What made you laugh today?

[macnice]

This makes me both laugh and cry

[RHawk]

[RHawk]

[duck]

On 12/9/2021 at 7:15 AM, Kawika said:

Merriam-Webster Includes “Irregardless” in Dictionary—But Why?

 

FEATHERS RUFFLED AS SOCIAL MEDIA USERS STUMBLE UPON DEFINITION IN DICTIONARY

July 19, 2020

By Jonny Lupsha, Current Events Writer

 

“Irregardless,” the misuse of “irrespective” and “regardless,” is a word, NPR reported. The language experts at Merriam-Webster have defended its place in their lexicon due to its popular use. Panels of linguists decide which words go in dictionaries.

“Irregardless” has made its way into the dictionary after lexicographers have accepted its inclusion due to the word’s popular use in current times. Photo by Jure Divich / Shutterstock

“Irregardless” is an unintentional portmanteau—or combination of two partial words. Each word exits independently when standing alone on its own. In the case of “irrespective” and “regardless,” when put together, the two words become “irregardless,” which is commonly used by the public. Despite its prefix and suffix adding up to a double negative, the speaker still generally uses the quirky word as a substitute for either of its originating words. Its popularity has earned it a place in the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

“The word’s definition, when reading it, would seem to be: without without regard,” the NPR article said. “Merriam-Webster defines irregardless as ‘nonstandard’ but meaning the same as ‘regardless.’ Irregardless was first included in Merriam-Webster‘s unabridged edition in 1934.”

Debates over “real” words are frequent, but when it comes to dictionaries being made, who gets the final say? As it turns out, more people than most of us would imagine.

Making It into the Book

People who help to compile dictionaries are called lexicographers. According to Merriam-Webster, a lexicographer is “an author or editor of a dictionary.” So how do they decide on the definition of a new word?

“Lexicographers are tracking the language; they’re tracking it by reading, and now they’re also tracking it by using new databases that are available online,” said Dr. Anne Curzan, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of English at the University of Michigan. “They’re watching to see how a new word is moving through the lexicon. Sometimes new words start in more specialized registers—that could be scientific registers or that could be something like slang—and then they move to wider usage.”

Dr. Curzan said that lexicographers often wait to see how popular a word becomes in public use—monitoring it in print—before selecting it for possible inclusion. One example she gave is the term “yada yada,” which originated with Lenny Bruce in the 1960s but was popularized on the television sitcom Seinfeld in the 1990s. It was included in the Oxford English Dictionary in 2006.

A Panel of Experts

When it comes to the pronunciation, definition, and usage of certain words, dictionaries consult a hand-picked group of language experts that they refer to as the Usage Panel. For example, in dictionaries, words that people use in different ways are sometimes accompanied by a note that says something like “68% of the Usage Panel found this definition acceptable.”

So what is it? Dr. Curzan said that the Usage Panel for The American Heritage Dictionary is a pool of about 200 well-known critics, authors, and scholars; she has been one of them since 2006.

“What this means is every year or so, I get a questionnaire and it includes questions about, say, pronunciation,” she said. “It’ll ask about new meanings; for example, ‘Is it acceptable to use quote to mean quotation?’ The editors send us all this questionnaire; they then compile their answers, and that’s how they get to this ‘68% of the Usage Panel thinks this is acceptable or not.'”

Far more work goes into compiling dictionaries than most of us would imagine. Lexicographers, as well as the pools of experts they consult, work to bring public perception of language and their own perspectives to light in the ever-changing world of verbal language—regardless of whose feathers they ruffle.

Dr. Anne Curzan contributed to this article. Dr. Curzan is Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of English at the University of Michigan. She earned a BA in Linguistics from Yale University and an MA and a PhD in English Language and Literature from the University of Michigan.

[Guest GlenCoco]

Morning British Show Bloopers

1. Ruth Langsford, who was commenting on a clip she had just seen during her stint on The Travel Shop show, made a huge error when it came to her choice of words to describe some adorable wild cats.

2. Fern Britton and co-host Phillip Schofield trying out a spot of roast beef, following a segment about dunking biscuits.

[Gaysian85]

 

[Gaysian85]

 

[stuck]

[Guest Drewguy]

[Guest GlenCoco]

This is the most romantic love song ever written

[Kawika]

[kleurbeertjenl]

On 12/3/2021 at 5:01 PM, ColtMann said:

I like my kale with the silent "k"

I love Garfield. 

[Kawika]

OK I'm going to practice...

How to put off Fundoshi-Japanese traditional underwear

 

[Kawika]

[duck]

Can someone explain what this is about. It is Confusing and It hurts my brain.

© 10:22PMSomeone accidentally sold a Bored Ape NFT for $3,000 instead of $300,000

• The seller of Bored Ape #3,547 accidentally listed the NFT for sale at 0.75 ETH ($3,000) instead of 75 ETH ($300,000)
• An automated buyer immediately purchased the NFT and relisted it at about $250,000.

Ahighly coveted Bored Ape non-fungible token sold for just over $3,000 — one-hundredth of its intended market price of about $300,000.

The owner of Bored Ape #3,547 made a "fat fingered" typing error when listing the NFT online, according to CNet. Instead of selling it for a price of 75 ether, a "lapse of concentration" spurred the owner to sell it for 0.75 ether instead.

An automated account immediately bought the NFT and put it back on sale for nearly $250,000.

A similar mistake in a banking transaction can usually be remedied. But in the fast-paced and unregulated crypto market, an error like this is usually irreversible, especially as automated, instantaneous purchases pose constant threats.

The Bored Ape Yacht Club series is a limited set of 10,000 pieces of "programmatically generated" digital art, launched in April 2021.

Initially, customers could buy one for a little over $300. Now, Bored Apes usually sell for at least 50 ETH, or about $200,000, and proud owners post them to social media or use them as their Twitter profile pictures.

 

Start the conversation

 

 

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[Gaysian85]

 

[Gaysian85]

 

[duck]

[RHawk]

[Guest GlenCoco]

[ColtMann]

FWIW

[Gaysian85]

 

[Kawika]

[duck]

Math is so fucking hard🤯

[ChrisJames]