Things that annoy you beyond reason...(Vol. 6)
Discussion
Power cuts.
Currently sat in the dark surrounded by candles which are giving off various sickly sweet scents as we’ve raided the crap Christmas and birthday drawer to provide us with a glimmer of light.
Second time in three days. Should have used the first experience to get some basic bits of kit (lantern, etc) but was too busy stockpiling toilet rolls and forgot.
God it must have been boring in Victorian times...
Currently sat in the dark surrounded by candles which are giving off various sickly sweet scents as we’ve raided the crap Christmas and birthday drawer to provide us with a glimmer of light.
Second time in three days. Should have used the first experience to get some basic bits of kit (lantern, etc) but was too busy stockpiling toilet rolls and forgot.
God it must have been boring in Victorian times...
Europa1 said:
It's one of the things that embarrasses me when I go to, say, France, and so many of the locals have a reasonable grasp of English yet some of the expats in the Dordogne are barely beyond beyond the 'speaking English loudly and slowly' level. If the locals can get to grips with such a willfully awkward language as English, can we as a nation not get to grips with French which is far more structured?
I’d love to properly learn a language. I was putting a decent amount of effort into Spanish but I lost track with it and haven’t got back into it. I really enjoyed the process. One thing I dislike is British people who say ‘I’m not a languages person’ which is obviously bunk. If people with access to very little resources all over the world can get a grip of English then the vast majority of English speakers could get to grips with another language if they wanted to. It annoys me beyond reason actually, when I ask them about their English proficiency ‘that’s different’... ok then. I wonder how long they would insist they couldn’t do it if they were dropped into some region where they had no choice?
English speakers are fault tolerant though. I’m bordering on a Frank anecdote here but I was on a barge doing a fireworks display once with a bunch of Dutch guys at dusk. One of them asked me what we call this time of night, and asked if it was ‘translucent’ - which shows an incredible understanding of the language, and IMO was a cracking suggestion.
gregs656 said:
I’d love to properly learn a language. I was putting a decent amount of effort into Spanish but I lost track with it and haven’t got back into it. I really enjoyed the process.
One thing I dislike is British people who say ‘I’m not a languages person’ which is obviously bunk. If people with access to very little resources all over the world can get a grip of English then the vast majority of English speakers could get to grips with another language if they wanted to. It annoys me beyond reason actually, when I ask them about their English proficiency ‘that’s different’... ok then. I wonder how long they would insist they couldn’t do it if they were dropped into some region where they had no choice?
English speakers are fault tolerant though. I’m bordering on a Frank anecdote here but I was on a barge doing a fireworks display once with a bunch of Dutch guys at dusk. One of them asked me what we call this time of night, and asked if it was ‘translucent’ - which shows an incredible understanding of the language, and IMO was a cracking suggestion.
I think schools are partly to blame. I was put off languages at about 14 by a French teacher who said I would never master French.One thing I dislike is British people who say ‘I’m not a languages person’ which is obviously bunk. If people with access to very little resources all over the world can get a grip of English then the vast majority of English speakers could get to grips with another language if they wanted to. It annoys me beyond reason actually, when I ask them about their English proficiency ‘that’s different’... ok then. I wonder how long they would insist they couldn’t do it if they were dropped into some region where they had no choice?
English speakers are fault tolerant though. I’m bordering on a Frank anecdote here but I was on a barge doing a fireworks display once with a bunch of Dutch guys at dusk. One of them asked me what we call this time of night, and asked if it was ‘translucent’ - which shows an incredible understanding of the language, and IMO was a cracking suggestion.
You don't need to master a language. You need to make yourself understood, which is slightly different. I discovered a love for France and French in my 20's and picked up a lot more, including studying modules at University.
My French colleagues think that I speak French without any accent (apparently to their amazement). My statements are full of grammatical errors (gender, etc) but they understand me. Once you switch in confidence from "will I get this wrong" to "I will try, and if not then rephrase" it gets a lot easier.
Tattle tales or snitches. One, where I've just moved into, keeps running
off to the woman in our lives. So far, he's bleated about my stuff
being stored in his wardrobe, about the smell the Waxoyl I was using
made and today, about how my smoking out of my bedroom window
stinks out his room.
Thankfully, he'll be moving out, the sooner the better in my view.
Meanwhile, you're 70, grow a pair and stop running off to mummy.
Funt.
off to the woman in our lives. So far, he's bleated about my stuff
being stored in his wardrobe, about the smell the Waxoyl I was using
made and today, about how my smoking out of my bedroom window
stinks out his room.
Thankfully, he'll be moving out, the sooner the better in my view.
Meanwhile, you're 70, grow a pair and stop running off to mummy.
Funt.
davhill said:
Tattle tales or snitches. One, where I've just moved into, keeps running
off to the woman in our lives. So far, he's bleated about my stuff
being stored in his wardrobe, about the smell the Waxoyl I was using
made and today, about how my smoking out of my bedroom window
stinks out his room.
Thankfully, he'll be moving out, the sooner the better in my view.
Meanwhile, you're 70, grow a pair and stop running off to mummy.
Funt.
Took me a while. You're not happy.off to the woman in our lives. So far, he's bleated about my stuff
being stored in his wardrobe, about the smell the Waxoyl I was using
made and today, about how my smoking out of my bedroom window
stinks out his room.
Thankfully, he'll be moving out, the sooner the better in my view.
Meanwhile, you're 70, grow a pair and stop running off to mummy.
Funt.
gregs656 said:
Europa1 said:
It's one of the things that embarrasses me when I go to, say, France, and so many of the locals have a reasonable grasp of English yet some of the expats in the Dordogne are barely beyond beyond the 'speaking English loudly and slowly' level. If the locals can get to grips with such a willfully awkward language as English, can we as a nation not get to grips with French which is far more structured?
I’d love to properly learn a language. I was putting a decent amount of effort into Spanish but I lost track with it and haven’t got back into it. I really enjoyed the process. One thing I dislike is British people who say ‘I’m not a languages person’ which is obviously bunk. If people with access to very little resources all over the world can get a grip of English then the vast majority of English speakers could get to grips with another language if they wanted to. It annoys me beyond reason actually, when I ask them about their English proficiency ‘that’s different’... ok then. I wonder how long they would insist they couldn’t do it if they were dropped into some region where they had no choice?
English speakers are fault tolerant though. I’m bordering on a Frank anecdote here but I was on a barge doing a fireworks display once with a bunch of Dutch guys at dusk. One of them asked me what we call this time of night, and asked if it was ‘translucent’ - which shows an incredible understanding of the language, and IMO was a cracking suggestion.
The English language was invented by Anglo Saxons who spoke German, and Normans who spoke French, and who wanted a simple way to communicate with each other. That's why we don't the ludicrous gender for everything rule that makes French and German so hard to learn.
Also of course we acquired it at an age when we were hard wired to learn language, and you spend years on it. The fact that we eventually figured it out doesn't mean we can all learn foreign languages, any more than the fact people brought in Japan can speak Japanese makes that easy to learn.
droopsnoot said:
borcy said:
How would you pronounce those names? 
To be fair, I'd never have known about the first one if I didn't watch Inspector Lynley back in the day.How come Strachan is just that to common people but Strawn to posh types? Dalzell/Deyell. Menzies/ Mingis. All odd stuff. How did it come about?
V8mate said:
nicanary said:
I've just got the feathers out of my hair.
How come Strachan is just that to common people but Strawn to posh types? Dalzell/Deyell. Menzies/ Mingis. All odd stuff. How did it come about?
Affectation and pretension. How come Strachan is just that to common people but Strawn to posh types? Dalzell/Deyell. Menzies/ Mingis. All odd stuff. How did it come about?
Mine for this morning: companies that won't give a price, albeit an approximate one:
Cold caller yesterday asked my Dad if he wanted the garage door replacing, they've just done one up the road so we can ask what they think of it (as if we know our neighbours - ha!) and so on. Of course, the first question was "how much?", but the guy at the door can't give a price, even though he's just done an identical door on an identical house just up the road. He leaves, saying he'll get a rough price and get back in touch.
Fast-forward to this morning, the office phones up and wants to make an appointment. I take the call, and tell them he's really just interested in a price. "I haven't seen the door, I can't give one" is the answer, so I explain that they've just done one. But they want to come and talk about it, and no matter how many different ways I ask for just a rough ballpark for a standard single garage door, they won't give one.
Surely there must be a "minimum" - the cost of the cheapest replacement door and their labour to fit it, and options "up" from there for remote control, better door, different finish, whatever. But they won't give it. End up with a "I'll send some options through" and end of phone call.
nicanary said:
Dalzell/Deyell. Menzies/ Mingis. All odd stuff. How did it come about?
The "z" in Dalziell and Menzies not really a z, rather it is a yogh, a letter used in Lowland Scots (and Middle English). The yogh wasn't present on early printing presses, so came to be replaced by the similar-looking z. The yogh is pronounced with a sort of "yoh" sound, explaining the pronunciation of many lowland and Ayrshire placenames and surnames.It's not, as another posted suggested, affectation. Although, nowadays, it may be a shibboleth.
V8mate said:
pretension.
Isn't that something modern seatbelts have? 
webstercivet said:
The "z" in Dalziell and Menzies not really a z, rather it is a yogh, a letter used in Lowland Scots (and Middle English). The yogh wasn't present on early printing presses, so came to be replaced by the similar-looking z. The yogh is pronounced with a sort of "yoh" sound, explaining the pronunciation of many lowland and Ayrshire placenames and surnames.
It's not, as another posted suggested, affectation. Although, nowadays, it may be a shibboleth.
Interesting and informative. Thanks for that. It's not, as another posted suggested, affectation. Although, nowadays, it may be a shibboleth.
Edited by Clockwork Cupcake on Tuesday 10th March 10:47
webstercivet said:
nicanary said:
Dalzell/Deyell. Menzies/ Mingis. All odd stuff. How did it come about?
The "z" in Dalziell and Menzies not really a z, rather it is a yogh, a letter used in Lowland Scots (and Middle English). The yogh wasn't present on early printing presses, so came to be replaced by the similar-looking z. The yogh is pronounced with a sort of "yoh" sound, explaining the pronunciation of many lowland and Ayrshire placenames and surnames.It's not, as another posted suggested, affectation. Although, nowadays, it may be a shibboleth.
Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff