Comments on Bunsnip: Do you like your eggs short or long?

Well, "used to" is adverbial in that it ...

2011-01-18T00:12:03.887-08:00

Well, "used to" is adverbial in that it is modifying the verb "go". In English at least, adverbs modify verbs while adjectives modify nouns. So, the base sentence is, "I go there often," but you qualify how you go there by saying "I used to go there often." It means that at one time you frequented a place, but you don't anymore.

Of course you said you get the semantics and not the syntax. That was my problem too when I was a kid. To me, the verb "used" and the adverbial form are two different words. they certainly serve two different functions.

Not sure if that clarifies anything or not.

I was raised in Texas so my language skillz are al...

2011-01-18T00:12:03.569-08:00

I was raised in Texas so my language skillz are all fucked up. It's not so much pronunciation as bizarre USAGE I've got issues with. I'm still trying to kill my use of "y'all" -- I almost had it down, but for some reason it came back and now I can't seem to shake it. I also have a tendency to say I'm "fixin" to do something, as in, I'm "about" to do it. "I'm fixin' to go to the store, do y'all need anything?"

It's really just sad.

I struggle with the pronunciation of my own name. ...

2011-01-18T00:12:03.266-08:00

I struggle with the pronunciation of my own name. Most people say it with sort of a long-e edge. Not quite Eerin, but close. Then the guy I had a crush on in high school pronounced it closer to "Ehrin." That sounded way better to me. But if I pronounce it that way on the phone, people think I'm "Karen." So I say it the ugly way.

I struggle with the pronunciation of my own name. ...

2009-11-04T17:31:29.765-08:00

I was raised in Texas so my language skillz are al...

2009-10-18T18:50:36.429-07:00

Well, "used to" is adverbial in that it ...

2009-10-14T15:38:17.371-07:00

I'm not getting this, i.e.,: *used: Prono...

2009-10-14T14:33:31.213-07:00

I'm not getting this, i.e.,:
*used: Pronounced: youst
* As in: "I used to go there often."

A verb used adverbially? I lack experience with this.... I get what you're saying semantically but syntactically this is not quite computing for me.
At least in the realm of Indo-European languages, adverbs modify other adverbs and adjectives. So, is is the adjective/adverb that's subservient to other content words. However, adverbial verbs, hmm, it's an utterly unknown genre to me, I'm afraid.
Interesting notion, though. I look forward to further explanation. Thanks.

I grew up in Upper Michigan. It's not Canada,...

2009-10-14T13:11:52.985-07:00

I grew up in Upper Michigan. It's not Canada, but close enough. I left Gwinn, MI, in 1989 but I still hold on to the midwestern accent. Just this morning, someone laughed about the way I say "box" because I pronouced it with a little bit of a short "a" sound.

When I say "bowl" or "bull", there is no difference.

Are you or your parents from a different area of the country than Ian's? I think that makes a difference, too. My mother hails from Wisconsin so it seems my accent is sticking around for good :)

My sisters will give me a quarter to say the word ...

2009-10-13T19:51:49.028-07:00

My sisters will give me a quarter to say the word "Tangerine."

Also, all of my friends have long mocked me for my inability to properly parse acronyms, so that instead of saying "Dee-Vee-Deeeee" I say "DEEvidee" Apparently, I also say "TAHcoBell" instead of the slow and weird (to me)sounding "Taaaa-coh-Belllll"

My theory regarding this last is that Spanish timbre and tempo creep into my English, so that I put my emphasis on the wrong syllable and have a Sofia Vergara accent for two words.

Now, if only I could get the rest of her along with it.

*ahem*

But I digress. Other than these weirdnesses, I am a language Nazi (as you know).

I, too, am of the descriptivist school, but that d...

2009-10-13T18:26:29.470-07:00

I, too, am of the descriptivist school, but that doesn't mean I can't be critical and opinionated in my free time ;)

Having studied linguistics for a bazillion or so y...

2009-10-13T18:16:02.501-07:00

Having studied linguistics for a bazillion or so years now, I am of the descriptivist opinion that any form of communication is "correct" as long as it is understood by both interlocutors.

So keep on saying AHHHYYYUUUUGGGZZ or whatever it was.