Qizilbashwoman Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 1 hour ago, Shiningbrow said: "Literally"... 🙄 (ESL teacher... ) if yer an ESL teacher then you should be aware that literally has been used as an intensifier (and not just to mean "in the literal sense") for hundreds of years. Jonathan Edwards (the jerk from the Colonial era US, not the jerk who pretends to be a psychic) commented on this usage in 1698 (and he didn't even judge it, which is... remarkable for Jonathan Edwards, whose main occupation was harshing on whatever he happened to lay his eyes on that particular minute). and even if it weren't, learners of English should be able to understand vernacular written and spoken English, where this usage is omnipresent signed, a linguist who specialises in language revitalisation programs and therefore issues of multilingualism and translation difficulties 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kloster Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 Eh, sorry, but what is ESL? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill the barbarian Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 1 hour ago, Kloster said: Eh, sorry, but what is ESL? English is a Stupid Language Seriously, English as a Second Language. 1 1 Quote ... remember, with a TARDIS, one is never late for breakfast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kloster Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 1 hour ago, Bill the barbarian said: English is a Stupid Language Seriously, English as a Second Language. Danke schön. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill the barbarian Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 2 hours ago, Kloster said: Danke schön. Bitte schön! I would lose my Grognard card if I let it go at that... Quote Bitte schön!, opus 372, is a polka composed by Johann Strauss II. The first two themes of the composition incorporate Strauss' operetta Cagliostro in Wien. The composition was first performed in the summer of 1872. Were else...— Wikipedia 1 Quote ... remember, with a TARDIS, one is never late for breakfast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shiningbrow Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 On 9/9/2019 at 2:17 PM, Qizilbashwoman said: if yer an ESL teacher then you should be aware that literally has been used as an intensifier (and not just to mean "in the literal sense") for hundreds of years. Jonathan Edwards (the jerk from the Colonial era US, not the jerk who pretends to be a psychic) commented on this usage in 1698 (and he didn't even judge it, which is... remarkable for Jonathan Edwards, whose main occupation was harshing on whatever he happened to lay his eyes on that particular minute). and even if it weren't, learners of English should be able to understand vernacular written and spoken English, where this usage is omnipresent signed, a linguist who specialises in language revitalisation programs and therefore issues of multilingualism and translation difficulties Oh yes... I tell them how it's used... Wrongly. That's part of how language changes... Someone gets it wrong - lots of other people jump on the bandwagon. It's great to have words mean the exact opposite of the original meaning... Makes life so much easier 🙄 (I teach students heading to university. They should be aware that modern vernacular isn't the best to use in academic writing) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qizilbashwoman Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 1 hour ago, Shiningbrow said: Oh yes... I tell them how it's used... Wrongly. It's not wrong, it's that academic writing is a weird and rarified format. It's not like it's not the same in every other language on the planet. Source: I have learned languages like Irish, French, Korean, and Mandarin. As an ESL teacher surely you know that Newspaper English is some of the most difficult language to teach students. It's no different in other languages either! I took four years of Mandarin and I couldn't read a newspaper, not really. So it's not even like it's the only unique code-switch we do. Again: not wrong, just not appropriate by order of some weird rules set up that nobody really understands why or how or when exactly or how or when it changes. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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