similar. You wouldn't say to a group of kids "give me your attentiveness" and I think that's because you want the actual thing from them, not just the behaviour one displays when paying attention. I probably have used "attentiveness" when discussing my boys with teachers, as in "he shows a lack of attentiveness": he does not appear to be paying attention, he is not demonstrating this behavioural trait to me on a regular basis. I don't think I would say "he shows a lack of attention", because that suggests something specific to me, like I should be able to rattle off all the times I've seen him not following directions closely. "Lack of attention" would be more something I could see myself saying to a doctor.
See? That didn't come out so well. But I assure you, I know what I mean!
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Orient just means Asia to me. Orientate (orientating/orientated) would be my choice if I were talking about positioning myself or something. My specialism is Religion (because I have a degree in it) and my speciality is Shepherd's Pie (because I make a very tasty one).
Yes, as a noun, Orient does mean the Far East, but it is also a verb. "I took a moment to orient myself". Similar to "burgled" vs "burglarized" or "used" vs. "utilized", there is an easier way!
I hate 'gotten' with a passion so deep that it makes me feel genuinely nauseous whenever I hear or read it. The fact that it's now becoming more popular over here is horrifying for me.
Wow, how on earth do you stand any of the American authors then? Nauseous?
Specialism sounds uneducated to me, but that's just because the word is not used in the US and therefore it sounds like the person doesn't know the correct word. For schools, I don't think they have a word that is used like 'specialism'. Focus? Concentration? Or just "we specialize in".
As a kid I used to immediately dismiss other children as uneducated if they used "ain't". Then a friend gave me one of these daily calendars with a word-a-day, and it would talk about how dictionaries had committees that would discuss proper usage, pronunciation, or whether a word should even be considered a word. I seem to remember that only 86% of the committee members felt that "ain't" was not a real word. I would have thought that that would be one word they could all agree is just wrong. But then languages are constantly in flux, probably more now than ever, so maybe ain't will have its high-profile champion one day. I think so much of what is considered proper in speech and writing is just a product of snobbery or bigotry. Would anyone allow their children to be taught to speak and write BSE in school? (Black Standard English). Doubt it.
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I've written Merriam-Webster asking for clarification. I had to, or I feared I would never sleep again. :)
Will let you know if they reply.
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Uh oh. Once we start going down the path of American vs British usages of words and phrases, things get murky (but fun).
Re "aggression" vs "aggressiveness", I do understand that both are nouns, and as such one would think they would be used interchangeably. But if you look at the use of these terms in a sociolinguistic context, at least within the world of American sports, I can assure you that "aggressiveness" as a substitute for "aggression" is quite new. Even my husband picked it up and remarked how strange it sounded. I think we all at least subliminally hear a change in the use of words and phrases as time goes on, and this switch from "ion" to "iveness" is probably just one of those linguistic evolutionary changes. It just seems to have happened so quickly! But there is very little creativity in the world of sports broadcasting, so once a word is used in a certain way or a new phrase is coined, by the following weekend, everyone is using it.
Famous example: There is a radio DJ here in Chicago named Tom Waddle. He played for the Bears (NFL) for a while, and now he does some work for the NFL network. He is also on ESPN in Chicago and until just a month or so ago, he did a Sunday night sports roundup show on local TV.
A few years ago, he was commenting on this very subject of blither blather spewing from the mouths of sportscasters. So he decided to make up a new phrase, "Boom goes the dynamite!" to be shouted when something good happens, like the scoring of a touchdown or the hit of a home run. It was his own linguistic experiment. He wanted to see how quickly it would catch on, and as you might have guessed, it didn't take long. My husband and I happened to be watching that particular show when he explained what he planned to do, and these few years later, we laugh every time we hear "Boom goes the dynamite!!" shouted by a national sports broadcaster! So my theory is that someone, somewhere tripped over their tongue and used "aggressiveness" instead of "aggression", and it has stuck.
Oh, I just thought of another one. A sportscaster was commenting on a player's "physicalness" when, in the past, he would have talked about that player's "physicality".
I subscribe to the e-edition of The Economist which is a British publication, and I am always shocked to read "we reckon". To my ear, that sounds uneducated, but there it is each week in The Economist.
But yes, language is a living, evolving thing, even more so with people travelling and spending time reading online posts from people from all walks of life. I am constantly amazed by how much British slang and general usage of certain phrases I hear in the American media. I gasped in astonishment the first time I heard an American say "w**ker". Any my husband nearly falls into a coma every time he sees "judgment" spelled "judgement". He insists that's incorrect, and when I explain that it is the British spelling, well, he splutters even more in indignation.
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I've written Merriam-Webster asking for clarification. I had to, or I feared I would never sleep again. :)
Will let you know if they reply.
What, about "disconnect" as a noun? I've never heard it as a noun, so I must not be as American as apple pie! LOL! Or perhaps I'm just not very new agey. So I'll be interested if you hear from them.
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In this part of the country even well-educated people use the past tense for many words instead of the present perfect as in: Those windows need cleaned. Or those socks need washed. ARGH! I would be able to retire if I had a dollar for each time I have heard that usage.
Oh, that's interesting! I've never heard that!
The other one that gets me is the use of "sell" for "sale." I have a canoe that I will put on sell. :banghead;
That's just an incorrect use of the word "sell". That happens everywhere, unfortunately.
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My pet grammar peeve is when "less" or "lesser" is used rather than "few" or "fewer" when comparing discrete vs. continuous items.
"It seems there are less pigeons here today than normal." NOT. "There are fewer pigeons!"
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Re "aggression" vs "aggressiveness", I do understand that both are nouns, and as such one would think they would be used interchangeably. But if you look at the use of these terms in a sociolinguistic context, at least within the world of American sports, I can assure you that "aggressiveness" as a substitute for "aggression" is quite new.
OK, but then why did you find it shocking that Rachel Maddow used aggressiveness, given her educated status?
I never noticed that about judgment or judgement. My spell check accepts both, but I could swear it used to correct me with judgement. I am naturally an awful speller because I cannot be arsed with these details, and I don't believe in correcting my kids spelling nor grammar because I think it's not the best way to pick up either. (I also think kid-spelling and odd word-usage is so cute and absolutely fascinating. I will never forget Aidan drawing a picture and writing 'chruc' underneath. Pronounce it, you'll know what he drew.) My kids both scored lower on their writing SATS than I would have expected because they assess grammar and spelling. Sorry, boys. That's what you get for having a mom who loves having a front-row seat to the wonders of language acquisition. :)
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My pet grammar peeve is when "less" or "lesser" is used rather than "few" or "fewer" when comparing discrete vs. continuous items.
"It seems there are less pigeons here today than normal." NOT. "There are fewer pigeons!"
Willis, my understanding of the use of "less" and "fewer" is that you use the former for uncountable amounts and the latter for countable amounts. In that was you would have fewer pigeons (because they can be counted), but less milk (because it isn't counted). On the other hand, you might drink fewer glasses of milk if you wanted to consume less milk! :rofl;
And fewer pigeons will result in less guano.
Maybe I misunderstood your post! It wouldn't be the first time!
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I've just heard someone on The Cycle say, "In politics, that would be 'Boom goes the dynamite!'." haha
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My pet grammar peeve is when "less" or "lesser" is used rather than "few" or "fewer" when comparing discrete vs. continuous items.
"It seems there are less pigeons here today than normal." NOT. "There are fewer pigeons!"
Willis, my understanding of the use of "less" and "fewer" is that you use the former for uncountable amounts and the latter for countable amounts. In that was you would have fewer pigeons (because they can be counted), but less milk (because it isn't counted). On the other hand, you might drink fewer glasses of milk if you wanted to consume less milk! :rofl;
And fewer pigeons will result in less guano.
Maybe I misunderstood your post! It wouldn't be the first time!
You didn't miss it...that's correct. "Discrete" items means individual. countable items or amounts. "Continuous" refers to objects that can't be individually identified such as your milk. Now at SOME level if the milk could be counted by the drop, then each drop would be a discrete item. So looking at milk in a bottle we would say there is more or less milk, but a half-full bottle will have fewer (discrete) drops of milk than a full one!
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I am naturally an awful speller because I cannot be arsed with these details, and I don't believe in correcting my kids spelling nor grammar because I think it's not the best way to pick up either. (I also think kid-spelling and odd word-usage is so cute and absolutely fascinating. I will never forget Aidan drawing a picture and writing 'chruc' underneath. Pronounce it, you'll know what he drew.) My kids both scored lower on their writing SATS than I would have expected because they assess grammar and spelling. Sorry, boys. That's what you get for having a mom who loves having a front-row seat to the wonders of language acquisition. :)
Really? You can't be arsed with the details of correct spelling and grammar? There comes a point where kid-spelling is no longer cute, like when you write up your CV.
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I am naturally an awful speller because I cannot be arsed with these details, and I don't believe in correcting my kids spelling nor grammar because I think it's not the best way to pick up either. (I also think kid-spelling and odd word-usage is so cute and absolutely fascinating. I will never forget Aidan drawing a picture and writing 'chruc' underneath. Pronounce it, you'll know what he drew.) My kids both scored lower on their writing SATS than I would have expected because they assess grammar and spelling. Sorry, boys. That's what you get for having a mom who loves having a front-row seat to the wonders of language acquisition. :)
Really? You can't be arsed with the details of correct spelling and grammar? There comes a point where kid-spelling is no longer cute, like when you write up your CV.
My standing over them correcting them and nagging them does not work as countless child development experts will tell you. What does work is exposure to the language, primarily through reading, which my kids do a lot. Do you really think that when my kids go to write up their CVs that there will be much chance that their spelling won't be up to par? Spelling is already automated for anyone who cares to avail themselves of those tools, which I generally do, but if you entered me in a spelling bee I would quickly lose. My grammar is quite good, too, and I model that for my boys every day. I am not a grammar teacher, this is the school's job. Happily, their school did not 'teach to the test' and I am proud of myself for not getting worked up about the results of a silly government assessment. They still both scored above grade level, and Aidan was the first (and to date only) 6 in math that the school's current year 6 teacher had ever seen. Those boys have absolutely nothing to worry about academically. There will come a point where they will have to want to do it correctly, but if you think I'm going to fuel my kids' perfectionism by badgering them at 7 and 10 about misspelling words here and there, you have completely misjudged my parenting style. The more organically they can acquire these skills and the more self-determined it is, the more it will stick.
I'm still confused about whether you are saying that using 'aggressiveness' is the mark of an uneducated speaker. At first that's what I thought you were saying, but now you seem to only view it as an interesting display of just how insular the world of sports broadcasting is.
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Gosh, Cariad. No need to go into attack mode. I know you are proud of your boys and all, but you don't need to defend anything to me.
This wasn't supposed to be a conversation about your boys or your parenting style.
I'm not au fait with current thinking within the circles of child development experts as my own parenting experience defies description. I'll leave the "expertness" to you.
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Gosh, Cariad. No need to go into attack mode. I know you are proud of your boys and all, but you don't need to defend anything to me.
This wasn't supposed to be a conversation about your boys or your parenting style.
I'm not au fait with current thinking within the circles of child development experts as my own parenting experience defies description. I'll leave the "expertness" to you.
Your comment insinuated that I was failing my children and dooming their job prospects by not acting as some sort of grammar/spelling watchdog. Frankly, it felt like you were attacking me over my lighthearted description of my parenting. If you did not want to turn it in to a discussion of my boys or my parenting, why make that reply at all while ignoring my second attempt to clarify whether you think using 'aggressiveness' is incorrect or just quirky?
My reply was not meant as an attack but most certainly was meant to defend my choices as a parent.
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The phase that gets me going is " for all intensive purposes". What? It is "for all intents and purposes". The first way doesn't even make sense!! Funny what little words or phrases catch our attention.
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I think "aggressiveness" is incorrect. I had never heard this word spoken until just recently. I had never seen it in print. But I do realize that what I judge to be incorrect today may well be viewed as correct as language evolves.
Your parenting style is of no interest to me which is why I don't understand your need to attack. I do not understand your defensiveness in this regard. Perhaps you see insult where there is none. My husband can be like that, and he'll be the first to admit it. You have always made it very clear how highly you regard knowledge and education and intellectual investigation, so to see you post that you don't pay much attention to spelling came as a surprise as the printed word is such an important conduit through which knowledge passes. I never made reference to your boys. I merely repeated your phrase "kid-spelling", yet somehow this conversation has become about your children and you as their parent.
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The phase that gets me going is " for all intensive purposes". What? It is "for all intents and purposes". The first way doesn't even make sense!! Funny what little words or phrases catch our attention.
LOL! That's a good one!
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My fave is a word I heard one day at Starbucks. Conversate. What???? I think it means we are going to talk to each other, but I am none too sure.
Cariad, Moose Mom was only surprised at your statement. So was I. Everyone knows how highly you value your children and their education and training.
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The phase that gets me going is " for all intensive purposes". What? It is "for all intents and purposes". The first way doesn't even make sense!! Funny what little words or phrases catch our attention.
Oh, that is FUNNY!
Another one that gets me here in the South is "wondering" as in "the children were just wondering around." :rofl; Yes, I guess they sometimes wander when they wonder.
I have also heard "flusterated." I, too, thought it was a spin on "flustered" but I discovered that it is simply an adulteration of "frustrated."
Working with kids I hear all sorts of misunderstood sayings. I'll have to start writing them down!
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I've just seen a video clip of Sen. Rand Paul say on the Senate floor today that the Egyptian Army has "disappeared" members of the Muslim Brotherhood. "They've disappeared them!"
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This makes me tired.... :P
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I think "aggressiveness" is incorrect. I had never heard this word spoken until just recently. I had never seen it in print. But I do realize that what I judge to be incorrect today may well be viewed as correct as language evolves.
I would be stunned if it's incorrect. It's in the dictionary and it takes years for a word to go from colloquial usage to the dictionary.
Your parenting style is of no interest to me which is why I don't understand your need to attack.
Perhaps you see attack where there is none. How did you expect me to respond? My reply clarified why I made the choices I do and really did not make a remark about you one way or the other beyond saying that if you thought I was going to change my approach over anxiety about their CVs, you'd be mistaken. If my parenting is of no interest to you, as it shouldn't be, then why remark on that part of my reply? This did not have to be about my parenting at all.
I do not understand your defensiveness in this regard. Perhaps you see insult where there is none. My husband can be like that, and he'll be the first to admit it.
I have seen you get your back up with me over things I've said that you interpreted differently to how I meant - I like to think that in the majority of those instances I took the time to try to see it from your point of view and did not try to make it about any possible character flaws in you. Sheesh, I don't "see insult where there is none". Seriously? What is the purpose of saying this to me?
Whenever possible I run a reply that strikes me as snide past Gwyn to get his take on it. His response to your CV remark was "Who wrote that?" He didn't think it was very nice, either, and was genuinely surprised that it was you.
You have always made it very clear how highly you regard knowledge and education and intellectual investigation, so to see you post that you don't pay much attention to spelling came as a surprise as the printed word is such an important conduit through which knowledge passes.
Perhaps saying it this way initially would have been the less insulting choice.
What I said was that I cannot be bothered when it comes to correcting my children's spelling. It doesn't work and it would make writing a chore for all of us. We are obviously not going to agree that your reply made it sound like I would rue the day that I ever found kid-spelling cute because it was going to lead to a laughable CV. Bit of an over-the-top reaction in my opinion, but there it is.
I never made reference to your boys. I merely repeated your phrase "kid-spelling", yet somehow this conversation has become about your children and you as their parent.
Since I used 'kid-spelling' in reference to my boys, it sorta follows that I would take it as commenting on my personal situation.
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I hate 'gotten' with a passion so deep that it makes me feel genuinely nauseous whenever I hear or read it. The fact that it's now becoming more popular over here is horrifying for me.
Wow, how on earth do you stand any of the American authors then? Nauseous?
Umm, with great difficulty (but knowing that it's in regular use in the US does make it easier with American authors ... what's far far worse is when British authors start using it). Yes, nauseous. I passionately hate it that much. Sorry.
;D
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As long as we are playing grammar police, I should point out that saying you are nauseous means you are a source of nausea in others. If you find something to be nauseous then you are nauseated.
Just sayin'.
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I find the use of the word 'gotten' to be particularly nauseous.
I am nauseated by the use of the word 'gotten'.
Better?
;D
My dictionary says that nauseous can mean 'affected by nausea' so 'the word 'gotten' makes me feel nauseous' is fine and all is now right with the world ...
:beer1;
Incidentally,
I should point out that saying you are nauseous means you are a source of nausea in others.
I probably am.
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LOL @ Poppy.
Cariad, no worries. Just so you know, I mentioned CVs because my own son had recently completed his, and as you know about his particular challenges, I'm sure you'll appreciate what a meaningful occasion that was. So, far from being a comment about your children, it was a comment about my own.
Also, my husband has been receiving CVs by the shedload as they are trying to fill a position within the legal department. He has been loudly lamenting the quality of said documents and in convinced that no one under the age of 30 is fully literate. CVs have been a hot topic in my household for a while now.
Perhaps I should have explained the context of my comment, but I am making a concerted effort to be less wordy here on IHD. It's obviously not working! LOL!
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What are CV's?
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What are CV's?
Curriculum Vitae - basically, a fancy name for a person's résumé. While a résumé is limited to 1 or 2 pages at the most, a CV is longer and contains more details including educational and academic backgrounds as well as teaching and research experience, publications, presentations, awards, honors, affiliations, etc. It is used primarily when applying for international, academic, education, scientific or research positions and fellowships or grants.
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Thank you for asking renalwife.
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Curriculum Vitae - basically, a fancy name for a person's résumé. While a résumé is limited to 1 or 2 pages at the most, a CV is longer and contains more details including educational and academic backgrounds as well as teaching and research experience, publications, presentations, awards, honors, affiliations, etc. It is used primarily when applying for international, academic, education, scientific or research positions and fellowships or grants.
Technically this may be correct, but in England, "CV" is universally used.
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Technically this may be correct, but in England, "CV" is universally used.
In the U.S. it is more than technically correct and we are in the U.S., as are Jean and Renalwife. Get over your pretentiousness.
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Technically this may be correct, but in England, "CV" is universally used.
In the U.S. it is more than technically correct and we are in the U.S., as are Jean and Renalwife. Get over your pretentiousness.
You know what, PatDowns? Sometimes you can be a truly helpful and informative member of IHD, and sometimes you can be a right snarky sod with a pretentious cherry on top.
Cariad and her family now live in England where the term "CV" is used. I lived in England for almost 20 years, and my son still lives there, so for me, the term "CV" still comes naturally. So in a conversation between myself and Cariad in which we both have ties to England, using "CV" is not pretentious. She and I understand our shared use of the term. I would have been happy to explain this to Jean and Renalwife, but fortunately for the entire planet, you jumped in first and regaled us with your superior knowledge that, in this case at least, lacked context.
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You know what, PatDowns? Sometimes you can be a truly helpful and informative member of IHD, and sometimes you can be a right snarky sod with a pretentious cherry on top.
Cariad and her family now live in England where the term "CV" is used. I lived in England for almost 20 years, and my son still lives there, so for me, the term "CV" still comes naturally. So in a conversation between myself and Cariad in which we both have ties to England, using "CV" is not pretentious. She and I understand our shared use of the term. I would have been happy to explain this to Jean and Renalwife, but fortunately for the entire planet, you jumped in first and regaled us with your superior knowledge that, in this case at least, lacked context.
Keep proving my point. Good day.
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I heard someone on the radio today say "brutalness" instead of "brutality". ::)
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I use CV also. I live in Canada and for whatever reason it is the term I use. I also use resume if someone uses it first. Moose Mom pretentious???? She is not at all uppity, she's lovely. In linguistic terms why is a french term less pretentious than a Latin one.....just a question of usage and no reason to get one's knickers in a twist.
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However, "knickers in a twist" is a pretentious form of "panties in a bunch". Come join me at the Pretentious Table, monrein. Tea? :)
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Tea, of course...fine bone china only please and thank you. :cookie;
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Tea, of course...fine bone china only please and thank you. :cookie;
do you have biscuits and cucumber sandwiches?? ;)
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I had my printed invitation to the pretentious table....
When callers asked for me on the phone I used to say, "This is she." Then I was told I was "hoity-toity" :rofl; :rofl;
Now I just say, "Speaking." I surely don't want any callers to get their knickers in a wad! :rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
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Tea, of course...fine bone china only please and thank you. :cookie;
[pretentious] I have quite the assortment of teas, from Darjeeling to Earl Grey (my son's favorite, especially when taken at the tearoom in Harrods) to various jasmines. Fine bone china is the only sort I have.[/pretentious]
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do you have biscuits and cucumber sandwiches?? ;)
Naturellement!
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I had my printed invitation to the pretentious table....
When callers asked for me on the phone I used to say, "This is she." Then I was told I was "hoity-toity" :rofl; :rofl;
Now I just say, "Speaking." I surely don't want any callers to get their knickers in a wad! :rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
Uh oh. I say, "This is she." I haven't received my printed invitation yet, though. ???
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I had my printed invitation to the pretentious table....
When callers asked for me on the phone I used to say, "This is she." Then I was told I was "hoity-toity" :rofl; :rofl;
Now I just say, "Speaking." I surely don't want any callers to get their knickers in a wad! :rofl; :rofl; :rofl;
Uh oh. I say, "This is she." I haven't received my printed invitation yet, though. ???
I say that too. My first college course was a Call Centre and Customer Service Excellence course, which, unfortunately, no longer exists. It was drilled in me to not say "speaking" when answering a phone, because it's quite obvious that you are speaking. I cringe sometimes when I hear how some answer the phone, because it's totally unprofessional
I once had an ex tell me that I was "too professional." I still don't know what that means
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Word police! Got busted by the Nuns for not learning to diagram a sentence. Pounded, rapped, punished my knuckles with this inordinately long ruler. Sadistic old bags. The sole recollection of those lessons was, “Never use ‘got’. Only the illiterate use “got”.” So, I use got a lot. I got this. I got that. Gotcha. Get got. Got it. “So, how did your date go?” “I got to first-base.”
In my biker days we rode our wheels wearing our lids and stopped on occasion to bogart a doobie. Never got nookie on the road, too many cages. Had to get off the asphalt. We’d putt here and there looking for some suds. Never wore colors, went solo. Lotsa poontang around in those days.
gl
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I heard one on the radio this weekend. The announcers were talking about a football game and called it "historical" in the context of "this afternoon's historical football game".
Well, of course, since the game was already played, it was historical. It wasn't in-progress and it wasn't in the future. But what they were trying to say is "historic", in the sense of "this was a historic game between two storied teams" - not just two bottom-dwellers playing a game no one cared about.
I know this is the pickiest of all nits, but it just grated on me to no end.
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On the news last week - "There have been three fatal drownings this month"
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Sports announcers are the worst, but to be fair, they have no script and have to blather for over three hours on live TV. I've been hearing a lot of tortured grammar during the playoffs.
"Fatal" drownings as opposed to what other kind? ::)
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How many times have you heard someone begin a sentence with "In fact . . . . " followed by an opinion?
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On our local sports radio show, I've just heard "admittance" as opposed to "admission", i.e, an "admittance of guilt".