Grammar and Language

I'm rather particular about grammar and language, sometimes in pretty unconventional ways.

This page is a stub, created on 2020-04-21 (last updated on 2021-07-19). Its contents are notes on the issues and angles I want to address about this topic.

Here are a few of my fixations and particularities (in no particular order) that I intend to explain in greater detail:

• apostrophes
  • "The Bureau of Grammatical Integrity" and the anecdote with Sara Triplett and her parents when we "vandalized" the "WASHER AND DRYER HOOK UPS'" sign
• the subjunctive
• serial comma
• punctuation and quotation marks
• punctuation for abbreviations (eg, "eg", "ie", "etc", "Mr", "Dr", "PhD", "Sr")
• nested parentheses
• verbs as nouns (eg, "That's a big ask.")
• nouns as verbs (eg, "Let's solution that.")
• adjectives as nouns (eg, "deliverable")
• noun versus verb compound forms; eg,
  • "setup" versus "set up"
  • "login" versus "log in"
  • "checkin" versus "check-in"
  • "oncall" versus "on-call"
  • "inline" versus "in-line"
• hyphenates that should be their own words
  • "usecase"
  • "enduser"
  • "painpoint"
• contranyms (eg, "cleave", "sanction", "practically")
• negation prefixes that don't negate
  • inflammable
  • delimit
  • deploy/employ
• "begs the question" versus "implies the question"
• the "[blah] because [noun phrase]" construction
• "a-whole-nother"
• RAS syndrome
  • "PIN number"
  • "ATM machine"
  • "API interface"
  • "VIN number"
  • "DC Comics"
  • "LCD display"
  • "UPC code"
  • "IP protocol"
• "compose" versus "comprise"
• "further" versus "farther"
• "less" versus "fewer"
• "envy" versus "jealousy"
• "effective" versus "efficient"
  • see also post on Manager Tools forum
• "assume" and "assumption" versus "conclude" and "conclusion"
• "need" versus "want"
  • the effect of regarding these as being quantitatively on the same spectrum: "strong-enough desire" == "metaphysical requirement", an uncalibrated sense of entitlement
  • relationship to scarcity and "post-scarcity world"
  • consider Aristotle's view on the distinction
• "facts" versus "opinions"
• "objective" versus "subjective"
  • "universal" versus "personal"
  • "situational" versus "context-free"
  • "abstract" versus "concrete"
  • "opinion-based" versus "fact-based"
  • "controversial" versus "uncontroversial"
• "selfish" versus "short-sighted whim pursuit"
• "practical" versus "pragmatic"
• "reconcile" versus "rationalize"
• "judge" versus "condemn"
• "feeling" as referring to either emotion or intellectual/cognitive conclusions (ie, "seeming")
  • "I feel X." as being either "My emotion is X." or "It seems to me that X."
• "compromise"
• "[collection]" versus "[collection] [item]":
  • "blog post" versus "blog"
  • "podcast" versus "podcast episode"
  • "wiki" versus "wiki page"
  • "JIRA" versus "JIRA issue"
  • "FAQ" versus "FAQ entry"
  • "meme" versus ???
• "irregardless", other non-words, and the (d)evolution of language (maybe a separate post in its own right)
• datetime stamps, 24-hour time
• "gods"
• "theater" versus "theatre"
• British English alternatives I prefer
  • lift
  • rubbish (bin)
• pronunciation of plural words, such as
  • "basis" versus "base"
  • "bias" ("bias-ehz" versus "bias-eez")
• Picard-isms: schedule, issue, appreciate
• other words I like to pronounce in my own way
  • controversial
  • mature
  • modular
  • incredulity
  • gradually
  • Christian
  • parmesan
  • pendulum
  • prescient
  • individual
  • Ventura
  • cordial
  • emaciated
  • Vellejo
  • neutral
  • I want you
  • Colorado, Nevada, Iraq, Iran, Afganistan
  • leisure
  • celestial
• generic brand names
  • Kleenex
  • Band-aid
  • Speedo
  • Ziplock
  • Jello
  • Tupperware
• "none are" versus "none is"; "any are" versus "any is"
• singular "they"
• singular "data"
  • shorthand for "item of data"?
  • connection to "the Borg", "a Borg"
  • contrast/connection to "medium"/"mediums" and "media"
• "formulas" versus "formulae"
• "terrariums" versus "terraria", "aquarium" versus "aquaria"
• phrases and words I've either coined or am enamored of
  • "dermatological phenomena"
  • "micro-disasters"
  • "musical hedonist"
  • "ussie" (like "selfie", but of multiple subjects)
  • "disconcur"
• "pet owner" / "pet parent" → "pet guardian" / "pet custodian"

Fun games:

• alterninyms (eg, "Sleep, Shower, and Sundry")
• pluralization (eg, mattropodes, hice, Attorneys General, boxen)
• silly pronunciations
  • escape
  • jalapeño
  • quesadilla
  • fajita
  • tortilla
  • Chipotle / Aristotle
  • Target
  • influencer
  • cocaine
  • marijuana
  • Paleo
  • dangerous
  • photography
  • pornography
  • lyrics
  • eggs
  • legs
  • wifis
  • stupid

Other topics:

• Style guides be damned! (Kind of.)
• descriptive versus prescriptive versus objective
• evolution versus devolution
• Newspeak
  • liberal
  • progressive
  • social justice
  • (re)distribution (of wealth)
  • privilege
  • labour party
  • proletariat
  • pro-life
  • detention center
  • energy conservation
  • the homeless
  • the environment (this is like referring, in general, to "the context")
  • (tax) subsidy (referring to a tax break as a "subsidy")
  • human rights
  • economic rights
• words I struggle to pronounce
  • remunerative