Learn To Say It Correctly!!

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Doesn't it just drive you insane when someone tells you that Mr. Smith's O2 STAT is 96%?

It's O2 SAT people! Sat, short for saturation. I even hear respiratory therapists saying this. I am sooooo tempted to say something next time, but I know it's just petty, so I needed to vent here. Thank you.

Specializes in Nursing Home ,Dementia Care,Neurology..
Possibly we could start with England?

Well the definitive tome for English is the 'Oxford English Dictionary' .Even they are having to add new words all the time because of the ever changing nature of the language.In my school days we were taught to porifice a sentence(a thing I truthfully cannot remember too much about!)I really don't know if they are taught that in schools anymore.

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Specializes in Hospice, Palliative Care, Gero, dementia.
The trouble with that scenario is that there are several different countries who use English as their main language.All of these countries have their own brand of English,spellings etc. which one would therefore be the definitive version?

The perfect example of this is the George Bernard Shaw quote: "England and the United States, two countries divided by a common language."

Examples of things that get confusing:

  • You don't want to call a small pack you strap to your waist a "fanny pack" in England, as that is slang for female private parts
  • "Vests" in the UK are undershirts
  • Saying "I'm stuffed" in the UK would get you very funny looks
  • Australians are regularly amused by the Canadian store "Roots" as Rooting is a term for sexual activity
  • Someone from the UK looking for a "rubber" in the US would get very funny looks (eraser)

etc. etc. etc.

And that's not even getting into things like rhyming slang...

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The trouble with that scenario is that there are several different countries who use English as their main language.All of these countries have their own brand of English,spellings etc. which one would therefore be the definitive version?

That's easy, split them into different languages. British and American English are separate. English in Belize is well, I don't know what.

Languages can be governed. Arabic has a formal and informal dialect. The informal evolves and changes over the years. Everyone uses it. The formal Arabic is found in the Quran and is mostly used in academic settings but most people speak and understand that too. Well the people that can read in any case.

It is possible for a language to be governed.

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Specializes in Nursing Home ,Dementia Care,Neurology..

The nearest I can think of for that is Received Standard English.This is the sort of formal speech spoken on the BBC and by the 'Upper classes'.However,even the BBC is not as formal as it used to be,which is not a bad thing .

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Speaking again about the dumbing down of america,you are all speaking to it! I'm ok w/ adding new words as you need to because of ,for instance,new technology,but to change words that were fine to begin with,like functionality instead of function,well, talk about obtuse!! I was waiting on a table of business people in suites,and the women said to the man"what's the functionality of that?"well I,(the waitress) almost split a gut,so I quickly turned away.I'm not sure which is worse, snobbery or ignorance,when it comes to the use of language.I know english is evolving, not a dead language like latin,but I'm all for a governing of sorts. Of coures, where do you draw the line?An example ,to me it would be like the act of smoking pot,"oh well, everyones doing it, so lets make it legal" please!!!!!!!!!!

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marachne said:
An expression I just recently heard: "the vernacular always wins." (someone at an IRB meeting was complaining about a sentence ending in a preposition, others pointed out that it has become common usage)

Language, unless it's dead, like Latin, changes. Some changes will grate on some of us for a long time, eventually, most of us get beaten down and ignore it.

Inappropriate use of apostrophes will always make me crazy.

Incorecct usage of apostrophes and commas kill me! I think the commas are worse, though. There's nothing tricky about where to put them! I hate when sentences have 7 commas in them. And spacing with commas kills me too! It's word, next word. Not word , next word! Also not word,next word! It's not rocket science! Okay, rant over! I feel better now, thanks! 

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Specializes in Psych.
The perfect example of this is the George Bernard Shaw quote: "England and the United States, two countries divided by a common language."

Examples of things that get confusing:

  • You don't want to call a small pack you strap to your waist a "fanny pack" in England, as that is slang for female private parts
  • "Vests" in the UK are undershirts
  • Saying "I'm stuffed" in the UK would get you very funny looks
  • Australians are regularly amused by the Canadian store "Roots" as Rooting is a term for sexual activity
  • Someone from the UK looking for a "rubber" in the US would get very funny looks (eraser)

etc. etc. etc.

And that's not even getting into things like rhyming slang...

Those are funny!

I remember in college meeting a gal who came over from the UK who, dismayed over some minor thing she messed up, said, "Oh, I'm such a silly ****!" We all laughed and said, 'No, no...you don't want to go around saying that over here.'

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Stanley-RN2B said:

Languages can be governed. Arabic has a formal and informal dialect. The informal evolves and changes over the years. Everyone uses it. The formal Arabic is found in the Quran and is mostly used in academic settings but most people speak and understand that too. Well the people that can read in any case.

It is possible for a language to be governed.

"Did I just hear you say "irregardless" in a formal presentation???? Put your hands up and step away from the desk! You have the right to remain slient. If you choose to waive that right, anything you say will be recorded, written out, and corrected with red pen. You will be graded based on a sixth grade scale, and your grade will be marked with indelible red ink on your forehead to forever remind you of your misdeeds. You will be rehabilitated at grammar prision, and once you pass sixth grade English, you will be released back into society. I hope you brought a change of underpants!"

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Specializes in Hospice, Palliative Care, Gero, dementia.
miko014 said:

"Did I just hear you say "irregardless" in a formal presentation???? Put your hands up and step away from the desk! You have the right to remain slient. If you choose to waive that right, anything you say will be recorded, written out, and corrected with red pen. You will be graded based on a sixth grade scale, and your grade will be marked with indelible red ink on your forehead to forever remind you of your misdeeds. You will be rehabilitated at grammar prision, and once you pass sixth grade English, you will be released back into society. I hope you brought a change of underpants!"

visions of a "grammar gulag"

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I was in a play and annoyed MYSELF because I needed to say anitomical and could not say it for the life of me it kept coming out "aminitomical" I tried REALLY REALLY hard to say it right, it just would not come out.

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The perfect example of this is the George Bernard Shaw quote: "England and the United States, two countries divided by a common language."

Examples of things that get confusing:

  • You don't want to call a small pack you strap to your waist a "fanny pack" in England, as that is slang for female private parts
  • "Vests" in the UK are undershirts
  • Saying "I'm stuffed" in the UK would get you very funny looks
  • Australians are regularly amused by the Canadian store "Roots" as Rooting is a term for sexual activity
  • Someone from the UK looking for a "rubber" in the US would get very funny looks (eraser)

etc. etc. etc.

And that's not even getting into things like rhyming slang...

A girl in choir with me spent a semster in england, was singing in the choir. "Do we need to wear black pants" *horrified look from professor* "I don't care what color pants you wear" *pulled a side by another girl and had difference explained to her of pants vs. trousers.*

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Specializes in Psych.
las2009 said:
Those are funny!

I remember in college meeting a gal who came over from the UK who, dismayed over some minor thing she messed up, said, "Oh, I'm such a silly ****!" We all laughed and said, 'No, no...you don't want to go around saying that over here.'

I didn't realize the word that rhymes with glut is a no-no (in this context). I'm sorry. 

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