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The Picard Maneuver@lemmy.world to Microblog Memes@lemmy.worldEnglish · 9 months ago

Language is hard

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Language is hard

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The Picard Maneuver@lemmy.world to Microblog Memes@lemmy.worldEnglish · 9 months ago
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  • ImplyingImplications@lemmy.ca
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    9 months ago

    Merriam-Webster lists 7 adjective forms, 2 adverb forms, 3 noun forms, and 3 verb forms. That’s definitely a lot of definitions for a word.

    • expatriado@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      English is a fine language

      • Juniper (she/her) 🫐@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        9 months ago

        You say that, but I think it’s rather thick

        • ByteOnBikes@slrpnk.net
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          9 months ago

          Thick like sexual?

          “Damn English you thicker than a bowl of oatmeal” thick?

          • edgemaster72@lemmy.world
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            9 months ago

            I’m trying to be a comprehensible language but my definitions are dummy thicc and keep making things convoluted

          • SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world
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            9 months ago

            That’s “thicc.”

    • teft@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      Try get, put, run, or go. Those in my second language I’m constantly translating wrong because of how many different definition for those words there are. ‘Put’ has to be over 100 different definitions.

      • Mr_Blott@feddit.uk
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        9 months ago

        According to QI, “set” has the most definitions

        • Mechanismatic@lemmy.ml
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          9 months ago

          Once you set up this set of objects on the set, we’ll be all set for the Set festival and the band can play its set.

          • bleistift2@sopuli.xyz
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            9 months ago

            *its

            • Mr_Blott@feddit.uk
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              9 months ago

              You were really set on correcting him

            • Mechanismatic@lemmy.ml
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              9 months ago

              It’s been a pet peeve of mine that autocorrect defaults “its” to “it’s.” Someone should change its programming.

              • ayyy@sh.itjust.works
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                9 months ago

                Or at least something you could set.

    • MadBob@feddit.nl
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      9 months ago

      You’ve seen nothing yet: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/set

  • DMBFFF@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    "But your honor, I parked my car there because the sign said ‘fine for parking.’ "

    • Elvith Ma'for@feddit.org
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      9 months ago

      That’s why the police complimented you with “parking fine”

  • peopleproblems@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    English isn’t a language, it’s a mistake

    • 🇰 🌀 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 🇮 🏆@yiffit.net
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      9 months ago

      It’s fine.

  • Zozano@lemy.lol
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    9 months ago

    And you ask your girlfriend how she’s feeling and she says “fine”, buckle up.

    • ByteOnBikes@slrpnk.net
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      9 months ago

  • Mwalimu@baraza.africa
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    9 months ago

    “The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don’t just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.”

    James D. Nicoll

  • 𝕸𝖔𝖘𝖘@infosec.pub
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    9 months ago

    Counterpoint: fine dining is labeled as such, because you pay a fine (needlessly higher prices) for average food.

  • EnderWiggin@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    English is fucking weird. Take for example: Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

    This is a perfectly fine sentence,. I am not sure I am fine with it.

    • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
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      9 months ago

      A much quoted comment and yet I don’t get it the only meaning for the word Buffalo that I know is of an animal.

      • Feathercrown@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        Buffalo = The city

        buffalo = the animal, or the verb meaning “to bully”

        The sentence is therefore roughly equivalent to “Buffalo animals that Buffalo animals bully, bully Buffalo animals.”

      • AnxiousDuck@feddit.it
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        9 months ago

        https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo

    • bamfic@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      That motherfucker’s a motherfucker, motherfucker.

  • jaschen@lemm.ee
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    9 months ago

    You can also describe how a woman looks without even changing the words.

    How does she look?

    “She’s fine”

    SHE’S FINE!!!

    • intensely_human@lemm.ee
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      9 months ago

      She fine

      • Gingernate@programming.dev
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        9 months ago

        Let’s eat grandpa

  • gedaliyah@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    This is absolutely from a stand-up comedian. I’ve heard this before. Anyone remember who it was?

    • The Picard Maneuver@lemmy.worldOP
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      9 months ago

      It reminds me a lot of this Finnish comedian talking about learning the different uses of the word “ass” in English.

      Ass Is the Most Complicated Word in the English Language

      • TehBamski@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        Dang. Beat me to the link.

        I’m glad others know about Ismo though. =)

      • Landless2029@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        I instantly thought of this bit!

    • AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      I can’t claim it was him, but I read it in Carlin’s voice

      • frosty99c@midwest.social
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        9 months ago

        Either him or Seinfeld? Feels like the stand-up bit at the beginning of one of the early episodes.

  • stardustpathsofglory@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    “Fine, I will pay that fine fine.”

  • Twinkletoes@lemm.ee
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    9 months ago

    This is fine 🔥

  • BarqsHasBite@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Freaked out, Insecure, Neurotic, Emotional.

    • Telcontar@lemmy.today
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      9 months ago

      I used this for years without telling my wife it was from a movie. She was not happy with me when she eventually saw it for the first time

      • draneceusrex@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        What movie? I got it from Aerosmith…

        • Telcontar@lemmy.today
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          9 months ago

          The Italian Job. I was unaware of the Aerosmith connection!

          • draneceusrex@lemmy.world
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            9 months ago

            https://youtu.be/5F_UFS6ym2k?si=AcYj6r4WlVQ8aGf2 looks like Aerosmith beat it by 14 years, though I wouldn’t doubt it was around before then.

  • JASN_DE@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    The food aspect is mainly a problem of the US “awesomeness” bullshit. Nothing can ever simply be fine, it has to be awesome.

    • lugal@sopuli.xyz
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      9 months ago

      This is by no means unique to the US. It’s also a cliche of Bavaria in Germany but seriously, it’s a common force in language change. I blanc the term but it’s a cycle.

      • JASN_DE@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        It’s also a cliche of Bavaria in Germany

        Sorry, what? Since when? That’d be news to me.

        • lugal@sopuli.xyz
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          9 months ago

          While other regions are known for being modest, rude or reserved, Bavarians are known for being outgoing and very proud of themselves.

      • Johanno@feddit.org
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        9 months ago

        Well in Frankonian which is in Bavaria we have a running joke about the highest possible praise you can get for anything. “Bassd scho!” (in German passt schon) which is literally translated to alright.

        • lugal@sopuli.xyz
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          9 months ago

          I was referring to “Baiern”, not “Bayern”. Donno how to make the difference in English

          • Johanno@feddit.org
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            There is no difference between Baiern and Bayern. It’s just an old way of writing. Bayern is correct today.

            • lugal@sopuli.xyz
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              9 months ago

              There actually is. Bayern is the state (including Franconia and parts of Swabia) while Baiern is the dialect group (reaching into Austria and excluding aforementioned regions)

              • Johanno@feddit.org
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                9 months ago

                While this might be true, I could not find any source on that on a quick Internet search. And I didn’t ever hear of that.

                • lugal@sopuli.xyz
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                  9 months ago

                  It’s used maybe more in adjective form in linguistics alot. I remember reading a paper on how important the difference is.

                  Either way, you know what I mean: Bavarian can be used for both the state and the linguistic group and I was referring to the cultural/linguistic group. I think “Old Bavaria” is also used to disambiguate.

    • booly@sh.itjust.works
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      9 months ago

      Are you trying to say that only American culture has fine dining?

      • JASN_DE@lemmy.world
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        On the contrary, American culture has no fine dining of its own. They imported quite some cuisines though.

        I’m trying to say that its ludicrous how inflated the use of “amazing” is over there.

        • booly@sh.itjust.works
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          American culture has no fine dining of its own.

          This is a stupid position to take. American cuisine, like American literature or film or music, does derive quite a bit from the fact that almost all Americans are descendants of immigrants (rather than the native population that was largely decimated into very small populations through war, genocide, disease, and conquest), but plenty is still invented here by people who were born here. Yes, almost all of us speak a European language, but Europe doesn’t get to claim our literature or poetry. Similarly, our music uses scales and temperament and instruments developed in, like Austria and Italy, but American music is still its own thing.

  • killabeezio@lemm.ee
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    Look at that fine woman with her fine hair. I wonder if she’s feeling fine today. Maybe I should take her out for fine dining.

    • el_abuelo@programming.dev
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      9 months ago

      Was that fine hair? Or fine hair? Or fine hair? Or fine hair?

  • odium@programming.dev
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    9 months ago

    Fine arts

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