contact home links about where i've been n stuff

Thursday, July 22, 2010

get it right or pay the price

We've got to talk about writing, friends. I mean writing what you mean to say.

I don't mean They're Their There.

Here's what I mean:

Yeah - Slang for "yes"

Yea - also a short affirmation (but no shorter than "yes"), and when you use it because you think it's how "yeah" is spelled, you are incorrect. Or maybe you like to write scripture.

Ya - This, in no sense, means "yes." It can be a shortened form of "you" but when you use it I'm going to think you're signing my 7th grade yearbook.

Yae - This isn't anything.

Yay - Phonetic, this is a "hooray!" kind of thing.

9 comments:

Natalie said...

Bless you forever in Heaven, somebody had to say it. The "yea" as "yeah" is one of those things in this life, you know?

Emily said...

Can we also talk about "since" and "because" because (not since) everyone uses them incorrectly? Basically "since" refers to time while "because" refers to causation. It is a hard habit to break, trust me!

Anonymous said...

I always feel nervous when I comment here or on another blog. I'm afraid to make a grammatical, or spelling error. That's why I have to be anonymous. So I'm not shunned by the masses.

~j. said...

Anon, listen. I say these things because some people seriously just don't know, and also because grammar & spelling are small things over which I can have control in my crazy li'l world, so I'll take it. Which masses would shun you? Certainly none which could be found here.

Andy said...

If any descriptive linguists leave some misguidedly-pseudopopulist comment about "ya but thats how peeple talk lolomg!!!1," I'm going to stab someone in the eye.

How's that for a first impression comment, twitter-buddy?

PS YOU'D BETTER COME WITH CARINA TOMORROW TO SEE US ROCK AND ROLL WOOOOOOO

alexis said...

the yea thing--that has bothered me since i got my first set of scriptures when i was eight years old. there's nothing more disruptive when i'm reading something and i'm expecting them to say, "yeah, i'd like to go to a movie," and i get a "yea" instead. because then i'm expecting a "and nephi went down to the blah blah blah and was righteous and so on and so forth." (or something close to that)

it throws me for a loop every time.

Christi said...

I, for one, will admit that I needed the explanation. I've always wondered...

kacy faulconer said...

Yeah. Yay!

Kara said...

Great post! It's something one doesn't think about until they actually try to write it. Now you need to do one for to and too. I for one had to look it up just to make sure I was using them correctly.