| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10] > | What cliches do you dislike the most? Thread poster: jyuan_us
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Baran Keki 
Türkiye
Local time: 12:49
Member
English to Turkish
Tom in London wrote:
More horrible English things
This reminds me, I watched that BBC mini series "The English" last weekend, it was one of the best things I've watched in a long time (in years maybe). You may dislike the "English', but "you gotta love" that one.
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:49
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Baran Keki wrote: Ice Scream wrote:
"Sucks to be you" I remember that one... Another disgusting American expression from those times is "Own"/"Getting owned", as in "I own you dude!", "Got owned" etc. Having settled down to a middle-aged life for quite sometime now, I've lost touch with the lingo/internet jargon of younger generations, and, frankly, I've no interest in familiarizing myself with them.
Try reading George Saunders. He's a genius with the lingo/internet jargon of younger generations:
"Yes, Suzanne said. We also have a pool. You should come over this summer. It’s cool if you swim with your shirt on. And also, yes to there being something to us. You are by far the most insightful boy in our class. Even when I take into consideration the boys I knew in Montreal, I am just like: No one can compare."
Begin here maybe: https://tinyurl.com/2fzkzfdj
[Edited at 2023-01-03 15:52 GMT]
| | | | | Getting a life | Jan 3, 2023 |
Tom in London wrote:
No- Greta Thunberg is Swedish and thinks it's still a current expression.
But "get a life" is still current!
Whether as translators or as ESL teachers in this forum, we cannot simply deny a usage based on our personal distaste...
| | | | Michael Newton
United States
Local time: 05:49
Japanese to English
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I thought Greta Thunberg's favorite expression was "Bla, bla, bla".
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Michael Newton
United States
Local time: 05:49
Japanese to English
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I'm surprised no one has mentioned "it is what it is". This seems to have crossed the language barrier as I recently heard in a
Spanish [European] telenovela: "es lo que es".
"Drop the mic!" , talk show hosts in the US will say this when someone has said something unusual pithy or something which totally captures the situation. Surprise, astonishment. "You nailed it!"
As for "Hi guys". Feminists will take offense as they are not "guys".
In France: Bonjour ... See more I'm surprised no one has mentioned "it is what it is". This seems to have crossed the language barrier as I recently heard in a
Spanish [European] telenovela: "es lo que es".
"Drop the mic!" , talk show hosts in the US will say this when someone has said something unusual pithy or something which totally captures the situation. Surprise, astonishment. "You nailed it!"
As for "Hi guys". Feminists will take offense as they are not "guys".
In France: Bonjour a toutes et a tous.
In Spain: "Buenos dias a todas, a todos y a todes". Don't know about "todes". Perhaps it is for non-binaries or for people who have not yet made up their mind about who they are.
Noch einmal "going forward". In the US this has taken on an almost jocose, roll-your-eyes meaning.
VP Kamala Harris: "I intend to examine the border crisis going forward and solve once and for all the reason for illegal immigration" (in other words, when pigs fly).
The Catholic Church: "The Church takes these allegations very seriously. The Church will establish a special commission to examine this pressing problem and, going forward, will present the results, at a time and in a manner deemed by the Church to be suitable and appropriate so that the situation is not repeated (yawn).
A certain head of state: "I appreciate the concern of the American people and, going forward, will do everything in my power, to bring back prices to the pre-inflation level". (Yeah, right. Sorry another cliche!) ▲ Collapse
| | | | MollyRose
United States
Local time: 04:49
English to Spanish
+ ...
| semi OT: neither cliché nor idiom ... | Jan 4, 2023 |
... but the ubiquitous usage of the / is very annoying. It is used frequently in our school district and can mean "and," "or," or "and/or." What is wrong with being simple and straightforward? It isn't as though those words or commas were so long that they need a symbol to replace them. It is also used sometimes between unnecessary (redundant) synonyms. As a translator, I have to figure out what the slash is supposed to refer to, or rather, to what the slash is supposed to refer. I didn't end... See more ... but the ubiquitous usage of the / is very annoying. It is used frequently in our school district and can mean "and," "or," or "and/or." What is wrong with being simple and straightforward? It isn't as though those words or commas were so long that they need a symbol to replace them. It is also used sometimes between unnecessary (redundant) synonyms. As a translator, I have to figure out what the slash is supposed to refer to, or rather, to what the slash is supposed to refer. I didn't end that sentence with a preposition!
Examples:
Score/Classification
Parent input/developmental history
Parent/Guardian
English/Math
Parent/teacher/student/administrator ▲ Collapse
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Often heart on site and used by a non-native speaker of US American English who had lived in the United States for years before he came back to annoy me with his super impressing accent (he couldn't speak any German at all and was born in the Czech Republic). I wonder whether that expression is especially used when one intends to appear as extra rude, or what?
[Bearbeitet am 2023-01-05 06:11 GMT]
| | | | jyuan_us
United States
Local time: 05:49
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
“Table” appears frequently in English expressions/idioms, e.g., on the table/on table, bring to the table, and under the table.
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jyuan_us
United States
Local time: 05:49
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | These are correct words, but... | Jan 13, 2023 |
For example, Staffer. This word gives hard time to new English learners. They may wonder, why not "staffee?
Also, a "published" author. This may lead new learners to believe someone else has published articles about this author.
| | | | | Please explain | Jan 13, 2023 |
jyuan_us wrote:
Also, a "published" author. This may lead new learners to believe someone else has published articles about this author.
How? The meaning is entirely literal.
| | | | jyuan_us
United States
Local time: 05:49
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | The point is | Jan 13, 2023 |
Ice Scream wrote: jyuan_us wrote:
Also, a "published" author. This may lead new learners to believe someone else has published articles about this author.
How? The meaning is entirely literal.
I know "a published author" is a correct usage. My point is that it can be tough for new English learners to understand it.
If someone has published a lot of articles, a new English might think this guy is a "publishing" author, not a "published" author.
Again, I know "published" is the correct usage, and "publishing" is not.
I'm just saying.
| | | | jyuan_us
United States
Local time: 05:49
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Attendees VS Attenders | Jan 13, 2023 |
jyuan_us wrote:
For example, Staffer. This word gives hard time to new English learners. They may wonder, why not "staffee?
Why are the participants of an event called "attendees" other than “attenders？”
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jyuan_us wrote:
I know "a published author" is a correct usage. My point is that it can be tough for new English learners to understand it.
If someone has published a lot of articles, a new English might think this guy is a "publishing" author, not a "published" author.
Again, I know "published" is the correct usage, and "publishing" is not.
I'm just saying.
You may just be saying, but you're not making much sense. Authors don't publish their own books. A publisher does. So the author's work is published. It's entirely 100% unambiguously logical, and should therefore meet your approval based on your more legitimate gripes about -ee/er words!
I would also say that a new learner of English is unlikely to have to worry about attendee or staffer... and that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of more difficult things for a new learner of English to worry about...
Maybe including the meaning of "cliché" and "off topic"
| | | | jyuan_us
United States
Local time: 05:49
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Ice Scream wrote:
Authors don't publish their own books. A publisher does. So the author's work is published. It's entirely 100% unambiguously logical, and should therefore meet your approval based on your more legitimate gripes about -ee/er words!
You may have a point in there, but if you google "I published a book," you will get about 251,000 results. This mean authors DO publish their own books.
| | | | | Brick wall, meet head | Jan 13, 2023 |
jyuan_us wrote:
You may have a point in there, but if you google "I published a book," you will get about 251,000 results. This mean authors DO publish their own books.
I totally have a point. Published authors don't publish their own books. A publisher does. Authors who self-publish do not count as published authors. The whole point of a published author is that someone has deemed their work good enough to publish. The grammatical meaning of published author is an author published by someone else. I don't know what more I can say/.
The usage "I published a book" sounds very American to me and/or is incorrect, unless it's uttered by a publisher or a self-publisher. It also says "my book was a failure and was probably published by an obscure publisher because it was rubbish", because a proper, successful writer would just say "I wrote a book" without needing to make the point that it was deemed good enough by someone else to be published.
I really should get a life.
[Edited at 2023-01-13 11:20 GMT]
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