Linked Questions
12 questions linked to/from Descriptivism and widespread misspelling
272
votes
11
answers
110k
views
Is there a word or phrase for the feeling you get after looking at a word for too long?
Sometimes after looking at a word for a while, I become convinced that it can't possibly be spelled correctly. Even after looking it up, sounding it out, and realizing that there's simply no other ...
- 6,855
27
votes
7
answers
5k
views
Will grammar errors become correct after enough people use them for enough time?
First let me state the obvious—based on my own experience—that hordes of people are confused about certain basic grammar principles. For example, I so often see mistakes in choosing the pronoun to use ...
- 4,417
11
votes
4
answers
11k
views
If the English language is always evolving, why do we need to learn and follow grammatical rules?
Since language evolves over time — the best example I can think of is slang where it mostly doesn't follow grammar rules — why is there a need to preserve grammar or stress that proper ...
- 237
34
votes
3
answers
21k
views
When do you use “learnt” and when “learned”?
Is learnt UK English and learned US? Is it that simple?
I’m used to using learnt, but my US spellchecker says it is wrong.
19
votes
4
answers
2k
views
When does a mistake become standard usage?
We all know that word meanings and usage change over time (though not all of us are happy about it). How long does a word have to be used in a particular way for that usage to be "okay"? At what ...
- 6,855
1
vote
2
answers
49k
views
Independance or Independence?
What other words are like "independence" in British English where you replace the 'a' with an 'e'?
- 4,775
14
votes
2
answers
63k
views
What is the meaning of "atleast" and is it different from "at least"? [closed]
I don't think atleast is an actual word, but I've found many instances of its usage. A simple google search for atleast reveal 13,100,000 hits.
What is the meaning of atleast and is it different ...
- 11.4k
4
votes
5
answers
617
views
How dangerous is the acceptance of common usage on traditional English?
I mean how far should we flow on with the current called "common usage"?
Is there a fear that the real English is going do disappear someday?
By the way, as for me, I like common English myself. :)
- 1,097
11
votes
3
answers
2k
views
When does a neologism cease to be a neologism?
What benchmarks or useful signs can be found to declassify neologisms? Obviously, inclusion in a dictionary is as likely as anything to declare a neologism a word but what happens just before that ...
- 35.9k
2
votes
3
answers
7k
views
When does a word become a 'word'? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Creating a new word
The rule of thumb used to be that when a word hit the Oxford Dictionary, it was considered to be an accepted word - this, however, seems to have ...
user5531
0
votes
1
answer
1k
views
If enough people start using a word contextually wrong when does the word's meaning change? [closed]
Example
Say some percent of the English speaking population started using the word "sky" to replace the meaning of "cloud", at what percent would you be wrong in using the word "sky" to refer to the ...
- 133
4
votes
1
answer
482
views
When do nouns convert between mass and count?
I confess to having the pedantic hangup of refusing to use email as a count noun, but it's a lost cause.
Over the past week I've been working on a modeling and simulation proposal, and I've noticed ...
- 1,339