Linguistic pet peeves

[amberpi]

What are things you hear that just make your skin crawl? Mine are adults calling each other "baby" or "baby girl" - yes I live in the South, this is one of our less charming colloquialisms, and mispronouncing "espresso," as I hear that almost daily, not uncommonly, by a barista. SMH.

 

[bcla]

I once worked at a company with several European employees, and once I referred to a French coworker as "dude". It was meant casually without any real rhyme or reason. He looked at me like I was crazy and then came back at me, calling me "dude". It wasn't like he was angry about it, but I don't think anyone referred to him as "dude" before.

And I certainly learned how to pronounce espresso. I remember seeing the movie Shaft, and it rather hurt my ears to hear the main character talk about ordering an "expresso".

One of the more frustrating things was when I was looking for a job, and a lot of the recruiters calling me were based in India or somewhere else in South Asia. It wasn't just the accent, which could vary from extremely understandable to barely comprehensible. It also didn't help that many were using VoIP lines from halfway around the world, which purported to be coming from Virginia, Georgia, or even Silicon Valley. However, I just got frustrated every time someone used Indian phrases like "email ID" or emphasized words like "portal" that sounded out of place in American English. I had one recruiter contact me who didn't try to hide his accent or location. However, he spoke clearly and made sure that his phraseology would make an American candidate comfortable.

 

[Squirlz]

This comes up about once a month, but since we are doing it again I'll submit would "of" and could "of" as well as apostrophes used as "plural's".

 

[Branflakes]

alot. Seriously. It's a lot.
ALOT bad.
A LOT good.

 

[amberpi]

This comes up about once a month, but since we are doing it again I'll submit would "of" and could "of" as well as parenthesis used as "plural's".

Oh sorry! It came up on FB for me, and I love all the different thoughts! I really like words and idioms - never ending source of entertainment!

 

[amberpi]

I once worked at a company with several European employees, and once I referred to a French coworker as "dude". It was meant casually without any real rhyme or reason. He looked at me like I was crazy and then came back at me, calling me "dude". It wasn't like he was angry about it, but I don't think anyone referred to him as "dude" before.

First starting out - 21 year old girl from Nashville, TN, not that we didn't travel, we did, but still, just got my MBA, I had no idea what I was doing in the corporate world but I got this great job and my mom bought me a closet full of Brooks Brothers suits...When European colleagues would say "schedule" weird or ask me about my diary I was completely baffled. The worst was about 6 months - still way too young to know my head from a hole in the ground - on a conference call, I was told by the head of the London office to "put the bits [of the meeting] together and send to the group." I had to go to my boss after and ask what the bits I had to put together. I'd never heard that. 10 years later, people still said "bits" around me all the time.

 

[kimblebee]

It's already been said, but another vote for would of/could of/ should of.

If you look at it for two seconds you'd realize it makes absolutely no sense.

Judgemental or not, when I see someone use it I assume they are poorly educated.

 

[E&Cmom]

Recently I hate when people use "meh" not sure why but it makes me cringe.

 

[monsterkitty]

Whenever! As in, "whenever I was born," or "whenever I finished the test." Just use the word when!

 

[bcla]

First starting out - 21 year old girl from Nashville, TN, not that we didn't travel, we did, but still, just got my MBA, I had no idea what I was doing in the corporate world but I got this great job and my mom bought me a closet full of Brooks Brothers suits...When European colleagues would say "schedule" weird or ask me about my diary I was completely baffled. The worst was about 6 months - still way too young to know my head from a hole in the ground - on a conference call, I was told by the head of the London office to "put the bits [of the meeting] together and send to the group." I had to go to my boss after and ask what the bits I had to put together. I'd never heard that. 10 years later, people still said "bits" around me all the time.

I suppose using colloquialisms in an international environment may not be the best course of action. I've worked with people based around the world, and it becomes much easier to converse by avoiding the use of slang. However, there are some things I've figured out by watching TV and movies.

So by "bits" I'm guessing they meant they wanted you to take the minutes?

I've also learned over the years that English is not one language. I've been to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, as well as worked with English speakers from non English speaking countries. I've also worked with people based in the US but originally from elsewhere. It's pretty obvious dealing with someone who has spent time in the US vs someone used to using a style of English in another country. I will try my best to use fairly neutral grammar, and I would hope that others would use the same.

 

[siskaren]

Pronouncing words with "st" as if it's "sht" - for instance: shtreet, shtrong, shtraight. Drives me batty!

Saying I when it should be me and vice versa. It's not "Me and my husband are going to Disney World," or "This trip is just going to be just my husband and I"!

Apostrophes in plurals!

 

[katie01]

Recently I hate when people use "meh" not sure why but it makes me cringe.

I hate that too! It just seems so dismissive of other people's thoughts or feelings. You know, someone could be spilling their guts about something that really hurt their feelings, and when someone else says, "Meh. That wouldn't bother me", it just makes me cringe too, it's like saying the other person's feelings aren't valid or you couldn't care less about how they feel.

"Meh" doesn't bother me so much when it's used to refer more to personal tastes (like "meh, I'm not really into baseball", and not directed at someone else's thoughts or feelings.

 

[amberpi]

I suppose using colloquialisms in an international environment may not be the best course of action. I've worked with people based around the world, and it becomes much easier to converse by avoiding the use of slang. However, there are some things I've figured out by watching TV and movies.

So by "bits" I'm guessing they meant they wanted you to take the minutes?

I've also learned over the years that English is not one language. I've been to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, as well as worked with English speakers from non English speaking countries. I've also worked with people based in the US but originally from elsewhere. It's pretty obvious dealing with someone who has spent time in the US vs someone used to using a style of English in another country. I will try my best to use fairly neutral grammar, and I would hope that others would use the same.

Yes - minutes.

I got much better - trial by fire, to the point I led an acquisition of a multi-lingual call center in Krakow. And its not just speech, its the cultural normative stuff that can be especially tricky to teach.

You couldn't be more right about the other Englishes...I've worked with a ton of English speaking Swiss, and that's been the most literal English I've ever experienced; I love working with them though.

 

[amberpi]

Pronouncing words with "st" as if it's "sht" - for instance: shtreet, shtrong, shtraight. Drives me batty!

I've never heard that. Street is pretty straight forward "st" here in Nashville. Where do you live if that isn't too much?

 

[amberpi]

Whenever! As in, "whenever I was born," or "whenever I finished the test." Just use the word when!

That's funny! Like they don't know when? "Whenever I was born," that's new for me.

 

[kaytieeldr]

"The wife".

 

[bcla]

Yes - minutes.

I got much better - trial by fire, to the point I led an acquisition of a multi-lingual call center in Krakow. And its not just speech, its the cultural normative stuff that can be especially tricky to teach.

You couldn't be more right about the other Englishes...I've worked with a ton of English speaking Swiss, and that's been the most literal English I've ever experienced; I love working with them though.

I've worked with so many people who speak English as a non-native language. Europeans, East Asians, South Asians, Latin Americans, etc. No Africans, although I've encountered a few too. Some have figured out English far better than others. The big thing is speaking in American idioms. That's the thing that impressed me about one particular Indian recruiter. His job was to communicate with Americans, and he did his homework. It was just a few simple things like speaking clearly without sounding like he was reading from a script. But the one thing that most impressed me was that he knew to use the phase "email address". I know it seems insignificant, but it meant a lot to me.

Accents are another thing. A HS classmate just arrived from Hong Kong. His English was barely tinged with a slight Cantonese accent, where he sounded almost American. I've known others who couldn't shake their accent. However, every once in a while I learned that we didn't necessarily speak the same slang. He asked if I had "a rubber". He meant a pencil eraser, but of course it means something else in American slang.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

Incorrectly using the words "me" and I"... or maybe just go for broke and throw in the word "myself" incorrectly.


Just as an extra thing, I REALLY get irritated when people preface things with "Like I said". I don't know if this is something that has popped up within the last couple years, or if that phrase has just started bothering me within the past couple years.

 

[Branflakes]

"The wife".

Oh. I am really not a fan of this one. I have a few friends that are referenced this way. My husband always looks at me with the " I know better than to call you that" look.

 

[Klayfish]

For me, it's "on tomorrow". I know several people who will say "I'll have that report finished on tomorrow". No! It's just plain "tomorrow".

As for the other ones, meh...I don't care. The wife always corrects me anyway.