Joann Sfar's Uz homage to Luise Perrene's original RuneQuest cover

[Qizilbashwoman]

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

[Kloster]

Eh, sorry, but what is ESL?

[Bill the barbarian]

1 hour ago, Kloster said:

Eh, sorry, but what is ESL?

English is a Stupid Language

Seriously, English as a Second Language.

[Kloster]

1 hour ago, Bill the barbarian said:

English is a Stupid Language

Seriously, English as a Second Language.

Danke schön.

[Bill the barbarian]

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

[Shiningbrow]

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)

[Qizilbashwoman]

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.