Lovely bright morning again - not sure how chilly it is and I haven't had my walk yet but I would guess there's a nip in the air.
I am here with a moan today and I am anticipating you will all disagree with me but I am keen to know what you think. As a teacher of English there was a time when I would have debated this with a class and I know they would have disagreed with me strongly but I still cringe when I hear somebody on the television say "different than". In my day, according to my revered English teacher, Miss Ryder, it was always "diferent from". And any divergence away from this would have received a severe reprimand.
And secondly - how to receive a compliment. I only noticed this last evening while watching "Strictly Come Dancing". The judges sive a judgement on the standard and then a score (out of ten). Do the two contestants say "thank you"? No - they put their open-palmed hand on or near their heart and give a little bow/nod and say 'thank-you'.
Is this how we move forward language-wise? If so I hate it. What do you think?
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52 comments:
Oh how lovely! Definitely I use "different from". I never knew your Miss Ryder but my Mother had views similar to hers!
Good morning, Weaver (late morning here as I write this). Generally, yes, I would agree that "from" is the better choice. I laughed a bit at the hand on heart, bowing gesture. I've noticed over the years that over-the-top comments are starting to bug me. For example, when ordering something, a waitress (or waiter) will often reply with "awesome" or "perfect" and in my mind I think, "No, ordering my meal was not really all that awesome an endeavour". I watch some competition tv shows and the contestants almost always reply with "thank you so much". It's just automatic. I am a little tired of the heart gesture made with the fingers of both hands. Yikes, I am sounding like a curmudgeon here! -Jenn
Different FROM, darn it, not different than. Than is a much over used word. I also (in my head, not verbally, yet) object to "no, I'm good" as a response to being offered something, as in "do you want some coffee?" "No, I'm good". I haven't noticed the gesture vs speaking thanks, now I will be watching for that!
Ceci
Yes, different from.The sayings that annoy me are 'amazing' and 'awesome' when describing people and things.
I think that a lot of people these days have far bigger things to worry about than correct grammar, is it really that important, life has moved on since Miss Ryder's day. It's been a lovely mild, sunny and autumnal day down here.
I would have said different to or different from, never different than.
I would have said “different to”.
Barbarax
One of the many things I miss about my mother was her polite correction of my spoken and written English. All of my siblings appreciated having our grammar tidied up. The only downside is that I now find myself wincing when I hear words such as lie and lay, fewer and less, good and well and who and whom used incorrectly. Admittedly, very few people use whom anymore so that one is not really "wince-worthy".
Different from or different to. Today tv announcers often have terrible pronunciation and grammar, I like a regional accent but won’t listen to the language being used incorrectly. I also dislike the trend now for people applaud them selves if say they answer a question correctly on a quiz or give a good performance, It’s a wonder I watch tv at all.
As others have mentioned here, the adjective "amazing" is SOOO overused. Most of the time, it refers to something which may be just a tad bit better than average. Being a wordie by choice means I write and speak using terminology seldom used by my acquaintenances. That may or may not be a dubious honor.
I think the gestures are to communicate with the many deaf viewers the show picked up last year when Rose (profoundly deaf) won. The clapping gesture is prticularly noticeable within the group of watching contestants.
I asked my students to learn to take compliments…say thank you…
I'm with you.
It is hard to shake off the lessons instilled in childhood. I feel the same as you do about the downgrading of our language.
The farewell that always upsets me is "see you later" from every shop or supermarket assistant. "How do you know you will see me later" hovers on my lips. Daft really. The welcome I like, but never use, is the hands together and the head bowed You are acknowledging the person with respect.
I have never heard different than used or ever come across it. With regard to people saying thank you, as long as they say it in some form or other I am happy with that. I am unhappy if people do not say thank at all you when they should. That is just plain bad manners.
Amen! There are precise words that should be used.
My pet peeve is using "scared" when there was no fright involved. "Startled" is the appropriate word! I tried to teach that to lots of our sons' friends when in central Texas. Sigh!
I wonder if the hand-on-heart gesture is left over from Zoom meetings?
Hugs!
It's strange how word combinations sometimes ring your bell. Here in South West Virginia people often say "in the floor" and not "on the floor".I think that those of us who are old and remember the school days when we were taught to write correctly and speak correctly will always be surprised when we encounter the results of not including these lessons in school.
Terry
Here, in the U.P. of Michigan, we hear “I seen”. It makes us crazy! My daughter teaches English in Florida. (Raised in Michigan.) She was taken aback the first time a student said, “ I’m fixin’ “ to get to that. I know it’s a southern expression but she’s not a fan.
Debbie
I am definitely in agreement with the grammatical error. As for your second question; the dancers seldom converse directly with the judges so a gesture of thanks might be acceptable. I find the overuse of the word 'awesome' irritating, and the use of 'less' when 'fewer' would be correct. It is such a shame that our language is so disrespected. Having said that, I must now ensure that I don't make any grammatical errors myself. Feel free to mark me down if you notice any!
Agree 👍🏻
Languages evolve and expressions change with each generation. As long as we are still communicating, that is what is most important I think.
I too wince at the way people use words and get very annoyed at the incorrect use of was and were, can't people work out if something is singular or plural? At other times I wonder if it's just a sign that I'm getting old. Language and grammar are constantly evolving and generally it's the young who make the changes. Think of how far we've come from the language Chaucer or Shakespear spoke. Does anyone say omnibus, radiogram or influenza or write the modern words with an apostrophe? I tend to use one for 'flu but not with bus or radio.Word of Mouth (R4) is often very informative on this subject.
I hate it too Pat.. So much going on today that i hate.. How about putting your palms together in the prayer position and doing that same thank you... irritating.. I just think its something that has caught on and now everyone is doing it.. Hugs! deb
My pet peeve (and I don't know if you get it in the UK) is should of. As in "I should of gone to the shop and brought an advocado for I to eat".
Change is never ending. What is in vogue now will change over time. That said, we all have our personal pet peeves and things that get under our skin.
"Different than" feels to me like fingernails on a blackboard. I react similarly to "down off of," and "what it is is." The same with using "sunk" as in "The boat sunk on Tuesday." I understand that language is a changing and growing entity, but not all change is good.
My cringe word is writing “your” instead of the proper abbreviation “you’re”, for you are!
The one that makes me nuts is people using amount instead of number. There was a large amount of people at the party. No, no, there was a large number of people at the party. Well, there were a lotta folks there.;o)
I guess the main thing is whether we can make heads or tails of what people are attempting to convey. Usually you can ferret out what they actually mean, but not always.
Glad there's at least one other person on team "different from"! The hand-on-heart thank you is over used and has consequently lost its value.
My oldes grandson is in primary school, and I heve been looking in vain for something like grammar in his textbooks. And this must have been going on for some time. In the newspapers as well as on the radio or TV you find grammatically horrible sentences. Of course, we have also the problem of more and more English expressions, be it in marketing, in job descriptions, in technology or just in daily life.
Hilde in Germany
The English language is being progressively corrupted. Once it is labelled as usage it is here to stay. Most irritating is picking songs instead of choosing songs. I like the hand on the heart gesture...but I am not English so that may be a cultural reaction. Having said that I think English is a rich and beautiful language and it saddens me to see it's decline.
I can testify to what Hilde says. And when I learned English at school many years ago, it was different from and certainly never different than.
Derek does have a point that there may be more important things to worry about, but those other things won‘t go away or be resolved any sooner by not paying attention to correct language.
My current moan is about people who start a reply with "So, I mean....". Where has this suddenly come from? I hear it all the time, even from intelligent sounding people!
"Should of", instead of "should have" is one of my particular gripes. I hear it all the time. Another one is " I done it" instead of " I did it". We used to have an elderly friend who always said done it, and it took all my strength not to yell " did it" at him!
Thank you! "Different to/than" is a real bugbear of mine and prompts me to shout at the television while my son laughs helplessly.
"Different from", as you say.
As a current teacher, what I see in student writing is the misuse of the word “then” instead of “than”. Drives me absolutely crazy and for the life of me I cannot work out how this has permeated their grasp of the language.
To me it has always to not than or from. My real bug bear is two times rather than twice.
We'll have to agree to disagree then Pat
Thanks everyone - such interesting replies.
Different from until the day I did but that was drummed into me as a child. Having said that English is a living language and as time passes so does usage.
I was always taught that the word 'got' should not be used, however I'd gladly put up with everything if the world could be rid of the 'like' infestation. Some young people are so badly infected that it's in every sentence. - Pam.
I've never heard "different than"
Agree with Pam about the "like" infestation and marvel at the popularity of "So" to start sentences.
My pet peeve is the use of it's to (wrongly) denote possession. The word "it's" with apostrophe stands for "it is" or "it has". If the word does not stand for"it is" or "it has"then it should be "its".
Sue
"I don't feel any different than I did yesterday"
Or
"I don't feel any different from yesterday"
Either one sounds fine to me.
Elsie
I would say “I feel the same as yesterday” and avoid any error in grammar. Words that are used too often and sometimes incorrectly by others are:. Like, literally, amazing and so. A relative seems to end every sentence with “At any rate” because he often gets off the subject he is discussing.Oh my!
...So, ' know what I'm sayin ?'' fired off, like, after every statement. Try interviewing an awesome hip hop artist without that appearing in rapid succession. It's like, really really annoying, know what I'm sayin? Amazing if that was got rid of.
It seems we are stuck with all these little irritations but until the day I no longer blog I shall try hard not to use any of them, Thank you all for your contribution.
Hope all is well, Pat.
Thank you for your comments and your points of view on what is obviously a 'touchy' subject! very kind of you to worry about me - read today's post to see why I have not been postingl
What I find particularly annoying is when you complement or thank a service person for providing the service they are employed to provide and they respond with "No problem." As though it might otherwise be a problem? Grrrrr. What ever happened to "you're welcome?"
Different from, yes! It isn't a comparison so there should be no "than." Hope you are well!
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