3 ms·
Ah, the old "I was just testing you" excuse. I think that one went out of favor when I was in third grade or so. It's not common in the vast majority of cultu
by jki275 8y ago
Ah, the old "I was just testing you" excuse. I think that one went out of favor when I was in third grade or so.
It's not common in the vast majority of cultural circles -- I know because in my travels all over the world for the past 25 years I've spoken with thousands of people who speak many variants of the language, both as a first language and not. In general, if you ask anyone who has studied English grammar whether it's correct or not, they will tell you it's not. The only place you'll find otherwise is inside small enclaves of "progressive" thought who are trying to change the language to suit their feelings. You put a large amount of credibility on those enclaves. Most of the rest of the world does not care one bit about them.
- joshuamorton 8y ago"people who learned strict British grammar", which is the case for many international/esl speakers do not speak common English. If that's your metric, then "elevator" is not in common use (lift would be the correct terminology). I put a lot of credibility on American English, where singular they is more accepted. You're the one bringing up all this talk of progressives and politics. I'm just making descriptive statement about common usage. If "the broader United States" is an enclave, that's news to me. For what it's worth, you're speaking to at least one person who has studied English grammar and disagrees with you. And I previously mentioned a couple of common authorities on grammar who share a similar opinion. You wrote that off. But I think it may be worth taking a moment to reflect on the possibility that your deeply held beliefs about grammar are not as common or inviolable as you seem to believe. As for your comment below about appeals to authority, I'd just remind you that the appeal in question was originally made by you when you said >if you ask anyone who has studied English grammar whether it's correct or not, they will tell you it's not. I think that speaks for itself.
- jki275 8y agoYay for appeal to authority again, it's even better if you're appealing to yourself! Elevator is in common use throughout the US and abroad -- "lift" is more common in former British Colonies (Hong Kong is one I specifically recall because I've spent time there, but in the Philippines and Thailand it's elevator), but the vast majority of the English speaking world would use elevator now.
- dang 8y agoPlease don't do any more petty flamewars on HN.
- dang 8y agoPlease do not do petty flamewars on HN.