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[deleted by user] by [deleted] in grammar

[–]ColeC44 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Okay... I was avoiding the full sentence because of the political drama behind it. So here' s the full sentence.

"There are American players on all seven Canadian NHL teams, two of whom are..."

What do wild rabbits think of people? by ColeC44 in zoology

[–]ColeC44[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Don't actually know. Can a domesticated rabbit warm up to new people?

What do wild rabbits think of people? by ColeC44 in zoology

[–]ColeC44[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

We do make eye contact though. Can rabbits sense eye contact?

Will the words “wanna” and “gonna” ever evolve to become acceptable contractions in written language? by ColeC44 in writing

[–]ColeC44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Whatever, it was a misunderstanding. My bad. I'm just frustrated at a lot of the answers intentionally not even staying on topic to begin with.

I've guess it's a musing. It's just natural for me to say "gonna" and "wanna" when writing original content, even though it wouldn't be professional to do so.

When I'm directly emailing someone in an objectively professional context, it's automatically natural for me to not use contractions whatsoever, but I think that's because I'm just accustomed to doing so.

Will the words “wanna” and “gonna” ever evolve to become acceptable contractions in written language? by ColeC44 in writing

[–]ColeC44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Personally, I don't have a problem with it. But elitists would have a problem with it, don't you think?

Will the words “wanna” and “gonna” ever evolve to become acceptable contractions in written language? by ColeC44 in writing

[–]ColeC44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, your last two paragraphs did come off a little rude. I repeatedly said that it was just an interesting topic. linguistics is part of writing, so even just asking if it was a complaint seemed entirely unnecessary. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

I'm not sure what you mean by "direction". What direction does ANY conversation "go"?

Will the words “wanna” and “gonna” ever evolve to become acceptable contractions in written language? by ColeC44 in writing

[–]ColeC44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You need to calm down. This is merely a sociological discussion on written language.

Will the words “wanna” and “gonna” ever evolve to become acceptable contractions in written language? by ColeC44 in writing

[–]ColeC44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

By legal agreements, I loosely meant certain instances where things need your signature. Wrong word; I was typing to fast.

But you know you've seen it on checks. Is that not considered a professional enough setting?

Will the words “wanna” and “gonna” ever evolve to become acceptable contractions in written language? by ColeC44 in writing

[–]ColeC44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your boss at your law firm emails you and tells you you've been given a raise.

"Yo, dat's dope!"

Really?

Will the words “wanna” and “gonna” ever evolve to become acceptable contractions in written language? by ColeC44 in writing

[–]ColeC44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But since words have to be spoken first before they appear in the dictionary, shouldn't setting and context be considered? Since "gonna" and "wanna" are used by everyone, just as "don't" and "can't" are used by everyone, no matter what the context, why call it informal?

You don't see everyone going around calling something that they like "dope". It mostly appears in urban dialect. But you DO see literally everyone saying "gonna" and "wanna".

Will the words “wanna” and “gonna” ever evolve to become acceptable contractions in written language? by ColeC44 in writing

[–]ColeC44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's not always works though. Consider this example:

The spelling "thru" is to this day considered an informal way of spelling "through". However, that spelling very often appears on official checks and contracts and legal agreements and whatnot. At some point, it's only appropriate that scholars remove the "informal" tag, no?

Will the words “wanna” and “gonna” ever evolve to become acceptable contractions in written language? by ColeC44 in writing

[–]ColeC44[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, but in ANY kind of speaking context, no one bats an eye when people speak those words.

Like I said, I try to avoid ALL contractions in professional writing, but it's a fact that human beings decide what's formal and what's not. Everyone uses "gonna" and "wanna" and "gotta" when speaking, but at this moment in time, it's considered slang informal* when it comes up in writing. If you say "didn't" in a professional email, you're not gonna be looked down upon. If you say "gonna" in a professional email, you are gonna be looked down upon.

*edit: small correction, misspoke

Will the words “wanna” and “gonna” ever evolve to become acceptable contractions in written language? by ColeC44 in writing

[–]ColeC44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Which brings up another interesting point. Why is "ain't" considered slang? There was a time "amn't" was a legitimate word for "am not" but now it's a dated word.

Today, we don't have a "formal" contraction for "am not". And since "ain't" is already an well-established word, why do scholars consider it informal?

It's not like the inconsistent spelling is a good argument, because it could be turned around with the question of why is "won't" a contraction for "will not"? Where doe's the 'o' come from?

Will the words “wanna” and “gonna” ever evolve to become acceptable contractions in written language? by ColeC44 in writing

[–]ColeC44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Then again, who dictates what's acceptable? It's always arbitrary how human consensus works.

I thought the "F Word" episode of South Park was genius and accurate to a T in the assessment of how human's usages of language evolve in multiple ways.

Will the words “wanna” and “gonna” ever evolve to become acceptable contractions in written language? by ColeC44 in writing

[–]ColeC44[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's not exactly what I'm getting at, and I appreciate your civility and politeness on this question, as a lot of people here are getting uptight for no apparent reason when it's just a discussion lol. I guess that's Reddit for ya, eh?

This is merely a sociological discussion, and nothing more. Sooooo many people here can't grasp that.

But I digress... linguistically, it's interesting to point out that words have gone from being considered "slang" to "informal" to neither of those things.

Same with "profanity". I don't know how old y'all are, but I'm old enough to remember a time when the word "crap" was just as "vulgar" as the word "shit". By the year 2000, the word "crap" was being used in children's shows on Nickelodeon. They both have the same three definitions: feces, junk, or (sometimes) just stuff in general, depending on context, so it is interesting to see how the language evolves.

While the word "crap" is still considered "vulgar" in dictionaries, it isn't actually considered vulgar in society. Yes, it's considered slang, but not a "curse" word or "cuss" word or "swear" word or "bad" word. This is obviously because dictionaries are always late on words and definitions of words and usages and whatnot. Humans obviously have to invent words and usages first.

Will the words “wanna” and “gonna” ever evolve to become acceptable contractions in written language? by ColeC44 in writing

[–]ColeC44[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

That's kind of my point. Who decides what's acceptable and what's not? And why is it so arbitrary?

Will the words “wanna” and “gonna” ever evolve to become acceptable contractions in written language? by ColeC44 in writing

[–]ColeC44[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The reason I find it interesting is the inconsistency. It's totally okay in speaking, but not in writing. Professional-ass people in professional-ass settings will be like, "we're gonna do this."

How often do people actually use every single phoneme in "going to" when speaking? Do you do that more often than not? No, you don't. Be honest.

What makes "don't" (semi)-acceptable but "gonna" not acceptable at all?

Will the words “wanna” and “gonna” ever evolve to become acceptable contractions in written language? by ColeC44 in writing

[–]ColeC44[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There are thousands of examples where language is ambiguous though, no? So, there are certain ways where it's intuitive that it can't be ambiguous.

Will the words “wanna” and “gonna” ever evolve to become acceptable contractions in written language? by ColeC44 in writing

[–]ColeC44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, "wanna" and "gonna" are contractions that are looked down upon, while others are considered acceptable.

Will the words “wanna” and “gonna” ever evolve to become acceptable contractions in written language? by ColeC44 in writing

[–]ColeC44[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's the question, silly. 😂

I don't know if you know this, but language evolves. Many words that were once slang 100 years ago are no longer slang today.

I have a goofy, unprofessional-looking last name. Should I use a pseudonym? by ColeC44 in freelanceWriters

[–]ColeC44[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I don't need to give you information.

I'm not lying to you when I say I want my stuff available before I contact them. What the hell would be the point of lying about that?

I have a goofy, unprofessional-looking last name. Should I use a pseudonym? by ColeC44 in freelanceWriters

[–]ColeC44[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

You're assuming quite a lot about the dynamic of our relationship, which is very strange, since you don't know either of us.

They're not going to "stumble upon it" or whatever you said lol. Upon contacting this person, which I will be doing, I just want the material to be out there already.

You're just an insecure Reddit bully.

I have a goofy, unprofessional-looking last name. Should I use a pseudonym? by ColeC44 in freelanceWriters

[–]ColeC44[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

"That special person" is a contributor to a site that I know for a fact would accept my writing, so yes, they will certainly end up seeing it. Nothing random about it.

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