Accent Expert Breaks Down Language Pet Peeves | WIRED
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- Опубліковано 22 лип 2020
- For all intensive purposes, dialect coach Erik Singer is literally an expert when it comes to language. So, who better to curve our hunger for knowledge than him and his colleague, fellow dialect coach Eliza Simpson. Erik and Eliza break down some of the most common pet peeves we associate with language; some so common we often take them for granite.
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Vocal cord imagery courtesy of Jan G. Svec
Videokymographic images of the three voice registers taken from the study "Svec, J. G. (2004). Research journey: chest-falsetto discontinuity and videokymography. In H. K. Schutte, S. Poppema, & E. te Bos (Eds.), Physiology and Acoustics of Singing (PAS), 3-5 October, 2002, Groningen, the Netherlands (CD-ROM). Groningen, the Netherlands: Groningen Voice Research Lab (www.researchgate.net/publicat...)", courtesy of Jan G. Svec, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czechia.
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I saw someone in the comments of his other videos call him dialect daddy. I think about that often.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Father phonetics
Grammar Grandma
That's his official moniker now
I mean...that person wasn’t wrong 👀
can’t help but feel like this guy looks like a roman emperor.
Or the model for David
I think you mean Dennis Reynolds
I think he pulled off the vocal fry of the Gettysburg Address because he looks a bit like Lincoln.
A Hollywood version perhaps, Romans did not look Anglo despite of what your deficient education made you believe
Yeah he literally does
I was always a bit annoyed when teachers would correct students who asked, “Can I go to the restroom?” If you look at Oxford Languages’ definitions, the word “can” also means “be permitted to”, so, “May I go to the restroom?” isn’t the only way to phrase that question.
ENGLISH MODAL PARTICLES USUALLY HAVE MANY DIFFERENT MOODS THEY CAN REPRESENT
I suspect that definition is a product of incorrectly using the original term, in the same way “literally” is now in some dictionaries defined as “metaphorically”. The teacher is, then, begging the question (per XKCD 2039)
@@pcarrierorange The issue is, society as a whole uses "can" and "may" interchangeably. It has been in the vernacular of the people for at least 4 generations now, hence why it is in dictionaries.
The difference is in the implied politeness no the meaning itself
What Dorcas said. While you might be annoyed, in a working environment where you want to set certain 'tones' in your communications, using the wrong implication can cause acceptance or anger. It might not matter as much if you're in the 'detail' level, but someone who can communicate and also do 'detail' gets more.
This is the most educated _"everybody just chill"_ I've ever seen.
Erik: "They're called eggcorns"
Me: "Oh, you mean bon apple tea"
Teeth*
bone*
*bomb*
Bun apple teeth
I love egghorns
Most hated eggcorn: "I could of" instead of "I could've"
Could of, would of, should of.. made it a contraction with have! 🤬
Yea! Why is everyone afraid of the word "have"?
@@JonH611 How about "shouldn't've"? The impressive double contraction. Which makes me wonder-- are there any triples? ..."Shouldn't'ven't"? Is that a word? Like, expressing regret for failing to do something? "I shouldn't have not done that," turns into "I shouldn't'ven't done that."
Should be "I could of" instead of "I could have". People understand could've but sometimes people think it means "could of"instead of "could have".
YES
My pet peeve is when people say wreck havoc, instead of wreak. If you wreck havoc, you essentially create order, lol.
Cute! I think people are afraid to use proper language. Like it makes them look stuffy or not cool. It's like when people don't want to stand straight.
No people just use words in different ways over time their is no true correct or wrong way of speaking the way we talk is constantly changing and that’s just how it works
@@cockeyedoptimista All I can say to that is that their values must be very different than mine!
@@boxman5381 That's true, but also people just don't want to bother learning the right use of a word so those of us who take the time become obsolete because of these inattentive folks and it's annoying.
@@proudanachronist9314 Thanks for the comment.
Regarding the verb usage of the word "table" - I learned long ago that it means the opposite in the UK than in the US - "to table something" in the US generally means to set a topic or situation it aside for discussion later, but in the UK, it means to bring it to the group for immediate discussion.
Really shows the difference in American vs. British customs/ideals
In Canada, some people use the British way, some the American way. Very confusing!
@@netgnostic1627 I thought Canada's English was more similar to British than US.
When people say “I could care less” but should be saying “I couldn’t care less”
YES!!!!
that bothers me so much lol
Fr
I like to think of it as a threat. "You know how much it looks like I don't care right now? Well, I could care (even) less."
@@Warkipine that could be reasonable, but usually it’s used in the sense that someone is trying to demonstrate how nonchalant they are about something
Eliza had the slickest “hii” I’ve ever heard in my life
0:58
You're welcome
@@jiitkha Thanks. But yeah she did. Real smooth.
She sounded like Siri
Fr Fr
yeah had to watch that a couple times not gonna lie
My husband came up with a wonderful word that doesn’t exist but should. He said he was “flustrated.” I think it’s a brilliant combination of being frustrated, heightened with the embarrassment of being flustered. I nominate this for the next Merriam-Webster go round!
Your husband didn't invent that word. It's a very common mispronunciation that has been around for decades.
I will “literally” die on the hill defending my peeve when people type “would of,” rather than “would’ve.”
Because it is LITERALLY grammatically incorrect.
@@baileyrob I would of agree with you before, but after watching this video, I don't think so
@@reshirman no, the meaning of 'of' in the place of 'have' is not correct no matter your dialect. They are too commonly used to be just considered 'basically the same word'.
@@baileyrob that would of been correct before, but not anymore
@@reshirman I ofn't got a clue what you're talking about. Of you had your pills today?
An old boss used to tell us "mock my words..." and we all did mock them when he wasn't around
Oh this made me laugh out loud.
YO LMAOOO
Sounds like your boss was Michael Scott... 😂
Thanks Bryan, I truly needed a laugh tonight. LLAP
Maybe it was his accent...please see his other video about dialects...
this is the linguistics class i never knew i needed
lmao i saw you earlier in a ''what not to wear in russia'' video
omg yoooooo
Fancy seeing you here Damon!
oh hey there damon dominique
Omg hi Damon! Love your videos!
This guy just summarized my four year linguistics degree in 15 minutes!
Get wrecked lmao
First, I highly doubt it. Second, nice use of exaggeration. Third, if you're serious you didn't study. Fourth, college was a waste of time for you.
Australians with thick accents use uptalk ALL THE TIME. I am an Aussie and you get used to distinguishing between a real question and aussie uptalk. i remember reading an article about how UK employers found people who uptalked a lot were less desirable and seen as insecure, but not if they were australian. I think it’s because we learn to uptalk while saying what we mean with confidence (because uptalk is used so commonly when not posing a question).
My sisters ex boyfriend used to say “You never know what the future has installed for you”
😂
Pictures the future as some weird looking handyman.
Well he does have a good point.
@@pupip55 the actual saying is : "you never know what the future has in store for you" in store not installed
@@pupip55 thats why its funny to some people and annoys others and some just don't even know the difference.
"Don't take things for granite."
"My sediments exactly."
~Johnny Hart (BC, The Wizard of Id)
Brillant 🤣😅😆
Rules that are written in stone. 😎
@@katniptime4me ba dum tssss
😆😆
Oh my God I've never seen anyone reference the Wizard of Id, I read so much of it when I was younger
This guy is literally the smartest guy I’ve ever heard of. Really nice that he’s able to quickly diagnose all these pet peeves. Watching this video gave me a new leash on life, so now I want to have a burger with him. Hopefully the waiter doesn’t take too long to quickly table us because nice food is something I’d literally hate to have to agonisingly wait around for. Woodchuck.
I recognize your effort, and for that I respect you.
More people should finish their arguments with Woodchuck. Woodchuck.
Actually, this comment literally made it worth watching this video.
@@cherylkalberer1045 not figuratively?
This is the same guy who's said that he doesn't understand language or the point of words having a meaning to them.
This guy might be smart, but he definitely doesn't sound that way based on what I've heard him say.
He's actually argued for words to be misused.
The eggcorns remind me of when I was in high school and I learned that “if it’s any constellation” was actually “consolation.” I always assumed that “if it’s any constellation” referred to a bad situation that may paint a bigger picture. Like a single star is just one moment. But if you put all of the stars together, you get a constellation. So if there is a bad or sad moment, I would say, “If it’s any constellation,” followed by a silver lining or the final end result. Like yeah, you may have messed up in your band performance, but if it’s any constellation, I didn’t hear it and I thought he performance was quite good. That’s how I used it growing up, and I was so confused when someone corrected me
Lol. Reminds me of the "Knowledge is power, France is bacon" meme. xD
Ah yes....this is a perfect example of not reading enough (which I commented about somewhere up there ^^^). If you never see the words in print, you just rely on what you hear and make up the meaning to go along with it. I'm glad you learned the correct word! And you're here today still learning about language. My favorite mistake was "make due". I was in my 40s (and had studied languages for years and read a LOT of books) when I realized it was actually "make do". I literally died. 🙃
late comment I know but I think this eggcorn is lovely in its own way xD I love how you assigned that meaning to it and I like your reasoning so much
Can we get him to talk about curse words? Origins and how people became offended by them? This would be interesting to see.
Vsauce did a video on that a while back ua-cam.com/video/Dd7dQh8u4Hc/v-deo.html
Yas! Sorry, yes!
I wrote my masters thesis on this topic! It was fascinating.
Yeah, they can't they would get demonetised. :D
@@brookem4835 I wrote my Bachelors thesis on the same topic :D
My sister thought it was “hammy-down” her whole life, as opposed to “hand-me-down.”
Very funny!
'cause the clothes were always too big and it made her feel hammy in them? 😂
I was just coming to the comments to say the same thing! 🤣
ME TOO
I thought this for a while as a kid.
The oe person who could correct almost anyones speech and he tells us to take it easy. Amazing.
Love his energy.
I love this video so much. I was such a stickler for "grammar rules" when I was a kid but I've since taken a genuine interest in languages and linguistics and discovered the concept of descriptive linguistics and came to favour that way more than the prescriptive variety. These two just inspire me to pursue further studies in linguistics :)
The paint matches his eye color... they really did that.
Must be his house though 😂
No it’s just a hole in his eye
anhart Lmfao
anhart He’s an eye hold?
Fun fact! Blue eyes are caused by a lack of the melanin pigment (or collagen deposits), and light bouncing off the Iris, "scattering" the light, and reflecting back blue tones (the same reason the sky reflects blue).
So when you put someone with blue eyes in front of a blue-ish screen, often their eyes appear to match more closely because it's reflecting back the light- also why blue eyes seem to "change colours" more often depending on how much light is refllecting!
Him: Here are these language facts
My brain: His eyes match the wall behind him
I totally lost some of the information being presented because of that!
Now I can’t unsee it 😂
he has blue eyes, and a green wall though o.O
Now it's bugging me that it's not a perfect match lol
I like the way your mind works..
When people say, "mute point", instead of, "moot point". Also, "On accident", instead of "by accident"
Thank you for this video! I just now found this while looking for vocal fry info. This has been one of the most enjoyable presentations about language that I've seen/heard in a long time.
“Could care less” is mine. Basically saying you still have some care available.
But late on the reply, but I’d like to mention I’ve won an argument because the opposing party used that and I told them their opinion was moot due to the fact that they can’t even speak English properly despite it being their first language.
@@saberwing753 Haha! I see “could care less” quite often.
I've always seen that phrase as ironic, something like "I could, technically, care less, but only a little", rather than as an eggcorn of "I couldn't care less". Like it has that 90's "talk to the hand" flavor of sarcasm. Maybe that's just my brain rationalizing it though :p
@@Platanov Agreed, I tend to interpret it as "I could care less, but only if I really tried" in order to feel less peeved :D
you mean you do care? lmao
I wish I could just absorb his cerebral juices. His intelligence is so savoury.
I am both inspired by and grossed out by the creativity of your language.
@@LillibitOfHere LOOOL XD
wow so creepy
ya he sounds really smart. I think it's the way he talks
Dude, prion diseases aren’t cool.
Very entertaining and informative.
For eggcorns, how about "Duck tape" (a tape created with duck fabric) evolving into "Duct tape" (even though the tape is not good at taping ducts, especially heating ducts).
These are such enriching topics to talk about! I really enjoy them. Not to mention, that they also broaden the perspective on things in life. 😊
seeing “should of” instead of “should’ve” makes me wanna cry
Also "now and days"
you shouldn't of told me your weakness
Agreed
also when ppl online write about how they find smth rlly upsetting by going "i literally balled" or "i was balling so hard" like pls i'm begging u to learn how to spell bawling
@@sophiewells9755 I was bowling so hard I had a strike
My Spanish teacher once said that language behaves like a living organism; it spreads, evolves and also dies.
Lol, then why can't we kill upspeak and vocal fry!?!?🤣
@@LindaC616 you can't really kill it but it dies off if people stop using it
its true i was the teacher
@@LindaC616 Because people have such intense feelings for it. The best way to kill an idea is to be indifferent, and forget.
Best way to put it
The thing that got me was when he said "coexist together" at the end
It is a pleasure to find this and subscribe. I began hearing 'vocal fry' years ago, before hearing that term. It was maddening!!! I would stop listening to the speaker, feeling quite annoyed. I overreacted. I still do. I LITERALLY hate the sound! I love words and languages and hearing accents and when I am gifted with a new word, I write it in my journal and smile. Thank you for being here.
I had a manager who had quite noticeable vocal fry, and it drove me crazy. That was all I could hear in our staff meetings.
i didn’t understand how differently vocal fry was perceived in a feminine vs. masculine voice until this demonstration. that is so interesting!
Same! I was cracking up, the bias has never even occurred to me.
It was pretty shocking. Somehow on a female voice it sounds more bored or annoyed, while on a male voice it’s just... kinda gravelly. Weird
Salamander I wonder if it has something to do with pitch? Men and women who speak with the fray and have deeper voices it doesn’t sound annoying I believe. But to me men and women who have higher voices and they fray it’s sounds annoying to me. When the guest voice coach was doing it it didn’t sound annoying at all.
Same! When I heard Erik doing it, I was reminded of male actors giving speeches in movies or something like that. He sounded profound, serious, respectable... a bit attractive, even.
But the woman? She sounded so bored and like she'd rather do anything else than what she was currently doing. So uninterested.
The bias surprised me greatly.
I honestly didn't notice a difference...
My pet peeve is when people hear "should've" and write it as "should of" not realizing that they are hearing a contraction of "should have".
If that becomes an eggcorn, I would just assume people are getting dumber each year.
Calm down, guys. Its just a typo.
@@titocristobal5573, it wouldn't be an illogical assumption.
@@wish-keeper Oh my god. I haven't encountered that yet, but if I did, I think I would have a visceral reaction.
Gaaahhh, I love you. Thanks for pointing this out.
I literally HATE that. It's way more than a peeve for me 😂
Something I have heard at least 7 times are younger people saying "I'm weary of..." when they mean either wary of or leery of.
Thank you for this video. One of my undergrads is in English and I worked as an editor, so as you can imagine, I used to be a big grammar snob. Now I've been learning more about language and I regret my haughty ways!
“I’m literally dying.”
“Aren’t we all?”
I’m a demigod I cNt die
Always a little by little 🙈
Well, it's 2020, so, ... yeah.
"Literally dying" means you are actually dying, so when you say that it means you are physically dying and are about to leave this planet forever. So only say that when you are, in fact, dying.
You guys are silly...i mean nice.
"Hi Eliza"
Eliza: "Hi"
Me: OMG SO SMOOTH, SO HEAVENLY, THE MOST ICONIC HI I'VE EVER HEARD
I'm glad I'm not the only the person who had this intensely specific reaction!
I FELT SO GOOOOOD 🤣🤣🤣 I thought I was the only one
My first thought was, does she narrate audiobooks?
that’s how you know you’re socially awkward, when normal conversation stands out 😂😂💀
@@dancingdoungnut
LMAO! TooMeIrl
This happens to me all the time.
❤️ Thanks for spending the time to create and share this content 🤙🏾
I appreciated this talk emensly! I enjoy etymology and this taught me not to take myself too seriously. The evolution of language is fluid, and we should remember this and remain as such.
EGGCORN: My deaf stepmother says "Old Timers' Disease" when she really means "Alzheimer's Disease".
So funny! It reminds me of my young sonwho used to say rubber balls instead of vegetables.
Perhaps she's making a pun?
This is funny 🤣
ahahaha great one!!!
But is she wrong tho
Everyone else: [comments about the linguistics in the video]
Me, a Norwegian: omg he has so many books about Scandinavian cooking
i'm not norwegian but i noticed that too! love it
I was drawn to the bookshelf too.😄
Swedish christmas cooking, which made me curious as well :), maybe saw that because I am Swedish.
I saw the comfort food and was like “hey I have that book! “ seeing that was a total unexpected happy surprise
BRUNOST
This guy just voiced all my thoughts (as a hobby linguist) on language in a single video. I love how he talks about saying things "wrong" is just how language changes. My parents get caught up on the slang of "kids these days." "You guys give a bad meaning to everything"-- which is really the pot calling the kettle black because their generation had plenty of their own slang. The way I see it, often the purpose behind slang is to fill a need in a language that wasn't being met before, and a lot of our "accepted" words now were once considered slang. Slang is fascinating to me for that reason-- it's like watching language change right before your eyes.
And also, who gets to dictate right and wrong when it comes to language? It really boils down to what the natives say. I learned Spanish in the US, so I learned lots of different kinds of Spanish all at once. I resisted saying "parquear" for "to park" for the longest time because I saw it as "wrong." However, I eventually came to realize that I had never once heard someone say the "correct" word, which was "estacionar." I realized that if the native speakers have no problem with parquear, then who was I to tell them that it was the "wrong" word? There really isn't a right or wrong.
When I was young I used to get annoyed that people would respond to the question "Do you mind doing...x,y,z ?" with "Sure" "yes" "definitely"...etc. And then as I grew up and more people asked me favors I found out that people are so accustomed to this incorrect exchange that when I replied with the appropriate negative, they'd think I was rejecting their request. Unfortunately, I have assimilated and now will respond with the positive, just so people don't mistake my intent.
i wasn't prepared for eliza's sultry "hi".
@@koolmaaan the linguistic tonal style of that "hi" would be recognized as sounding sultry by most folks with an understanding of tonality. However, I don't think it was intentional on her part.
You don't need to be attracted to someone to recognize and identify cultural associations of "sultriness" in the inflections of someone's voice.
i reacted to it too omg
@@koolmaaan i wasn't looking at the video. just listening. her "hi" made me look. good job reaching though...
@@jdavi6241 thank you
huuh omg right
I like how when he demonstrated vocal fry, he instantly turned into Matthew McConaughey
I found the comment I was looking for lmao I wanted someone else to notice
Alright alright alright
All I'm saying is when he did the comparison between the two, he did the vocal fry once and she did it twice
@ThiagoPlaying That’s just tubular!
I heard Brad Pitt, oddly enough I don't care for his voice
The eggcorn that gets me is “I should of.”
Thank you so much for emphasizing that the language is not static and that new or "incorrect" uses of words are a part of the language's evolution. So don't hate, embrace. (unless it's should of/should've :D)
Two Erik videos in a week? Even WIRED know he’s carrying the whole channel.
LagiNaLangAko23 Oh yeah I rate her too
I miss the doctor who reviewed medical scenes in movies and series. Hopefully she's doing fine these days working in her field...
[edit] There's a recent update of what she's been up to! Just as I expected, it's been beyond hectic for her dealing with both trauma patients and Covid. Dr Onishi is a warrior!
Whaaaa where is the other one???
The lawyer was also very fun!
Him and almost impossible but idk if they r doing that anymore :(
First time I was in the US, I was blown away by always being asked if I wanted a SUPER SALAD with my dinner.. It was only 7 years later I was told it was a Soup OR Salad.
"blown away"? By a salad. Mkay....
🤣🤣🤣
@@dang2443 clearly they aren't a native English speaker so chill. I wonder how many languages you speak, much less perfectly. Pft
My first language was technically Spanish BUT I’m more fluent in English and let me tell you, that happens to me still😭😭 every time I’m like how does this always happen😭😭
I've been laughing at this comment for 20 minutes. Thanks for posting it
I'm really enjoying your videos, especially when you remind us that language changes over time and to be more comfortable with the changes. I moved to Oklahoma a few years ago and constantly cringe when people use the wrong tense of verbs when talking. "I seen him yesterday ". It just seems to be a thing here.
On the latin origin of not ending sentences with prepositions, the reason why this is is because in latin there exist endings for nouns used for prepositional phrases (the ablative and accusative) these nouns in those cases must follow the preposition, otherwise it would not make sense. English doesn't have cases so it isn't grammatically necessary. Here's a Latin Example: Quintus stat prope ianuam iratus. Quintus stands near the door, angry. Ianua (door) uses the accusative first declension singular form (-am). The sentence can be rearranged in various ways such as: Quintus iratus prope ianuam stat, Quintus stat iratus prope ianuam, they all mean the same thing, but the preposition must be before the object of the prepositional phrase in Latin
My god. I have never heard anyone saying “Hi” smoother than Eliza Simpson.
Thank you. i was thinking the same and was looking through the comments to see if anybody else got soft knees when she said „hi“...
James May.
Robert or James Welsh 😊
When people use “loose” instead of “lose” I die a little inside.
Same. I absolutely despise this one. To/Too is a close second. This is a quick way to make me stop reading someone.
It happens shockingly often!!
Why is this so common??
@@melissak8892 because of words like choose/booze which are pronounced like lose, so people assume thats how it's spelled. I definitely recoil when i see a loose in the wild used wrong lol.
Quite for quiet, principle for principal and then for than are some of my least favourite mix ups.
Someone give this guy his own show
He is the only reason I subscribed to this channel!
This presentation is so insightful. Thank you.
I can’t stand when people say “I could care less” when they mean they don’t care. It’s “I couldn’t care less” !!!
Exactly! Lol I've been trying to say this but people get so mad when you correct them. It makes no sense and changes the meaning. You're trying to say you dont care and yet you are saying "well I could care less" like...what??
I had to look for this because so hate it so much as well.
YES! That drives me crazy too. If they COULD care less, then they care at least a bit. But if they couldn't care less, they don't care at all. Jeez, some people just don't think!
the way i handle it is just to convince myself they’re being sarcastic. i know it’s not true but the lie helps ease the pain a little bit....
I came to the comments to say exactly this
“I could care less”
I get irrationally angry over this one.
I could care less
Pronouncing exspresso, exspecially, and should of... all make me justifiably angry.
Well, sometimes I actually could manage to care a little bit less. Not usually, but occasionally!
I could care less
@@mariocastro6895 why?
I find it FACINATING that in some languages, the tone of how you say something completely changes a word.
This is very common in African languages especially Bantu languages. We sometimes just have 1 word used 7 times just depending on how you pronounce it will change meaning
... fascinating* ...
Sick! I'm chomping at the bit for your next one! Literally!
So if "silly" used to mean "blessed", then slapping someone silly would mean approximately the same as beating the devil out of them.
Underrated comment
RIP devil
Oh my god😂😂😂
I like the way you think lol
I relate it to The Fool in the Tarot -- the Fool is blessed
not me staring for 14 minutes at erik singer's bookshelf and wondering exactly what system he uses that puts GOTHAM next to Scandinavian Comfort Foods, The Swedish Christmas Table, and William Shakespeare
😂😂😂 I "literally" got about halfway through your first sentence before bursting out laughing!! I was thinking the same thing!
..Almost darn near peed m' pants.
I was doing the exact same! ;)
Oh he uses the Putin-Dair Classification Sytem
someone with many varied interests
I had the same thoughts ... an array of books with no particular order or grouping .. lol ;)
I totally agree with this outlook- but I do wish there was a synonym for “literally” that could be solely used for its original meaning. Because it’s not *always* clearly understood, and I’ll take an exaggeration in the literal sense. And I guess that can happen with any exaggeration, but using a word that can *also* confirm something as literal and true, (“literally” could be used to prove that they are specifically NOT trying to exaggerate), really does create some miscommunications 😂
A year later, just adding that I agree. 😆 The whole point of the word literally (in the sense we want to use it) is to get rid of an ambiguity that you expect the hearer to not understand.
About the ending a sentence with a preposition part - the was a scene in Cheers, many years ago, in which Rebecca Howe shouts, "there are some things up with which I will not put!" That always cracked me up.
Churchill said that.
"Sinister" originally meant "left-handed" and I just love this ridiculous, fluid language of ours.
Because being left-handed was correctly seen as being a sign of evil.
@@thejagman22 "Correctly"?
@@akizeta That's correct.
FASCINATING!!
The word for right handed being "Dexter" as in dexterous.
The male vs female vocal fry comparison was eye opening
I think its less male v female and more high vs low pitch. I find everything more annoying in higher pitches
@@prince-rk7nl I think you’re onto something. For me, I think the user’s accent might also have something to do with it? I’d have to listen to a wider sample though.
I definitely heard it more clearly with the higher pitched voice
@@prince-rk7nl Women usually have higher pitched voices lol 😂
I felt like the guy was genuine, but the girl was almost preaching to me. Maybe I've seen too many feminists freakout videos.
Loved this video! Very informative, and interesting.
In Brazil you ask a question by "uptalking" the end of affirmative sentences.
Você fala Português
vs
Você fala PortuGUÊS?
It works that way in English too, but doing it after every sentence or pause in speech makes the person seem really unsure of themselves.
That also works in English, which is why uptalk annoys people. It makes every sentence sound like a question.
Curious language, Brazilian.
I believe that's true in Spanish as well. That's why in print, absent the vocal inflection, an upside-down question mark precedes a question. In English, the change in word order produces a question, but the so-called uptalk is is still used.
I know multiple people who think the phrase is “play it by year”, when it is most definitely “play it by ear”.
Haha! I wonder if they also "fly by the seat of their aunts"?
Ugh, I have a hatred of “play by ear” that to this day I don’t know why hahahahaha never heard people saying “by year” though, that’s curious
I like to say it both ways. “Play it by year” still works if you take the meaning of “year” to be “time”. As it we will determine what we’re doing in due time and “play it by ear” if we’re waiting on word about the plans we’re talking about.
I've always wondered if the people who say those things have ever broken it down to realise what they're saying makes no sense....
Up until I read this comment, I was completely unaware that this eggcorn existed! I play music, so "Play by ear" is the only thing that makes sense!
My pet peeve is when people say “I could care less” instead of “I couldn’t care less.”
Yes me too
Drives me nuts
Is that an American thing? I hear a lot of Americans say “I/he/she/they could care less” when someone doesn’t care. Not in the UK. We always say “COUNDN’T care less”
I hate when they do that and when did the saying 'my bad' enter the English language?
Same
An example of a word with multiple uses/meanings is ‘peak’. It can mean ‘the top of’, but in MLE something being ‘peak’ is unfortunate or bad
My son would say, "I misunderheard " when he misunderstood something. I still say it. I love it.
If my husband isn’t this understanding, calm, and accepting, I don’t want it
As a husband I strive to be more like this guy. What a pleasant person to be around, he really seemed so genuine and calm.
I don't think "he" would want to be called "it."
hkspowers003 as a husband, please stfu forever.
David David relax softie
Senor Diego you’d be surprised at how easy it is to pickup on characteristics and qualities of people just by observing them. Not saying you should completely believe what you see on the outside as some people can put up a front but generally, it’s easy to understand a person, try people watching sometime 😭 a lot of women are good at it too
"I'm literally dying.."
Yes, yes you are, all of us are, literally dying at all times until we're literally dead.
Exactly
Except that 'literally' has been used as an intensifier for, *literally*, centuries.
It's ok to use literally when you actually mean figuratively.
www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/misuse-of-literally
@@zbdmo4914 except when people who use it don't actually know how to use it because they *literally* don't understand the word they're saying.
This is a favorite phrase of reality show contestants.
SilentNeutral they don’t understand that it’s used as an intensifier?
I could listen to Erik talk about language forever
The second half of this video was fantastic and had me glued to it. I’m not sure why, but I’m glad I resisted the impulse to bounce.
Can we all take a second to appreciate what a specimen of a man this guy is.
kinda disappointed I had to scroll down this much to find a comment like this
Yes lmao. Those arms and that chest, just choke me already 😂
I concur. I enjoy watching his videos. I learn something new and enjoy the view 😅
Actually, the word specimen originally has nothing to do with men who were special.
Just a second? 😍
my mum would say “a blessing in the sky” instead of “a blessing in disguise” 🤣
That's cute lol
That’s so sweet I think that should be a new one
close... enough??
yeah not really, but it sounds nice
I like this, I want to use it lol
My brother went to watch “The Master of Disguise” with a friend. The friend’s dad thought it was “The Master of Da Skies.”
My biggest pet peeve is people, at least in my area, writing "should of" or "would of" when they mean should've and would've
I'm surprised he didn't comment on saying "I couldn't care less" instead of "I could care less". That's my biggest pet peeve.
Okay but what about the people that say “I could care less” instead of “I couldn’t care less”
Ironically I once saw someone write a rant about the second statement on FB.. 💀
@@acharich about the correct one? what was their issue with it?
@@acharich lolll
Hi Emma, David Mitchel has something to say about that; ua-cam.com/video/om7O0MFkmpw/v-deo.html
I was looking for this comment! Infuriating 🤬
“I could care less” instead of “I couldn’t care less” irritates me like no other.
Omg, me too!!! "I could care less"... So, you care, then.
fr
Same!!
13:25
᯽JuliannaH 5782᯽ When I hear someone say it, I usually think or say, "Really? How much less?"
I could watch hours of Erik and Eliza going back and forth!
A pet peeve of mine is when someone says or writes “weary” when the meaning is “wary”.
Another folk etymology example:
“Goodbye” used to be a contraction of “God be with ye”. Eventually people started saying “Bye” as a shorthand for “Goodbye”, turning the definition of “Goodbye” to something more similar to “Good parting”.
when i realized that the danish farvel for goodbye just literally meant fare-well and that farewell is the same deal, iunno you feel pretty blind
I would’ve never known this
it's crazy because in German the equivalent to Goodbye is Auf Wiedersehen (as in a phrase for more formal settings), which literally means "May we meet/see each other again", so it'd actually be more similar to saying "see you". But in my head "Good-bye" and "Auf Wiedersehen" mean the exact same thing, because they're used in the same context. But then you have the German phrase "mach's gut", which would translate to something way closer to the literal meaning of farewell/goodbye and is way less formal, so it would be used in the same context as "see you" in english. So the literal meaning is actually completely opposite to the context the phrases are used in in each language. Does that make sense?
“God be with you” is how you greet people in Gaelic, too!
Wow that’s really interesting, I never knew that! Thanks for sharing 😊
When people say “I could care less” I die a little
i could care fewer
Based entirely on the definition shown above, this is actually ironic ....
Good grief
It makes a lot more sense when you realise it's meant sarcastically.
I saw someone get correct on this in the comments, they actually had written it down, and they started arguing that is was right!!
i agree w the vocal fry one SM!!
its criticized when women do it but seen as "soothing" or "assertive" when a man does it
It's often not just about words or phrases being correct or not, it's also about form and style.
“Vocal fry can damage your voice”
*California has left the chat*
It doesnt really, singers (especially low singers) use it all the time.
@@reubenshiflet1952 you missed @wouldn't you like to know 's funny joke (winky eye emoji here).
@@reubenshiflet1952 ^ this
I didn't realize people dislike it lol
Poor Matthew mcconaughey
Wait what? The vocal fry register isn't sung in very often. Even by low voiced people
As a math nerd, I always bite my tongue when people say they did a "360" when they mean 180... A full circle (360 degrees) gets you back to where you started, whereas 180 degrees is moving in the opposite direction. I don't love correcting people so I don't say anything, but I hope this helps someone LOL
@@iiwi758 I see what you did there...;)
@@iiwi758 🤣🤣🤣
Thank you for not correcting them. Grammar policing is the second cringest thing you can do when talking to someone XD second only to making things out to be Sexist or racist when they aren’t
@@NeevTHM it's math
@@NeevTHM nope still math 🤣🤣🤣 maybe you are right but i never thought mathematics to be plural i mean its just one subject named mathematics and math is short for mathematics 😂😂 idk math sounds right somehow
I am so glad to hear someone confirm what I’ve been saying for years - vocal fry is only an issue when a woman does it.
Are you joking? I find it more annoying when men do it.
@@carultch that's not the point of my comment or of the video (if you had watched it). The point is that women are routinely criticized in the media for this vocal technique, whereas men are not.
@@andricheli Well, regardless of who does it, it makes the person sound ignorant and unsure of their own statement. Like asking the listener for validation, instead of putting in the effort to make it sound like one firmly believes what they are saying.
I’ve noticed a lot of vocal fry use is when someone is trying to get something by someone or trying to get them to go along with something. I’ve seen a lot of that.
Or when Americans say “I could care less” instead of “I couldn’t care less”. If you could care less then you do care?
i was just about to comment this
I'm guilty of that
This annoys me so much!!
Im impressed of how I've been saying this right no been a English native!! 🇧🇷
i couldn’t care less because i don’t care at all.
What I love about Erik is that he's an expert on language and uses that expertise to tell us to not get so hung up on the rules of language.
It’s true. People that most get their knickers in a twist about language use rarely know much about the reality of language use.
Right, because part of what he wants his audience to be aware of is that language, like anything else that makes up society and culture, is continually, albeit slowly, changing and adapting in time.
No real linguist is a prescriptivist.
Everyone who actually starts studying language will quickly come to realize that language prescriptivism (saying this and that is wrong and you should use such and such instead), for everyday use at least, is pretty stupid 😁
⁰
My secret pet peeve is knowing to say something as “long/short-lived” with a long “i” sound, to indicate possession of a long or short life, but never actually say it to save time. I always congratulate other, braver souls than myself who do so. Has happened a couple of times in three decades.
What a fascinating video. I have recently discovered a love for language after attending a few English classes at university. I have made many eggcorn mistakes myself, and it is fun to look back on those mistakes and laugh. One of the most common word usage mistakes I see on UA-cam comments are the words Your and You are (You're). I think that is fine. The rest of the sentence can provide me with proper context. A friend of mine used to mispronounce the word orchid as orchard-along with other words he would mispronounce. At first it was very confusing, but I learned "his vocabulary" quickly, and it no longer got in the way of us communicating. If I can understand the meaning of what you are trying to express, then mission accomplished. I literally do not care if people make mistakes.
Ive found anyone who spends some time studying linguistics begins to adopt this attitude.
Language is explicitly a tool to exchange ideas and emotions. As long as i understand what people are trying to say, these little mistakes just dont matter. I used ti get really annoyed by "there, their, and they're" as well as "your and you're", but ive come to realize in getting worked up over something id have to be purposely attempting not to understand.