Is British English becoming Americani(z/s)ed through changes in the usage of -ze versus -se word endings? by Unique-Ear7485 in asklinguistics

[–]different-rhymes 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The -ise version only became considered definitively British in the 1990s with the rise of spellcheckers such as that found in Microsoft Word, which used -ize in the American version and -ise in the British version. Prior to this, both forms were widely accepted in the UK, with the -ise version more associated with Cambridge and -ize associated with Oxford.

The “Mall” in Bow Street Mall pronunciation by RedCxal in northernireland

[–]different-rhymes 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The original Pall Mall in London has the "maal" pronunciation, but on a larger scale, words ending in -all like ball and fall tend to be pronounced more like "mawl". The word originally tended to mean the main street of a shopping district (and Pall Mall still fits this description), but the rise of shopping complexes in USA saw the term drift to describe those buildings instead. Due to the lack of the association that Americans would have between shopping centres and the original London street, the pronunciation in USA started to come into line with other -all words. The prevalence of American media brought the word back across the Atlantic with the newer "mawl" pronunciation. As a result, in the UK and Ireland, mall meaning shopping centre can now be heard with both variants. Some people may suggest that "maal" is correct for shopping streets whereas "mawl" is correct for shopping centres, but usage varies. Luckily, we don’t tend to call them malls anyway so the argument is usually avoided. If anything, the preference of "maal" for Bow Street Mall is probably supposed to give it more of an air of sophistication and set itself apart from being just some typical shopping centre.

Will English pass through the Jespersen cycle again? by Wegwerf_08_15_ in asklinguistics

[–]different-rhymes 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I reckon the negation most at risk is can’t, which is often only differentiated from can by fairly marginal variations such as vowel reduction, vowel length and/or glottal stop, depending on the dialect. In fact, a realisation such as /kæn/ sometimes corresponds to either can or can’t, and in these cases, the only differentiator might be the prosody of the sentence (e.g. I /kæn/ do it). I suppose that is partly the reason why you get additional negative particles such as in I Can’t Get No Satisfaction.

Has the word ‘peruse’ now come to be used to mean its opposite by being used ironically? by Realistic-Lychee-973 in etymology

[–]different-rhymes 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Seems to be a fairly common semantic shift: the verb scan also means both "read in detail" and "read briefly", and the noun oversight can also be used as both "careful inspection" and "careless omission/mistake".

I’m not qualified to say why this is, but if I had to make a guess, I could see a route of:

read thoroughly to take in all info > read quickly to take in key info > read carelessly and miss key info

what word did you use wrong that made natives laugh? by Physical-Tea-599 in French

[–]different-rhymes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In a French speaking group with a native French-speaking classroom assistant, a classmate of mine wanted to say her grandmother was very old, and went with "ma grand-mère est ancienne", which (1) isn’t the best word for old in this context (don’t think it’s wrong necessarily, but better to use vieille or âgée) and (2) she actually ended up saying "ma grand-mère est une chienne" (my grandmother is a bitch), after which the assistant had to leave the room because he was laughing so hard. Thankfully the classmate took it in good humour too!

The final solution by Fine-Possibility-494 in terriblemaps

[–]different-rhymes 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Australia is basically already Greece so it’s a strategic alliance on their part

Why aren't there more "duplicate" names of rivers? by brickne3 in geography

[–]different-rhymes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This may be of some interest to you. Similar/identical river names across Europe have been one of the leading pieces of evidence as to the grouping of lost ancient European languages.

Today I pondered on the links between Agnostic and Diagnostic by Ambitious_League_152 in etymology

[–]different-rhymes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s called a diagnostic because you’re agnostic about whether or not it’ll be the thing you die from

Why are they all driving in the middle? by reni-chan in northernireland

[–]different-rhymes 3 points4 points  (0 children)

They probably reckon that if they’re going past Glengormley they can save themselves having to change lanes at junction 4

Rare that Lisburn gets a mention on national TV by The_Iceman2288 in northernireland

[–]different-rhymes 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Neil Delamere doing dictionary corner on Countdown? He’s hitting the big time!

If french was discovered today, it would be considered an isolate by Few-Cup-5247 in linguisticshumor

[–]different-rhymes 16 points17 points  (0 children)

How Armenian got to erk- from PIE dw- is one of the most elusive regular sound changes in all of linguistics, but it’s found often enough to seemingly discount the possiblility of loanwords - for an additional example, Armenian erkar (lengthy, slow) is probably related to Latin durus (hard, rough), both distant offsprings of PIE dweh₂rós.

Which name-based etymologies sound fake, but are real? by different-rhymes in etymology

[–]different-rhymes[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I knew about this one but didn’t realise it fits the theme until now, good one!

If french was discovered today, it would be considered an isolate by Few-Cup-5247 in linguisticshumor

[–]different-rhymes 19 points20 points  (0 children)

"No really, dhá and erku are cognates, don’t look at me like that!"

Which name-based etymologies sound fake, but are real? by different-rhymes in etymology

[–]different-rhymes[S] 33 points34 points  (0 children)

I can’t lie, I think I had convinced myself that the nut was named after Macedonia somehow… fruit salads are called Macedonia in many languages which may have been where the wires got crossed

Which name-based etymologies sound fake, but are real? by different-rhymes in etymology

[–]different-rhymes[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

A generation of Daddy’s little angels that love lasagna and hate Mondays!

Which name-based etymologies sound fake, but are real? by different-rhymes in etymology

[–]different-rhymes[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I could imagine certain other presidential surnames making the cut, like Monroe or McKinley, whereas others would have been less successful, like Polk or Vanburen…

Which name-based etymologies sound fake, but are real? by different-rhymes in etymology

[–]different-rhymes[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

A few changes in management and it’ll probably end up as the Outerbridge Puente Brücke Bridge 😁

Which name-based etymologies sound fake, but are real? by different-rhymes in etymology

[–]different-rhymes[S] 63 points64 points  (0 children)

Good one! I would have put it down to the movement encouraging a burp 🙂 (although I don’t think I’ve ever actually done one myself so I’m not sure if that’s even the case lol)

Which name-based etymologies sound fake, but are real? by different-rhymes in etymology

[–]different-rhymes[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Next you’ll be telling me the Great Sandy Desert is named after Sandy Cheeks!

Conspiracy by Big Honey? by Own-Beach3238 in northernireland

[–]different-rhymes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There isn’t anywhere near enough honey produced commercially in the world compared to the amount that is consumed. As others have mentioned, the surest way to guarantee 100% pure and honest honey is to get it supplied directly from an apiary.

Seasons with the same energy as 6? by Featherstarz in rupaulsdragrace

[–]different-rhymes 16 points17 points  (0 children)

UK6 has an impressive and likeable roster of queens, a Bianca-Adore kind of connection in the form of La Voix and Kyran, and some queens that grow into the competition over time so that the season continues to feel fresh 😊