Living Languages

johnB Lun 5 Avr - 13:09

I love languages because they are always changing and " breathing " . If you are too exact and correct then they become stationary and die. Having said that I am a bit hypocritical because when I hear something new or incorrect I shudder a bit. As this is my first day posting I will share with you a new English word . It may have come from America - I do not know. It is being used a lot on television by professors and business men trying to appear modern and trendy. There is a lot of talk about statistics these days, especially regarding covid.

The word is " uptick " . It is used to mean " increase " and the word increase could have been used just as well ! i.e.during lockdown there has been an " uptick " in the number of people owning dogs. JohnB.

MurielB Lun 5 Avr - 18:58

Thank you very much for your analysis John. It is true that the study of languages is fascinating. We appreciate their rigour, the unchangeable laws they obey and we can't stand mistakes. Anyway,
at the same time we love them evolving because life is a perpetual change. When languages become static,they die which we don't like, do we ?
Tx for the word "uptick" i didn't know. Unfortunately, in France, there has been an " uptick " in the number of people buying a dog but thousands of puppies bought during confinement are now abandoned to shelters or sold online.

Living Languages

Living Languages

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