Abuse of language

[JohnW2]

On a simpler example - would spiders ever be reclassified as insects simply because the majority of the population referred to them as such?

That is very different - it's not a matter of language but, rather, a misunderstanding about technical definitions/classifications. Furthermore, there are countless examples in zoology, botany, medicine and many other disciplines in which terminology in "common usage" by the general public is totally different from 'correct technical terminology'.

I strongly suspect (actually hope!) that "the majority of the population" will continue to regard 230V as a "high voltage", no matter what technical definitions may say.

Kind Regards, John

 

[Vicario]

Please don't rely on Google translations for anything important. I teach Spanish and can quote some wonderful phrases from homework that I have marked. 'My brother missed school today because he was intoxicated' springs to mind. But 'intoxicado' usually means 'to have food poisoning'.

 

[JohnW2]

I think Hs is correct, I don't think an apostrophe should ever be used for plural, as far as I know.

I don't think it should, either, BUT, as I've said, I don't know how else to clearly communicate what I want.

As I said before, Hs looks, sounds and feels wrong to me. What if the letter being dropped were a (lower case) a, i or u? Would it not be confusing if I wrote:
"dropping as" OR "dropping is" or "dropping us" ??

In such cases, there would seem to be a need for some sort of punctuation (whether apostrophes or anything else) in order to convey the required meaning.

Kind Regards, John

 

[EFLImpudence]

That is very different - it's not a matter of language but, rather, a misunderstanding about technical definitions/classifications.

It is still just using the wrong word - whatever the reason.

 

[JohnW2]

It is still just using the wrong word - whatever the reason.

It's nothing to do with 'wrong words' but, rather, a lack of understanding. Those who say it believe (incorrectly) that spiders are insects, and are correctly using the word "insect" when they express that belief.

If someone said that brown insulation was used to identify a neutral conductor, you wouldn't say that they were using the 'wrong word' - you would say that they didn't understand the colour-coding convention.

Kind Regards, John

 

[EFLImpudence]

It's nothing to do with 'wrong words' but, rather, a lack of understanding. Those who say it believe (incorrectly) that spiders are insects, and are correctly using the word "insect" when they express that belief.

They are not correctly using the word "insect"; they obviously don't know what an insect (or spider) is.

If someone said that brown insulation was used to identify a neutral conductor, you wouldn't say that they were using the 'wrong word' - you would say that they didn't understand the colour-coding convention.

Yet they are using the wrong word.

Frequently people say the black wire at a switch is the neutral; they do not know what the word neutral means - so they are using the wrong word.

People lack understanding of grammar and spelling and believe (incorrectly) that words mean what they don't and that they are correct: they are not.

 

[JohnW2]

They are not correctly using the word "insect"; they obviously don't know what an insect (or spider) is.
... Yet they are using the wrong word. Frequently people say the black wire at a switch is the neutral; they do not know what the word neutral means - so they are using the wrong word.

I think I'm going to give up soon, since this is getting rather silly.

When people say that spiders are insects, or that brown insulation (or black insulation at a switch) identifies a neutral conductor, then that is no more an issue of 'language' ['using the wrong word(s)'] than is the person who believes that 7 times 9 is 65, that the earth is flat or that the name of our Prime Minister is Kier Starmer. In all of those cases, yes, they end up using 'the wrong word(s)' ('wrong' in relation to what words they would use if their subject-matter understanding were correct) but because they have an incorrect belief about the subject matter, not because of any issue related to language.

If I say that "seven times nice is sixty-five" do you seriously believe that the primary problem with that would be that I was using "the wrong words" - i.e. that I am using the words "sixty five" to mean 63? As far as I am concerned, that is not a words/language problem.

Kind Regards, John